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The First Fully 3D-Printed Gun Has Been Successfully Test-Fired

On Friday, we mentioned that Defense Distributed had created a (near-enough-to) fully 3-D printed pistol. Sparrowvsrevolution now writes that "Last week, the Liberator was fired for the first time at a firing range and successfully shot a .380 caliber bullet using a remote firing setup. Over the weekend, Defense Distributed's founder, the anarchist and radical libertarian Cody Wilson, was bold enough to try firing it by hand. The results of that test, witnessed by a reporter, indicate that the era of the 3D-printed firearm may be upon us, for better or for worse." Predictably, certain politicians are — so to speak — up in arms about it.

717 comments

  1. That's nice by girlintraining · · Score: 4, Funny

    Predictably, certain politicians are â" so to speak â" up in arms about it.

    Considering how often these gun bills have come up, and then gone flaccid, it's going to take some industrial-strength Viagra to get gun control advocates to mount a campaign to put to bed any criticism and pass the climax of votes necessary for it to become a law.

    --
    #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
    1. Re: That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Nah its about the bribery. The gun industry needs their profits so they lobby for no gun control. 3d printing guns would reduce profits so it must be banned.

    2. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      This isn't about guns, this is about speech (the ability to communicate this design or download the design from the internet). So Congress shouldn't have any problem passing a law. All that they would need is someone to explain that you could design a pressure cooker with it.

    3. Re:That's nice by cold+fjord · · Score: 1, Offtopic

      Although the new technology may have an impact, it appears unlikely there will be significantly more restrictive gun control laws passed at the Federal level in the US. The public and the facts are against it overall. In various states, such as New York, Colorado, and California, there have been a number of new, highly restrictive laws passed, that at least in some cases are unpopular, are opposed by the police, and are unlikely to survive challenges in court. The brilliant governor in New York managed to get a law passed that outlawed even police weapons - New York is in the best of hands although California is a contender as well.

      The idea that ordinary citizens can't protect themselves with guns is ridiculous.

      Tough Targets - When Criminals Face Armed Resistance from Citizens
      Stories That Happened In MI

      What about the murder rate?

      Murder by Numbers

      Gun control's general effect on crime?

      Two Cautionary Tales of Gun Control
      Crime soared with Mass. gun law
      England has worse crime rate than the US, says Civitas study

      Self-Defense: An Endangered Right

      The withdrawal of a basic right of Englishmen is having dire consequences in Great Britain, and should serve as an object lesson for Americans. Today, in the name of public safety, the British government has practically eliminated the citizens’ right to self-defense. That did not happen all at once. The people were weaned from their fundamental right to protect themselves through a series of policies implemented over some 80 years. Those include the strictest gun regulations of any democracy, legislation that makes it illegal for individuals to carry any article that could be used for personal protection, and restrictive limits on the use of force in self-defense. . . .

      Political support for more restrictive nation gun control measures in the US has fallen.

      USA Today: Support for gun control bill falls below 50%
      During a manhunt, 69 percent of voters want a gun
      NRA Has 54% Favorable Image in U.S
      Dems push gun control agenda in DC, but not in battleground states

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    4. Re:That's nice by peragrin · · Score: 1, Interesting

      The three real points to gun control are

      It is a state right not a federal one. Just like drivers licenses , you can't really regulate it at the federal level. Therefore federal laws are mostly worthless.

      and Like pirates with DRM most gun laws only hurt and hinder those who lawfully own the guns. Like the shooting in Newton. The guns were legally locked up and stored. The insane son killed his own mother and then stole her guns. Now gun law would have stopped that.

      Lastly they want to ban guns that look like military weapons but don't actually shoot like military weapons. If you made a paintball marker look like an M-16 it would run against the gun laws that just failed. Being that it would have been full auto it could still be illegal under some of the laws in existence.

