After years of developmental and regulatory tribulations, “smart guns” may finally hit markets later this year, as several upstart companies are taking concrete action to bring their products to the public. The firearms company LodeStar works has unveiled its 9mm smart handgun in a demonstration for shareholders and investors. Meanwhile, Kansas-based SmartGunz LLC has been beta testing a similar product for police officers. Both companies hope to sell their weapons to the public by the end of this year. Personalized smart guns use fingerprint unlocking or radio identification technology to ensure that they can only be operated users wearing a designated ring or bracelet. Proponents claim that this technology offers a number of safety advantages over traditional firearms. LodeStar co-founder Gareth Glaser claims he was inspired to work at the company by tragic stories of self-injury and death by children playing with unattended guns, and he hopes that a prevalence …