Another try at biometric gun control forms in California

A California initiative would set new standards for gun safety in the state. The Gun Violence Prevention Act has been proposed for inclusion on the November 2024 general election ballot by Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen.

The law would dictate that, starting a year after passage, all new firearms sold in California would include an integrated trigger lock and storage system. The lock could be biometric, according to the proposal. By five years later, all firearms would be required to have biometric locks.

The plan is to ensure that only the licensed owner or other approved users can access and use the firearm. According to Rosen, an inoperable firearm due to biometric trigger locks could reduce accidental shootings, especially by children, and curtail the violence stemming from firearm thefts.

Biometric firearm companies are marketing guns with removable biometric trigger locks. Biofire is spearheading so-called smart gun technology, while Identilock and Bison are working on biometric trigger locks.

The debate over digitally locked guns continues. An election win in California would be the highest-profile advancement for the technology in the United States.

The state house is controlled by Democrats, a party that generally favor heavier regulations on personal weapons, but any gun issue on a ballot tends to pull opposition Republicans to the polls.

The state of New Jersey, on the opposite U.S. coast, has tried for many years to impose biometric and other locks on personal weapons , but the efforts have been thwarted by opponents of gun regulations.

Article Topics

access control  |  biometric lock  |  biometrics  |  California  |  legislation  |  smart gun  |  United States