When German manufacturer Armatix debuted their iP1 pistol, hailed around the world (largely by people who had never discharged a firearm) as the first viable “smart gun,” it launched waves of hype and legislative buffoonery. The most widely repeated claim was that Armatix—now spiraling toward bankruptcy—was finally going to make guns completely safe.
Now we’re starting to wonder how serious they ever were about gun safety. Guns.com noticed that a feature in the LA Times, still trying to drum up enthusiasm for the iP1, depicted Armatix USA’s chief executive Belinda Padilla breaking two of the three NRA rules of gun safety at once: In the header image, she is pointing a pistol at the sky with her finger on the trigger. More effective gun safety is absolutely something to pursue, but perhaps we shouldn’t look for design breakthroughs from people who ignore the fundamentals of handling a firearm.
