New Jersey becomes first state to require 'smart guns'

TRENTON, N.J. -- New Jersey on Monday became the first state to enact "smart gun" legislation that would eventually require new handguns to contain technology that allows only their owners to fire them.

However, the bill signed into law by Gov. James E. McGreevey will not go into effect immediately because the technology is still under development. It could be years and cost millions before the technology becomes a reality.

"This is common-sense legislation. There are safety regulations on cars, on toys. It's clearly time we have safety regulations on handguns," McGreevey said.

Under the law, smart-gun technology will be required in all new handguns sold three years after the state attorney general determines a smart gun prototype is safe and commercially available. Weapons used by law enforcement officers would be exempt until a separate decision on whether the requirement should apply to them.

The New Jersey Institute of Technology is developing a smart gun prototype that would use sensors on the pistol grip to identify a user.

The owner would have his or her grip programmed at a gun shop or police range by practice-firing the weapon. A microchip in the weapon would remember the grip and determine in an instant whether the authorized user was holding the weapon. If not, the gun would not fire.

NJIT researchers said a viable prototype can be developed in about two years but would require $4 million to $5 million in additional funding, which has yet to be approved.

"What we have is a demonstration concept," said Donald Sebastian of NJIT. "It is not yet a proven technology."

Gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson was awarded a $1.7 million federal grant last year to develop the technology and has spent $5 million on development since 1993.

Opponents argue that it makes little sense to legislate a requirement about a technology that does not yet exist. They have also raised questions about its reliability.

"No technology is foolproof," said Nancy Ross, spokeswoman for the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs. "Anyone who has a computer knows how many times it crashes."

Similar bills have been introduced in Congress and in other states, including New York, Ohio and Tennessee.