      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
    5. Re: That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative

      Because he is the only one who is not talking about 3-D guns. There is the gun control debate and then there is this new development. We should be talking about this new development. It is new. It changes things. Things are different. They are changed. It is wondrous or awful. New thoughts need to be thunk. Maybe old thoughts are still valid. Maybe not. That is why should talk about it and not the same thing we have been talking about over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over again for the previous 6 months. Get it?

    6. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It'll be over for politicians before it's over for gun owners. Geez, don't you pay attention? No one is going to give up guns here. They'll just pass more laws and lose more power. No one is going to obey a law the CANNOT respect. The flip side is; if they try to enforce it. I could then see a revolt.
      I mean if you want, you could push the point of enforcement, then they'll just say "Guns don't kill people, liberals do." That's really what you want to see isn't it? Angry mobs shooting back and forth with cops. Then go figure, while cops are busy, hoodlums will run wild. It'll be the liberals fault. Filthy violent liberals.

    7. Re:That's nice by cold+fjord · · Score: 0, Troll

      Try reading the comment to which I was responding. Is that too much to ask for? I notice you didn't complain about that. Nor did you apparently complain about this comment above:

      Not really. All they need is to fix voting districts which Republicans created to win House despite popular vote going to Democrats and then it's over for gun lovers. Or not game over, because 99% of them current breed of laws won't impact any way at all. Just their pride will be hurt - and arm manufacturers profit.

      Nor did you reply to the gun control comment below this one. It isn't going "off topic," despite the fact that I was responding to an established topic thread, that appears to bother you. Advocating gun control is fine. Sniping at gun owners, the NRA, and Republicans is fine. It is interjecting facts into the discussion that you apparently find disagreeable. Is it because the facts are against your position? Can't we all just agree to be wrong together?

      As to winning debates - facts seem to be far too rarely considered in moderation or "winning" debates on Slashdot. After all, the mob is Slashdot.* Popular prejudices often rule even if they are wrong. I expect you will ultimately be pleased with the moderation of my comment, I've come to expect it. Nonetheless, the facts should be presented for people to consider even if it displeases you. People can decide for themselves.

      Gracchus: I think he knows what Rome is. Rome is the mob. Conjure magic for them and they'll be distracted. Take away their freedom and still they'll roar. The beating heart of Rome is not the marble of the senate, it's the sand of the coliseum. He'll bring them death - and they will love him for it.

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    8. Re:That's nice by flyneye · · Score: 1

      You're new here, aren't you?

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
    9. Re:That's nice by cold+fjord · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      And the predicted outcome arrived before I even finished posting reply to the AC.

      My post - score 0 - off-topic.
      Parent post establishing gun control topic and advocating for it is untouched at 2.
      Post in same thread advocating gun control, voter redistricting, and implicitly slamming Republicans and gun manufacturers is +3.
      Post in same thread by AC slamming gun industry is at +1.

      This isn't about being "off-topic", it is simple viewpoint discrimination. Any topic is fine, you just can't hold unpopular views supported by facts contrary to popular prejudices. Rather progressive I would say. So, when will the next story on "anti-science Texas" be posted?

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    10. Re:That's nice by Freddybear · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Drugs are banned so there are no drugs on the street, right?

    11. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Now gun law would have stopped that.

      Hm, a gun law that would have caused less people to have guns would reduce the likelyhood of this being possible.
      A law that would have required the guns to be locked away with key and PIN only known to owner would have stopped it if followed.
      While questionable from a human rights perspective, forbidding gun ownership for people living with mentally ill people might have stopped it.
      Don't take this as me taking sides in the debate, I just want to point out that the "laws don't make a difference" argument is nonsense at least that broadly stated, if you at least refine your argument the discussion will be a lot more useful IMHO. I absolutely hate how despite there being quite a few good arguments the debate is full of people coming up with lies and nonsense.

    12. Re: That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Because he is the only one who is not talking about 3-D guns.

      Completely false. Did you even read the thread?

