Operating a new gun that's recently gone on sale at one of the largest firearm dealers in California requires a matching watch. Only with it will the gun fire, a safety feature owner James Mitchell, whose shop is the only one in the country currently selling it, said, "could revolutionize the gun industry," according to a detailed article from the Washington Post.

The gun, called the Armatix iP1, transforms from a "paperweight" into a firing weapon when the corresponding watch is in range, at which point a red light turns to green, according to the Post.

The watch is intended to add a new level of safety and responsibility to the gun industry. For one example, children won't be able to get their hands on their parents' guns without also grabbing their watches. Two, users must either wear their watch around the clock -- making the following point moot -- or, if they typically only wear it when they intend to fire their gun (or potentially fire), it adds another step to the process that could possibly prevent injury or death. Three, the gun is highly traceable. Beyond that, even more scenarios exist in which the watch could add to gun safety.

But could the watch also prevent guns from performing when they're needed?

In a poll by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, 44 percent believed "smart guns" would be unreliable, the Post reported. A poster in their glock forum summarized the issue below.

"They can't even make a cellphone that works reliably when you need it, and some dumbass thinks he can make a reliable techno-gadget gun that is supposed to safeguard you in dire circumstances?"

Shortly after, someone replied. "You bet your life."

The NRA worries that a rise in smart guns could lead to a ban on guns without the feature, according to a statement on their website.

"...NRA recognizes that the 'smart guns' issue clearly has the potential to mesh with the anti-gunner's agenda, opening the door to a ban on all guns that do not possess the government-required technology."

Yet, those against guns worry the rise of safer guns will bring those previously apprehensive to ownership into the market, the Post reported. Though their expected sales range depending on the survey and what the survey is specifically asking (one found 71 percent of Americans and 59 percent of gun owners preferred the personalization of guns; another, cited by the NRA, found that just 14 percent of all polled would purchase a smart gun), one gun company owner using similar technology to Armatix considered 14 percent a high number, especially for how much such guns can cost. The Armatix sells for $1,400 plus another $400 for the watch.

"I thought that was actually a huge number," Robert McNamara, co-founder of Trigger­Smart, told the Post. "There is no doubt that a lot of people would buy these guns if they are available."