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  THE WHI TE HOUSE

Of f i ce of t he Pr ess Secr et ar y

For I mmedi at e Rel ease J anuar y 4, 2016

 J anuar y 4, 2016

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURI TY

SUBJ ECT: Pr omot i ng Smar t Gun Technol ogy

For mor e t han 20 year s, t he Federal Gover nment has worked t okeep guns out of t he wr ong hands t hrough background checks. Thi s cr i t i cal ef f or t i n addr ess i ng gun vi ol ence has prevent edmor e t han t wo mi l l i on pr ohi bi t ed f i r ear ms pur chases f r om bei ngcompl et ed. But t ens of t housands of peopl e ar e st i l l i nj ur edor ki l l ed by f i r ear ms ever y year - - i n many cases by guns t hatwer e sol d l egal l y but t hen st ol en, mi sused, or di schar gedacci dent al l y. Devel opi ng and pr omot i ng t echnol ogy t hat woul dhel p pr event t hese t r agedi es i s an ur gent pr i or i t y.

I n 2013, I di r ect ed t he Depar t ment of J ust i ce t o revi ew t heavai l abi l i t y and most ef f ect i ve use of new gun saf et yt echnol ogi es, such as devi ces r equi r i ng a scan of t he owner ' sf i nger pr i nt bef or e a gun can f i r e. I n i t s repor t , t heDepar t ment made cl ear t hat t echnol ogi cal advancement s i n t hi sar ea coul d hel p reduce acci dent al deat hs and the use of st ol enguns i n cr i mi nal act i vi t i es.

Mi l l i ons of dol l ar s have al r eady been i nvest ed t o suppor tr esear ch i nt o a br oad r ange of concept s f or i mpr ovi ng gunsaf et y. We must al l do our par t t o cont i nue t o advance t hi s

r esear ch and encour age i t s pr act i cal appl i cat i on, and i t i spossi bl e to do so i n a way t hat makes t he publ i c saf er and i sconsi st ent wi t h t he Second Amendment . The Federal Gover nmenthas a uni que oppor t uni t y to do so, as i t i s t he si ngl e l ar gestpur chaser of f i r ear ms i n t he count r y. Ther ef or e, by t heaut hor i t y vest ed i n me as Pr esi dent by t he Const i t ut i on and t hel aws of t he Uni t ed St at es of Amer i ca, I her eby di r ect t hef ol l owi ng:

Sect i on 1. Resear ch and Devel opment . The Depar t ment ofDef ense, t he Depart ment of J ust i ce, and the Depart ment of

Homel and Secur i t y ( depar t ment s) shal l , t o t he extent pr act i cabl eand per mi t t ed by l aw, conduct or sponsor r esear ch i nt o gunsaf et y t echnol ogy t hat woul d r educe t he f r equency of acci dent aldi schar ge or unaut hor i zed use of f i r earms, and i mpr ove t het r aci ng of l ost or st ol en guns. Not l at er t han 90 days af t ert he dat e of t hi s memorandum, t he Secretary of Def ense, t heAt t or ney Gener al , and the Secr et ar y of Homel and Secur i t y shal lpr epar e j oi nt l y a r epor t out l i ni ng a r esear ch and devel opmentst r ategy desi gned t o expedi t e t he r eal - wor l d depl oyment of sucht echnol ogy f or use i n pr act i ce.

Sec. 2. Depar t ment Consi derat i on of New Technol ogy. Thedepar t ment s shal l , t o the ext ent per mi t t ed by l aw, r egul ar l y( a) r evi ew t he avai l abi l i t y of t he t echnol ogy descr i bed i nsect i on 1, and ( b) expl or e pot ent i al ways t o f ur t her i t s use anddevel opment t o more br oadl y i mpr ove gun saf ety. I n connect i on

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wi t h t hese ef f or t s, t he depar t ment s shal l consul t wi t h ot heragenci es t hat acqui r e f i r ear ms and t ake appr opr i at e st eps t oconsi der whet her i ncl udi ng such t echnol ogy i n speci f i cat i ons f oracqui si t i on of f i r ear ms woul d be consi st ent wi t h oper at i onalneeds.

Sec. 3. Gener al Pr ovi si ons. ( a) Not hi ng i n t hi smemor andum shal l be const r ued t o i mpai r or ot her wi se af f ect :

( i ) t he aut hor i t y gr ant ed by l aw t o a depar t ment oragency, or t he head t her eof ; or

( i i ) t he f uncti ons of t he Di r ector of t he Of f i ceof Management and Budget r el at i ng t o budget ary,admi ni st r at i ve, or l egi sl at i ve pr oposal s.

( b) Thi s memorandum shal l be i mpl ement ed consi st entwi t h appl i cabl e l aw and subj ect t o t he avai l abi l i t y ofappr opr i at i ons.

( c) Thi s memorandum i s not i nt ended t o, and does not ,creat e any r i ght or benef i t , subst ant i ve or pr ocedur al ,enf or ceabl e at l aw or i n equi t y by any par t y agai nst t heUni t ed St at es, i t s depar t ment s, agenci es, or ent i t i es, i t sof f i cer s, empl oyees, or agent s, or any ot her per son.

Sec. 4. Publ i cat i on. The At t or ney Gener al i s her ebyaut hor i zed and di r ect ed t o publ i sh t hi s memorandum i nt he Federal Register .

BARACK OBAMA

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