    13. Re:That's nice by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2

      [americanthinker.com]

      The fact that you cite an "American Thinker" article makes me think you must have just copy-pasted that mess of misleading and out-and-out phony articles.

      I don't believe there's anyone who reads Slashdot who could also read "American Thinker" without laughing out loud.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    14. Re:That's nice by ElectricTurtle · · Score: 3, Insightful

      "Gun crime" is down. That is not the same as "all crime". You can be beaten to death by somebody who's completely unarmed. Is it really that comforting to know somebody was murdered without a gun instead of with a gun? What nonsense. Hell, if I were picking methods to be murdered by, I'd rather be shot. It's faster and less painful on average than having the shit beat out of you. But yeah, keep singing yourself lullabies about "gun crime" because guns are so important, maybe it will calm you down as you bleed out after some punk shanks you in some dark alley.

      --
      I support the Slashcott and will not be reading or commenting from 2/10/14 to 2/17/14. Beta is steaming pile of dog shit
    15. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      oh, and don't worry. we'll just search every single home to make sure nobody has these banned guns, right? surely there's nothing wrong with that, right? all to make you safer/protect the children/fight terrorism? /facepalm

      Xul is clearly trolling.

    16. Re:That's nice by fearofcarpet · · Score: 3, Insightful

      As to winning debates - facts seem to be far too rarely considered in moderation or "winning" debates on Slashdot.

      While that may be true, you cited the Cato institution, Fox News, something called "gunssavelives.net," the WJS opinion page, opinion pieces in the Boston Globe, The Telegraph, and The Washington Examiner, something called "americanthinker.com," a weasel-worded gallop poll, and an article from the Hill that is quoting the the communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee pointing out that a couple of democrats in Montana and South Dakota aren't toeing the gun-control line. These articles all make the argument that we need more guns and less regulation because guns make us safer. Lastly, you pulled out that old canard that the UK has a higher crime rate than the US to really drive the point home. But you cleverly avoid delving into the type of crime.

      Now, watch this: The rate of firearm-related deaths per capita is 10.23 in the US and 0.25 in the UK. The only countries (of the 75 listed) with higher rates than the US are: Panama, Mexico, Columbia, South Africa, Brazil, Swaziland, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Jamaica. Interestingly, the country with the lowest rate, Japan, has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the world. Of course, I'm not suggesting a causal relationship, but I will point out that the presence of a gun is a prerequisite to any form of gun violence.

      Do you see the difference?

      --
      Actually, I wrote my thesis on life experience.
    17. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Bullshit. There is attacks based on viewpoints in many articles on Slashdot, but it balances out on gun control. There is an enormous libertarian community on Slashdot and they moderate just like anybody else. The reason you were down-modded is because you tried to hijack the thread into a tired gun control debate. Your "extensively researched" post was nothing more than trying to pick a fight. You got called on it. You aren't a victim.

    18. Re:That's nice by msauve · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yep. And it's also illegal to kill another person, which has also stopped the violence!

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    19. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So all drug laws are pointless?

    20. Re: That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Plastic printed guns are a public health issue. In the actual test-firing using a rifle cartridge caused the handgun to explode. Why should I have my health insurance premiums jacked up to offset the insurance companies looses due to paying out on some moron that blew his hand off?

      Reliability is another issue that will keep printed guns from being used by all but the most technophilliac gun nuts. In one of the tests there was a misfire when the firing pin failed to hit the cartridge's primer cap.

      Real gun lovers want reliable guns that fire when needed. All 3d printed guns will do is cause more gun bans to come up in Congress, greatly increasing the statistical odds of one of them passing. If you enjoy your right to bear arms you should adamantly speak out against this reckless self-endangerment that is just begging to be criminalized, dragging the second amendment with it.

