'Smart Guns' Not Feasible for the Industry

Faced with activist investor opposition, Massachusetts-based Smith & Wesson reinforced their commitment to gun rights this month in a report to shareholders.

American Outdoor Brands Corp, the publicly-traded parent company of 25 brands centered around the iconic Smith & Wesson banner, released a 26-page report to investors on Feb. 8. The report, requested by a group of largely anti-gun activists who purchased 200 of the company’s 54 million shares, focuses on product safety measures and industry trends including on how so-called “smart guns” could be made by the company.

A Smart gun’s “authorized user recognition” technology, which uses biometrics to lock out firearms except for designated users, has been a favorite of gun control advocates and, while the firearms industry is not against the concept, they have long-held the theory has not caught up to the reality of making reliable guns that consumers want to buy.

“The desire for a seemingly simple technological solution to complex societal problems is understandable, but is not a basis for good business judgment,” says the report. “When it comes to ‘smart guns,’ it is an area of great confusion outside of the firearm manufacturing industry. It is subject to the same ‘CSI Effect’ that has been recognized in criminal justice – the idea that science technology provide easy answers. In the age of smartphones that give us instant answers to questions and direct us through streets around the world, it is difficult for some to understand that technology has its limits.”