Under contract with the National Institute of Justice, Sandia National Laboratories recently studied the feasibility of personalized handguns for use by law enforcement officers and developed several demonstration models. Colt's Manufacturing Company Inc. has also developed a prototype for a personalized handgun. One method of personalization involves the use of a tiny transponder, embedded in a ring or worn on clothing, that emits a radio frequency. The transponder signals a unique code to the gun, and the personalized gun will only fire if it detects the presence of its transponder. Other high-technology personalization methods include fingerprint recognition and bar code scanning.
Policies encouraging safe gun design can prevent firearm injuries.
Legislation and Regulation States and some localities can pass laws requiring that, in several years, the only handguns that can legally be manufactured or sold in those jurisdictions would be personalized handguns. The Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research has prepared a model law that would accomplish this. State Attorneys General can use their consumer protection power to issue handgun regulations that require handguns manufactured or sold in the state to be personalized. The Attorney General of Massachusetts has announced plans to regulate the safe design of handguns. States and some localities can pass legislation that holds manufacturers and distributors of handguns liable for firearm injuries but exempts those guns that are personalized.