    21. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Logic fail. The mother wouldn't illegally have the guns in the first place, she was not a criminal. At least not in the regular sense, but raising a kid like that and knowing he needed medical help and not seeking it, is pretty criminal in itself. The mother also didn't need an assault rifle, she never used it but would regularly be showing it off to anyone that was around here. gun-penis syndrome?

    22. Re:That's nice by cold+fjord · · Score: 1

      I don't believe there's anyone who reads Slashdot who could also read "American Thinker" without laughing out loud.

      Certainly nobody with your immaculate progressive credentials.

      I would be curious to know if you bothered to read it? There is a section in there with implications for the disagreeable problem your hometown has at the moment with gun violence.

      The fact that you cite an "American Thinker" article makes me think you must have just copy-pasted that mess of misleading and out-and-out phony articles.

      No, collected them myself over time actually, and inserted them individually into the post. By "phony" I assume you mean facts that I disagree with?

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    23. Re:That's nice by c0lo · · Score: 1

      Predictably, certain politicians are â" so to speak â" up in arms about it.

      Considering how often these gun bills have come up, and then gone flaccid, it's going to take some industrial-strength Viagra to get gun control advocates to mount a campaign to put to bed any criticism and pass the climax of votes necessary for it to become a law.

      If everybody is able to print their gun, to just who the gun industry will sell one? If their profits are falling, wanna bet how long 'til the "plastic guns" get banned?

      --
      Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
    24. Re:That's nice by xaxa · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The newspaper article links to their source. Their headline is embarrassingly misleading for what's supposed to be a serious newspaper.

      The homicide rate is higher in the USA, the rape rate is higher, the major assault rate is higher, the car theft rate is higher.

      In England and Wales the burglary rate and non-major assault rates are higher.

      Is it really that comforting to know somebody was murdered without a gun instead of with a gun?

      Yes. Knives and sticks are less dangerous: it's far easier to run away, and much clearer what the criminal is intending to do (it takes more movement on their part). It's also very difficult to accidentally kill bystanders.

    25. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep. And it's also illegal to kill another person, which has also stopped the violence!

      Try to legalize drugs and killing and see if the number of occurrences go up or down.

    26. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe you've not noticed, but America has already given up most forms of "arms". One type of the few "arms" still legally able be owned are semi-automatic guns.

      No one is coming for people's guns, they're just working to ban people from buying new ones when their existing guns breakdown due to metal fatigue.

      A one shot plastic gun that melts and sears you with hot plastic after a shot or two when it's not busy blowing your fingers off is not exactly a game changer.

    27. Re:That's nice by DKlineburg · · Score: 1

      As above (in thread) pointed out about being bludgeoned to death being unpleasant. If someone mods a paintball gun to shoot fully auto is it illegal? Are paintballs illegal? If you freeze your paintballs, and have a few buddies with said fully auto guns and you all shoot the same person at a high rate of speed with said frozen paintballs; was the weapon illegal? Or was just the act illegal?

      Just random question meant to bring thinking to this.

      Bad people will do bad things. I do not claim to be smart enough to have a solution to bad things though. I'm not sure either side does.

      --
      Memory is deceptive because it is colored by today's events. - Albert Einstein
    28. Re:That's nice by cold+fjord · · Score: 0

      I'm afraid you're the one slinging bull. If you read the thread you will see that I responded to a gun control thread - that is what started the thread. There were posts advocating gun control - several of them - before I even posted. They were moderated up, and still are. I didn't try to hijack anything. The only thing I did was offer a contrary opinion backed by data. That is why it was modded down. If you can't see that, you either didn't read the thread, or are clueless, or simply agree with the outcome. But don't try to pretend it is anything but what it is - moderation based on intolerance of opposing viewpoints.

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    29. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes. Knives and sticks are less dangerous: it's far easier to run away, and much clearer what the criminal is intending to do (it takes more movement on their part)

      Especially for the old, weak, or handicapped? When they show up in the house? When they are a gang? There are many cases of old men and women with a gun defending themselves successfully against attackers.

