Taxpayers to Pay for Gun Control?

Based on this Washington Free Beacon report, it appears that is what Eric Holder wants.

“I think that one of the things that we learned when we were trying to get passed those common sense reforms last year, Vice President Biden and I had a meeting with a group of technology people and we talked about how guns can be made more safe,” he said.

“By making them either through finger print identification, the gun talks to a bracelet or something that you might wear, how guns can be used only by the person who is lawfully in possession of the weapon.”

Actually this would not be the first time taxpayers would be funding such projects. As recently as 2010, the Bureau of Justice Assistance provided $1 million (thanks to a congressional ear mark) to the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) for "The Child Safe Personalized Weapons Technology" project.  Over the course of three years, NJIT received ear marks totaling $1,504,418 for this work.  That's pennies compared to what Holder wants for his pet projects:

The Justice Department has requested $382.1 million in increased spending for its fiscal year 2014 budget for “gun safety.”

The NJIT project focused on the development of an "electronic handgun disabling mechanism," which along with Grip Recognition "provides a complete child safe weapon demonstrable prototype."  That award closed in September of 2013 and NJIT claims to have developed a working platform for dry and live fire experiments as well as designed and intedgrated a disabling system.

Because congressional earmarks ended when the Republicans regained majority control in the House, NJIT's funding dried up.  Look for them to try to get a slice of Holder's wish list if the new funding materializes. Sounds like it's time to contact your congressman and let them know you oppose increased funding to push gun control schemes like "smart guns" and "gun tracking systems."