Common Ground pushes smart-gun technology
Nonprofit group commemorates 10th anniversary with celebration at Italian Community Center
Linda Reid held up the handgun, pressed her finger to a small square and a large plastic lock covering the trigger popped off.
The gun was not real, but the smart trigger lock was authentic.
“Gun owners want instant access, but this keeps it safe” from children, Reid said Sunday afternoon at a Common Ground of Southeastern Wisconsin gathering to celebrate the group’s 10th anniversary.
Common Ground announced on Sunday efforts to encourage gun manufacturers to develop more user-authenticated guns and locks to decrease the number of people injured and killed by firearms. Sometimes called smart guns or biometric locks, the technology uses fingerprints of gun owners to make the weapon operable.
“We want to reduce the high cost of gun violence in our country,” said Reid, a Common Ground leader.
More than 38,000 people died from guns in America last year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Roughly 5,800 children were treated annually in American emergency rooms for gunshot wounds, according to a study published in 2017 by the journal Pediatrics using data from 2012 through 2014.
Common Ground is taking part in a national effort called Do Not Stand Idly By. What makes the initiative different from other efforts aimed at reducing gun violence is that it
doesn’t involve legislation, but instead seeks to work with gun manufacturers to boost smart technology.
User-authenticated firearms are child-proof and theft-proof, and they can’t be borrowed by suicidal people because they require a fingerprint to use, said Laura Vuchetich, of East Siders for Common Ground.
Some local law enforcement agencies have biometric locks for officers’ weapons to use when the officer is at home. Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm has purchased smart locks for his employees who carry weapons. With 15% of gun purchases in America made by law enforcement agencies, Common Ground is hoping to leverage the purchasing power of public officials to pressure gun manufacturers.
“The public sector can reshape a market by demand. If you have smart technology on your phone, why not your gun?” said Keisha Krumm, Common Ground executive director.
Common Ground, a grass-roots organization of congregations, religious groups, small businesses, nonprofits, schools and neighborhood associations, also announced efforts to reduce the rates of unemployed and underemployed.
The Rev. Willie Davis said some people are being taken advantage of by temporary employment agencies that renege on offers for permanent employment or offer jobs that don’t pay a living wage. Common Ground officials plan to identify the most abusive temp agencies and hold them accountable.
Another problem is job training programs that last for weeks or months but do not offer jobs for those who finish the program, something that has happened to Omar Barberena, associate South Side organizer for Common Ground.
“They get a piece of paper for completing the training but then they’re told, ‘Go find a job,’ “said Barberena.
Common Ground plans to work with job training programs to guarantee actual jobs.