    30. Re:That's nice by Salgak1 · · Score: 1

      Honestly, if it got to that point, I'd expect the gun grabs to end after the first week or so. Because after the first innocent dies in a raid, I expect that "grab raids" getting ambushed, and retribution against politcians and members of grab teams(and their families) will likely start. And if it goes beyond that. . .well, there's always the Bracken Scenario. . .

    31. Re: That's nice by Salgak1 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Bad ammo causes weapon damage as well. And plenty of people build their own guns: you can build an AK-format rifle cheaper than buying one, although it DOES take some fairly common shop tools. . . .So the "public health" issue is a straw-man argument. If you really wanted to, you could build a simple single-shot pistol or shotgun with hand tools and perhaps $10-20 of common parts available in any store that sells plumbing supplies. . .

    32. Re:That's nice by Thruen · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Worst. Thinking. Ever. "Current laws aren't 100% effective, so let's not bother with them anymore." This suggests you don't support any law against anything, ever, because it might not be 100% effective. I'm hoping that's not the case, and if it is, may your wish come true and your neighbor shoot you and take your stuff, because laws aren't going to stop him anyway. Beyond that fatal flaw in this silly argument, your comparison is drugs. Certain key differences between the drug and gun markets make it an absurd comparison. Without going into far too much detail, the big difference is that guns start off being sold legally before they hit the streets. I don't mean guns legally purchased are stolen, I mean the laws are so lax that criminals have numerous ways to get them through legal channels. They'll either have someone else purchase the gun for them, or see a corrupt gun dealer to buy them off him. What's important about this? Their means for acquiring guns is still based entirely on the LEGAL AVAILABILITY of them. If they weren't so easily available, there wouldn't be so many on the street. I find it disturbing that so many people gloss over this basic piece of logic. Guns are only so available to criminals because it's so easy so get them legally. Now, I'm not for taking everyone's guns away as NRA nuts seem to think everyone opposed to them is, but I do see a dire need for reform, and polls suggest that almost all of America agrees. The problem is while we're all saying, "Just let us run better background checks and get rid of huge loopholes people use to avoid them!" there's a small percentage of people shouting back "You can't have our freedom! The constitution says we can have guns!" and it's making it impossible to come to an agreement.

    33. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How many of those deaths are drug gang related?

      Also, read up on Japan's police. It's not exactly a shining beacon of freedom.

    34. Re:That's nice by xaxa · · Score: 1

      Yes. Knives and sticks are less dangerous: it's far easier to run away, and much clearer what the criminal is intending to do (it takes more movement on their part)

      Especially for the old, weak, or handicapped? When they show up in the house? When they are a gang? There are many cases of old men and women with a gun defending themselves successfully against attackers.

      No doubt there are also many cases of old men and women being shot by attackers, probably sometimes with their own gun.

    35. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

      If you want to change that there is a process to do so. Until then, which will not happen, you will not ban guns. If you want to live in a gun free society please move to Mexico where guns are banned.

    36. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I see the difference. Do you? Let's see an apples to apples comparison.

      In the low death-from-firearms countries the crime rates are lower, the education systems get results, conviction rates are higher and they don't have a 1,969 mile border with a country at war.

    37. Re:That's nice by Lord+Kano · · Score: 2

      My oldest firearm is 90 years old and it works just like it did in 1923. They're not going to be breaking down within the lifetime of anyone who is alive today.

      LK

      --
      "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
    38. Re:That's nice by cold+fjord · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Now, watch this: The rate of firearm-related deaths per capita . . .

      Do you see the difference?

      Indeed I do. You pulled out that old canard that people shot dead are more dead* than people beaten to death with cricket bats, wrenches, or tire irons, or stabbed to death. You try to divert the question from dead bodies to one of "dead bodies with a bullet in them." Not going to work I'm afraid. Now, watch this. Looking beyond murder, to total violence - the UK, Australia, and much of Europe have more violent crime than the US. Even when it comes to murder, there are a number of European contries with higher rates. This is an interesting general article.

