My point, which seems to be getting misunderstood, is that exploring additional safety features is not "blaming" guns or somehow diverting attention away from societal issues.
Mandating seatbelts, smoke detectors in residential homes, safety features on power tools, etc, etc... there's countless examples where technology has been used to increase safety, not as an excuse to avoid solving societal issues, but as a complementary tool in addition to education.
So the following statement:
The only people touting "smart guns" as a solution are people who seem to think that firearms are the actual problem.
Is just not an honest argument or debating tactic. It's an appeal to emotion, an ad hominem attack on those who disagree, and I maintain a dog whistle for those who think it's just Big Government yadda yadda yadda.
Of course, given the maturity of the technology, mandating it now is likely the wrong move. I get that government wants to pressure industry to push this technology forward, but there are alternative ways to incentivize that without government regulation.
Still, IMO, having government pushing for this kind of technology makes plenty of sense. And believe that does not require thinking that "firearms are the actual problem".
That's not a rational argument. It's an appeal to emotion, and a bit of a dog whistle.