Matt Carmel, the inventor of the Palm Pistol, got a pretty fair shake in this story from a Fox affiliate out in Colorado. He believes that the registration was canceled because of politics surrounding the Second Amendment.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms classified it as a standard pistol, but inventor Matthew Carmel wanted to spread the word to senior citizens. So he spoke with the FDA and was advised to register his company as a manufacturer of medical devices and list the pistol as a “daily activity assist device.”
On Monday, the FDA said it had determined the Palm Pistol was “not a medical device,” the Associated Press reported.
Carmel said, “I would assume it’s due to political pressure…I most certainly do see this as a Second Amendment issue.”
There’s also a poll on whether or not the Palm Pistol should be considered a medical device. So far, the results are only about 21% in Matt’s favor. So go click through and tell them what you think.
I like the concept of the palm pistol but it seems a stretch to call something that can give lead poisoning to someone a medical device. But then again, if one believes in euthanasia, it’s a viable concept (chambered in .45).
I think this thing is a “medical device” like guns are “medical issue,” which of course is not at all. I do favor consistency, though, so if JAMA and NEJM insist on treating guns as medicine, then dammit, they should start prescribing them.
21 CFR 890.5050(a) defines a “Daily Activity Assist Device” as follows:
“Identification. A daily activity assist device is a modified adaptor or utensil (e.g., a dressing, grooming, recreational activity, transfer, eating, or homemaking aid) that is intended for medical purposes to assist a patient to perform a specific function.”
Persons missing their index finger, who lack sufficient grip strength to rack a slide, load a cartridge into a magazine, or disassemble the gun for cleaning, cannot manipulate a semi-automatic pistol or revolver.
What is the “medical purpose” you ask? Death is a medical condition and the means by which an adaptive aid firearm mitigates that condition is through extension of life expectency. This is no different that weight loss or smoking cessation programs. How does a hearing aid serve a medical function? Or a wheelchair? Or a cane?
CMS has issued DME (Durable Medical Equipment) codes for host of medical devices. I present for your entertainment the following examples:
A5500 Diabetic Shoes
E100 Canes
A4636 Hand Grip for Cane
E0114 Crutches
E0215 Heating Pads
E0261 Home Care Bed
A4267 Male Condom
A4268 Female Condom
… and I have saved the best for last …
L7070 Impotence Aid (Male Vacuum Erection System)
Shoot, a fella could have great weekend in Vegas with all them thangs! (Slim Pickens as Major T.J. “King” Kong in Dr. Strangelove)
Yup, taxpayer money is being spent to help give the boys a woodie! Now THAT is a medical function. But a device that allows seniors and the disabled to defend themselves from criminal attack? Nope, that’s no medical function. Why? Because it is a gun and we say so. Or shall I say because of political pressure from the usual suspects.
I consider it a badge of honor for the Brady Bunch to have thought so highly of me, they felt compelled to write a press release. The Palm Pistol was satirized on Red Eye and just made mention on Late Night with Jay leno. I do believe I may be in the wrong business. I am going to give Howard J. Rubenstein a call in the AM : )