A smart gun.
kaikloepfer.com

When US President Barack Obama announced his gun-control plan earlier this month in an emotional speech
, he included a striking proposal:

If we can set it up so you can't unlock your phone unless you've got the right fingerprint, why can't we do the same thing for our guns? If there's an app that can help us find a missing tablet ... there's no reason tham tu 007 we can't do it with a stolen gun.

"Smart" guns are defined as any firearm capable of recognizing its owner in an effort to prevent unauthorized use. Different types of smart guns exist, but they fall into two major categories: radio-frequency identification-device (RFID) enabled and biometric fingerprint sensors.

The Armatix iP1
is probably the most well-known smart gun enabled through RFID technology. Its paired with an RFID wristband, and if the shooter isn't wearing the wristband, the gun won't fire.

But for a number of reasons, the iP1 hasn't been a hot seller.

In early January, the New Jersey Legislature passed a law
requiring that smart guns be sold alongside traditional firearms no more than three years after the smart technology hits the market, anywhere in the country. Gov. Chris Christie (R) vetoed the law on Tuesday, reports Bloomberg
.

Gun-rights advocates, including the NRA
, fear that smart guns are a step toward government mandates controlling the types of firearms Americans can and can't purchase. Because many gun-rights advocates are skeptical of the technology, retailers who put the iP1 on the shelf have been met with boycotts, and even death threats, reports Fortune
.

After a backlash of negative comments from gun-rights advocates, Andy Raymond, co-owner of Engage Armaments, has decided not to sell the Armatix iP1, a .22-caliber smart gun.
Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images

And as the NRA has pointed out
, the iP1 does have some serious design flaws. It takes up to 12 seconds to unlock the gun when it's switched off - a "cold" start - and if the wristband isn't within 10 inches of the watch, the gun won't fire. And that's not to mention issues with battery life, waterproofing, and the high sticker price - the base cost is more than $1,700, five times the price of other .22-caliber pistols.

iGun Technology
, a spin-off of O.F.