      Murder by Numbers

      Some of the articles I listed address the very interesting question of avoiding being killed to begin with by means of effective self-defense. Did you know that even old men, women, and the infirm have used firearms to protect themselves against thugs, and gangs? When you deny them the right to arm themselves they become victims. Objectively, gun control is pro-thug.

      80-year-old Flint man fires shots at five robbery suspects
      Elderly Woman Shoots at Intruder

      *Or was it their souls go straight to hell? I forget.

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    39. Re: That's nice by kasperd · · Score: 1

      Plastic printed guns are a public health issue.

      How is that different from any other kind of gun?

      --

      Do you care about the security of your wireless mouse?
    40. Re:That's nice by Freddybear · · Score: 0

      Nice pile of strawmen you got there. Nobody but you is saying that laws are no good unless they're 100% effective. And nobody but you is saying that the analogy between drugs and guns is no good unless it's 100% perfect.

      As for background checks and other loopholes, it's just a step towards confiscation. "Oh, your paperwork isn't 100% perfect so you're guilty of a federal felony. We're here to take away your illegal guns now." Your congresscritters gave that game away when they voted against the amendment that would have made it illegal to use background checks to establish a national gun registry.

      Yes, we do have the right to own guns and to carry them, it is in the constitution, right along with the freedom of speech that you probably value. But hey, it's just a piece of paper so let's get rid of the whole inconvenient thing. See, I can do strawmen too.

    41. Re:That's nice by cold+fjord · · Score: 0

      No doubt there are also many cases of old men and women being shot by attackers, probably sometimes with their own gun.

      I expect this sort of thing is quite impossible in your mind.

      80-year-old Flint man fires shots at five robbery suspects
      Elderly Woman Shoots at Intruder

      If only there was more to go on.

      Tough Targets - When Criminals Face Armed Resistance from Citizens

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    42. Re:That's nice by Vanderhoth · · Score: 2

      The way I see this going is at some point someone will print a gun. There will be a defect and the gun will blow up in their hands. Then there will be reason to ban plastic guns. Then because all 3D printers are "used" for is printing guns they'll be the next thing to get banned.

      I say "used" because since using 3D printers to print guns has become such a high profile story most of the ignorant population will just assume that's all 3D printers are for. Kind of like how Torrents are "only" used for piracy. Public perception is the dangerous part of this whole thing, no one's hearing about the great things you can do with 3D printers (printing organ replacements, confections, home prototyping) all they're hearing about is how a nut case group of people think that 3D printing is a great way to distribute lethal weapons to the masses. All it'll take is one "terrorist" to print a gun and kill someone, then 3D printed guns along with 3D printers will be part of the war on terror and outlawed for everyone.

    43. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The Mexican drug cartels are salivating at the possibility of a US gun ban. They would love to be the sole supplier of weapons to their drug networks.

      And contrary to what the President thinks, the US is not the primary supplier of firearms to Mexican drug cartels.

      Even if I concede that Europe is better off because of their gun bans (which I don't), we are not Europe. I live in a rural state. There are many places in my state where if you call the police, you will be lucky if a state police officer shows up in 20 minutes. We also have a long hunting tradition, so we have lots of guns. If you think rural America is going to give up its guns, you are an idiot.

    44. Re: That's nice by ATMAvatar · · Score: 1

      Because now they're worried the guns will inadvertently kill the people who fire them.

      --
      "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
    45. Re:That's nice by Vanderhoth · · Score: 2
      You said

      Drugs are banned so there are no drugs on the street, right?

      In replay to

      if guns were banned, there would have been no guns to steal and kill his mother with. so gun laws would have stopped it.

      That implies that because laws banning drugs aren't 100% effective then there the's no point in making laws to restrict gun use. Therefore Thruen has made a valid argument. I think you need to look up straw-man arguments, because you made one then accused someone else of doing it.

