NEW YORK — For a generation, the concept of a gun that can only be fired by its rightful owner was seen as something of a holy grail for gun safety. Efforts to develop the technology were launched, and the state of New Jersey even went so far to build a law around the concept -- long before development efforts bore fruit.
Now, a Colorado-based weapons startup believes it has found a way forward for a nation where many are searching for anything that could help lower the toll of gun violence.
The concept behind BioFire's weapon is straightforward: think smartphone security meets handgun. The weapon will fire normally as long as the user's fingerprint or face is stored in its memory banks. For anyone else, the company says, the gun is little more than a paperweight."Guns are very, very different than cellphones -- they're designed to explode," said Kloepfer.
Kloepfer said BioFire's goal is to cut down on the deaths and injuries that are caused by people using someone else's gun without authorization -- like the child who takes a parent's weapon to school, or the person struggling with emotional or mental health problems who knows that someone has a gun in the house. The self-locking gun would not stop someone who legally bought and registered it, Kloepfer said.
Eleven years and over 350 iterations later, the inventor invited ABC News to his company's lab and gun range."I thought it worked really well, and I can see the application when it comes to both safety and still having the ability to put the gun in operation quickly," said Mulroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense and retired CIA paramilitary operator.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
New Toyota Tacoma, Ranger, Colorado/Canyon fight for midsize truck dominance - AutoblogGM and Ford, which abandoned the midsize truck segment when sales slowed early this century, have returned with new trucks to take on the Toyota Tacoma.
Read more »
New York Police Department cruiser seen in video swerving dangerously close to mopedA New York Police Department SUV was seen on video posted to social media swerving dangerously close to a moped on the Van Wyck Expressway.
Read more »
UPS, IMG Launch Fund to Help HBCU Designers Debut at New York Fashion WeekA newly launched partnership with IMG will provide funding for three designers from historically black colleges and universities to produce a fashion show at NYFW this September. The $150,000 grant will be shared across the three awardees.
Read more »
Artist instantly paralyzed after being shoved into moving subway train, New York prosecutor saysA Turkish-born artist who moved to New York six years ago was instantly paralyzed from the neck down after a man allegedly shoved her into a moving subway train in what a prosecutor describe as a “completely unprovoked' attack.
Read more »