The Defense, Homeland Security and Justice departments issued a report Friday on advancing “smart-gun” technology that President Obama called for in January through an executive order.
The report is the start of federal guidelines and standards for determining if firearms featuring such technology can be produced in a useable way for police.
The federal government is “a bulk purchaser of firearms,” but Friday’s report in no way requires law enforcement agencies to buy or use such guns, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.
Gun owners who fear they will be required to buy these hypothetical weapons are worrying about any announcement that the Obama administration is nowhere near making, he said. The report simply explores whether such guns can be manufactured and are effective for law enforcement use, Earnest said.
Anyone stating that the report does more is feeding into the “type of wild-eye conspiracy theories that we’ve heard on this issue for years now,” he said.
Absent any federal mandate, however, why would any gun manufacturer not be interested in seeing such technology become reality, Earnest asked.
“What industry isn’t interested in looking at new technologies to make their products safer?” Earnest said. “That’s what … manufacturers do.”
Earnest pointed to the auto industry as a leading example of manufacturers that not only constantly try to make their products safer, but also use that safety as a marketing tool, Earnest said.
In addition to the report, the Social Security Administration proposed a rule aimed at making its records more accurate and ensuring that relevant information is conveyed during background checks of prospective gun owners to keep firearms out of the hands of the mentally ill.
The rule also offers a way for people who might be denied a gun permit on mental health grounds to obtain one.
The Obama administration will host a “50-state gun violence prevention” summit at the White House next month, Valerie Jarrett, the president’s senior adviser, announced on Friday.
