Sometimes I read stuff on the internet and facepalm myself at the sheer ridiculousness I just forced my brain to process. The move’s usually triggered by news stories on Congressional pork rinds or the latest escapades of a reality-challenged reality star. And now I’ve wandered upon something that makes me wonder if the Chiappa Firearms Italian mothership has strapped on a jetpack and jumped the symbolic shark . . .

The press release is in Italian, but a quick trip to Google Translate allowed me to get the gist of Chiappa’s new venture. Basically they are incorporating RFID chips into all their new firearms which will . . .

accompany the weapon forever, providing all information earnings – and upgradeable – the production cycle, as well as information commercial property on registration and data. Easy to imagine that the trace of the weapon is a constant almost completely prevented the theft or use other than sport.

From an asset management standpoint, RFID chips actually make sense. Using a simple scanner you can keep track of all your property throughout its lifecycle. From production, through maintenenace and eventually when it has outlived its usefullness, destruction.

But we’re talking about firearms here, not property you leave sitting around in a warehouse. They have very visible serial numbers and to most gun owners that number is a closely guarded secret. This is typically the most fail safe way to ID a firearm. Chiappa says that the chips can’t be re-programmed, but someone somewhere will figure it out.

Which leads me to wonder how much in sales will this end up costing them? While there may be several advantages to this new technology, as it applies to Chiappa’s manufacturing process, I can’t help but wonder how people will abuse it. Tech savvy criminals have already found out how to exploit the RFID chips that are in new credit cards, what’s to stop them from exploiting this new application too?

Time will tell whether Chiappa utilizing this technology is causing unwarranted internet fear mongering or if there really is something to fear here. The optimist in me wants to believe that there really isn’t anything to this story rather than Chiappa wanting to keep better track of their products throughout their manufacturing process.

Unfortunately, the realist in me realizes that anything the Brady Bunch or MAIG would like raises the hair on the back of my neck for a good reason.