Smart Guns

Re “ ‘Smart’ Weapon Shoots Holes in Gun Rift,” Oct. 22:

As an individual who has been licensed to carry a concealed handgun in four states, I would not consider carrying any handgun that is disabled unless in close proximity to a computer chip. My usual firing hand might have been incapacitated by a previous attack. If I am injured or dying, I might, in order to save another’s life, need to pass my firearm to someone I trust to continue the defense.

A handgun maintained for personal defense is used only in life-or-death situations. One does not pull the trigger unless it is to stop a deadly attack, and there is nothing less safe than a gun that does not fire when the trigger is pulled in order to combat a lethal threat.

And, nobody who has just spent two weeks debugging a new computer, as I have, would ever consider trusting his life to one.

J. NEIL SCHULMAN

Culver City