Nicholas. Photo: Naumkin family
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Firearm sales have in fact dropped nationwide since the election, as the gun industry hits a "Trump slump". But when we spoke to Hoffman he didn't appear worried about Trump. The billionaire and former reality TV figure ran a pro Second Amendment campaign, was endorsed by the NRA, and has never so much as mentioned smart guns publicly, unlike Clinton and her husband before her, who've both expressed support of smart gun development initiatives. Hoffman would hope Trump doesn't come to harbor any techno-optimism when it comes to making firearms safer."All the technology does is hamper the person trying to use the gun"
Inside the vault. Photo by the author
GIF by Rachel Pick
Earl in the ATF shooting range with a Thompson submachine gun. Photo: Lara Heintz
Mauch talks during an interview on July 11, 2014, at the headquarters of Armatix in Unterfoehring, near Munich, Germany. Photo: Sebastian Widmann for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Amal, his biohacked smart gun, and a syringe. Photo: Lara Heintz
If there was a constant in our talks with people working to disrupt the largely static order of gun innovation, it's that they all have different working definitions for what a "smart gun" even is, what it should be used for, and what types of technology should be integrated. Is the murkiness of terms preventing the smart gun from coming to reality, or is it that we just haven't seen the tech work yet?Is the murkiness of terms preventing the smart gun from coming to reality, or is it that we just haven't seen the tech work yet?
The memory of that day will always haunt Oxsana. She is still figuring out how to live her own life in the wake of such tragedy. She describes it as "a new type of existence," a void of trauma, anger, and confusion that only the parent of a child accidentally shot and killed by an unsecured firearm could possibly fathom.The realization that Nicholas is gone still knocks the wind out of Oxsana most days. But before it does, before she rolls out of bed and goes about her life, Oxsana says she feels content—if only for a moment. In these gauzy instants, her waking mind seemingly has not yet reached the conscious state that inevitably triggers the nightmare of December 22, 2010. It's almost like that nightmare never happened.These are fleeting moments. Reality always crashes down, obliterating any feeling of contentedness."It never leaves," Oxsana said. "You just kind of learn how to live with it."Investigators later found the round that hit Nicholas in the head lodged in the wall behind the stove in the kitchen. On the stovetop they noted the bullet exit hole in the black hat Nicholas had been wearing. The gun itself was found back where it started, in the dresser drawer. Officials found it with a half-dozen rounds in the clip and one still in the chamber. It was cocked and ready to fire.*Name changed to protect identity of a minor.With additional reporting by Lara Heintz and Chris O'Coin.Listen to a special episode of Motherboard's pluspluspodcast for more discussion on smart guns and what's keeping them off the market."This technology exists. It could definitely save someone's life in your house."
