In a baffling op-ed published in the Portland Press Herald, Cynthia Dill—a civil rights lawyer and former state senator—refers to the ongoing controversy between Apple and the FBI over the contents of an iPhone owned by the San Bernardino attackers. She wants us to “… not forget that it wasn’t an iPhone that killed 14 people in San Bernardino last December; it was four guns …” Actually, there were a couple of terrorists involved as well.
Dill reluctantly notes that yes, people were technically to blame, before launching into a convoluted argument about how “smart” gun technology is the answer. To terrorism? We think Dill may have forgotten what she was initially writing about; and despite her job description, it seems that the right to bear arms isn’t a civil right she cares for. So-called “smart” guns won’t prevent terrorism—and in the technology’s current state, it won’t reliably stop your run-of-the-mill home invader either.
