The Obama administration is locked and loaded for a fresh push on gun control initiatives – reportedly moving to advocate for so-called “smart gun” technology as early as Friday, despite concerns from the gun lobby.
(FOX)- Politico reports President Obama is set to release findings on the technology from a multi-agency review, and White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett was previewing the material to a select set of groups on Thursday.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest confirmed to reporters that the administration would be making an announcement on Friday, without going into detail.
“We’ll have more that we can talk about tomorrow,” he said. “… Under discussion was exploring what kind of technology could be effectively used to make guns safer. So this is something that that a variety of federal agencies have reviewed and they’ll have some findings to share.”
“Smart-gun” technology overhauls guns so they can only be fired by authorized users. The multi-agency review was ordered as part of Obama’s Jan. 4 executive action on guns.
The National Rifle Association and other gun groups do not necessarily oppose the technology itself, but are concerned about any new mandates from the government requiring it. And law enforcement groups have voiced concerns about the reliability of the tech, and whether it can be trusted when needed most.