      You're ignorance is showing.

    46. Re:That's nice by Freddybear · · Score: 1

      In case you didn't notice, the quote from Thruen implied the 100% effectiveness of a gun ban.

      Therefore your (not you're) ignorance is showing. Twice.

    47. Re:That's nice by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 1

      All they need is to fix voting districts which Republicans created to win House despite popular vote going to Democrats and then it's over for gun lovers.

      Perhaps you should worry about being able to get a bill through the Senate before you start worrying about fixing the House.

    48. Re: That's nice by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

      ABS makes toxic fumes when printing?

    49. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I wish you were just being sarcastic.

      > Now gun law would have stopped that.

      Hm, a gun law that would have caused less people to have guns would reduce the likelyhood of this being possible.

      AFAICT, we're talking about a single case, which was pretty rare in itself. It's already a less than one-in-a-million type of thing. Likelyhood doesn't apply well, and would not have stopped this single case.

      A law that would have required the guns to be locked away with key and PIN only known to owner would have stopped it if followed.

      It was a legally owned fire arm that was stored locked up. He killed his mother. Do you think he couldn't have beaten the PIN out of her? or, more likely, he'd probably have already known it since he's a member of that household.

      While questionable from a human rights perspective, forbidding gun ownership for people living with mentally ill people might have stopped it.

      He wasn't labeled as mentally ill prior to this event. So, no, it would not have made a difference to this case. (fwiw, that doesn't mean that this isn't a good idea... but it wouldn't have affected this case)

      Don't take this as me taking sides in the debate, I just want to point out that the "laws don't make a difference" argument is nonsense at least that broadly stated, ...

      It seemed very narrowly stated IMO. It was speaking of a single case. It did not say, "No gun law would reduce overall rates of gun violence". It seemed very accurate, and would still be accurate if expanded to, "no gun law would prevent all cases of someone going on a killing spree".

      if you at least refine your argument the discussion will be a lot more useful IMHO. I absolutely hate how despite there being quite a few good arguments the debate is full of people coming up with lies and nonsense.

      I absolutely hate that this case is being used as example to get more gun control in place. It's quite possibly the worst case to use. It has emotional draw, but otherwise there's nothing to go on. Cases where one kid accidentally shoots his friend/dog/sibling/etc would make much more sense to use as an example for increased gun control. Hunting mistakes are better examples. The Waco, Texas compound makes for a good example. This kids rampage was just a very unfortunate and sad story.

    50. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

      Objectively, gun control is pro-thug.

      Problem is, (1). surely the Police should be sorting out these problems rather than individuals taking the law into their own hands, (2). you give examples of older people using guns to defend themselves... but you're missing the point that they still needed to do that, so the guns DID NOT PREVENT crimes being at least attempted, (3). I have no data, but I rather suspect that given a thug/criminal with a gun vs. decent, law-abiding individual with a gun, in most situations, the former will have the upper hand on account of the fact that the law-abiding individual isn't expecting whatever crime that's happening to happen right then.

    51. Re:That's nice by asylumx · · Score: 0, Troll

      Studies show that among people who are involved in firearm-related crimes, those victims who carry guns are 4.46x more likely to get shot than those victims who aren't carrying guns: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19762675 Protection, my ass.

    52. Re:That's nice by asylumx · · Score: 1, Insightful

      We should legalize murder, then, right? Criminals don't follow the law anyway.

    53. Re:That's nice by BrokenHalo · · Score: 1

      Especially for the old, weak, or handicapped? When they show up in the house? When they are a gang?

      You're right. I'm going to have to watch out for those gangs of old, handicapped burglars showing up in my house.

    54. Re:That's nice by fearofcarpet · · Score: 0, Troll

      Nope. I used quantifiable phenomena--i.e., facts--rather than other peoples' opinions and avoided making arbitrary comparisons.

