A Rockville, Maryland gun shop owner has decided against selling a "smart gun" after he received death threats from gun-rights activists.
Engage Armament co-owner Andy Raymond announced he was backing down on selling the Armatix iP1 .22-caliber handgun after receiving threats from activists who fear the technology in the gun could be implemented further, reports the Irish Times.
Raymond said he received numerous threats after he said he would sell the gun, with one suggesting, "You're going to get what's coming to you." Another person threatened to burn the store to the ground. "I can't have my shop burned down," he said. "I have people to look out for."
The Armatix handgun features an electronic chip that is designed to communicate with a watch the shooter must wear. The gun can only be fired if the watch is less than 10 inches away from the gun.
According to The Washington Post, the Oak Tree Gun Club in California pulled the gun from shelves after the NRA and gun-rights activists blasted the decision.
The angry response focuses around the fear that technology in the gun could be eventually used in all guns, which they believe tramples on their Second Amendment rights.
Raymond called out those complaining about the sale of the gun, calling it "hypocritical." He said, "That's the antithesis of everything that we pro-gun, pro-Second Amendment people should be. You are not supposed to say a gun should be prohibited. Then you are being no different than the anti-gun people who say an AR-15 should be prohibited."