A personalized handgun is one that, by design, can only be fired when operated by an authorized user. Personalized handguns are child-resistant. Personalized handguns can be especially effective in preventing unintentional firearm deaths and injuries among young children, teenage suicide, and shootings of police officers. In 1995, guns killed 35,957 people in the United States. Personalized handguns can significantly reduce the likelihood of many of these gun-related deaths and injuries.
Most gun deaths involve handguns rather than long guns.
Handguns are the weapon of choice for people purchasing a gun for home defense, for the suicide victim, and for the criminal. Young children find handguns in the home and are able to fire them, shooting themselves and others. Suicide has become a leading cause of death among teenagers. The increase is due largely to gun-related suicides. Among young people 10 to 19 years old, there were more than 1,400 suicides with guns in 1995.