Sorry, I have to start a gun thread. Only to call out lunatics.

[SQUEE]

95. Independent agency? possible, yes

How long would that take, what agency? NRA sponsored, Brady campaign or BATF, or??? what independent agency would both side agree on?

I don't believe they are unreliable, I AM certain though they are unproven and not rigourously tested.
The fact they are only offered in an extremely low powered cartridge does raise a red flag to me, also the lack of any track record from the manufacturer is another reason to be cautious. When, not if, a company with a reputation for quality does offer a smart gun, I will be one of the first in line.

The concept itself is perfect for a safer HD gun, one that will be able to be esily accessible, while being unusable to anyone but the designated operator(s).
But, yes a but, I am worried on both sides of the failure potential.
first actually is the reliance of people on the safety lock, if it is left about, or easily accessible, and the lock fails and the weapon works... second if it is needed and the lock fails and the user is left with nothing more than a small bludgeon. Testing is great, but as any rollout of a new OS shows, only in real world applications and situations are we going to really debug and prove a system works, idiot proofing needs exposure to idiots to be proven true.
In this situation, unlike a rushed beta testing, that could mean death or injury, not just a blue screen.

the NRA is notoriously anti progress, AND technology. Shit, for years it was tacitly opposed to modern rifles, is still oppsed to electronic triggers(as is the BATF) and does nothing to push for requiring intensive, realistic training for CCW, strong laws regarding storage or for civilian access to the FBI background check system, so I do not really listen to any of the bleatings from them, anymore than i listen to Bloomberg's puppet agencies.