      Good for you for digging up some numbers about murder rates, but good luck convincing anyone that the threat of roving gangs is so severe that arming the elderly is a moral imperative. I suppose you could threaten them with a gun, but that might backfire... literally and figuratively.

      Hey, maybe we can transplant the brains of pensioners into armored cyborgs and they can carry giant, automatic pistols where their quadriceps used to be: "Citizen, get off of my lawn. You have ten seconds to comply! Ten... Nine..." Unfortunately for me throngs of tire-iron wielding maniacs aren't a problem where I live, so I only point guns at ducks, skeet, and targets.

      --
      Actually, I wrote my thesis on life experience.
    55. Re:That's nice by gorzek · · Score: 1

      I guess we'll have to wait until there's a rash of killings committed with home-printed plastic guns before there will be any legal response.

      Even then, I wouldn't consider its odds of success any better than a coin toss.

    56. Re: That's nice by jeffmeden · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Reliability is another issue that will keep printed guns from being used by all but the most technophilliac gun nuts. In one of the tests there was a misfire when the firing pin failed to hit the cartridge's primer cap.

      Real gun lovers want reliable guns that fire when needed. All 3d printed guns will do is cause more gun bans to come up in Congress, greatly increasing the statistical odds of one of them passing. If you enjoy your right to bear arms you should adamantly speak out against this reckless self-endangerment that is just begging to be criminalized, dragging the second amendment with it.

      The real challenge to gun enthusiasts is steady supply of reliable ammunition. There are only so many primers and reusable casings out there, and good quality lead forging is pretty challenging. This is really the core of why 3d gun printing is so puzzling. there are already so many guns in the US that even if all manufacturers were forced out of existence (amazingly unlikely) and government-sponsored gun roundups were started (another layer of near-impossibility) there are still enough guns to arm tens of millions of "rebels" to support the inevitable uprising.

      Then again, they say we are due for a meteor to hit, too.

    57. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Laws banning drugs are not affect law abiding citizens.
      Laws restricting guns are making women and senior citizens targets of crime because they are unable to defend themselves.

      Why do you hate women and the elderly so much?

    58. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've seen what the elderly can do with cars. How many have shot and killed relatives thinking they were intruders? Protip: > 0 is too many.

    59. Re:That's nice by BadDreamer · · Score: 1, Redundant

      It takes a much more desperate and callous perpetrator to beat someone to death with a cricket bat than to pull a trigger in a fit of panic. Guns are the great equalizer, indeed, but that mostly serves the criminal. Even a perpetrator who is in no physical condition to beat someone to death with a tire iron can kill individuals or even groups with ease using a firearm.

      Gun control is only pro-thug when thugs are allowed free reign. If that is the country you want, with thugs roaming freely and citizens forced to act as vigilantes, then you're getting your wish with current US policies. I'm much happier living in a society where thugs are held sufficiently in check that widespread access to firearms would be a net negative in all respects. But of course, such a society inhibits the "right" to carry implements designed to kill humans.

    60. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who would want that plastic gun anyway? The serious gun owner want a gun that doesn't break after a few shots. The plastic gun is almost useless for defense, because it is so unreliable.

      Also, it is useless for airport terrorists. Machines (and dogs) notice if you try to bring explosives onboard. The cartridges contain explosives for firing the bullet - and is therefore detectable even if the gun won't trigger metal detectors.

      You won't succeed in bringing a gunpowder bomb onto a plane - and you won't be able to bring this thing for the same reasons. A use-once plastic gun might be useful for murdering someone - but you might as well use an ordinary gun and throw it away afterwards. That is cheaper than getting a 3D printer.

      And the 3D printer is not needed. There are many other ways of making guns without metal working. Drill a hole for a cartridge in a block of plastic - or a block of wood. Use the same trick with a nail for a firing pin. Easier than the 3D printer - no need to figure out how to get the 3D printer software onto your computer and all that. A wooden use-once gun is the simplest of all.

    61. Re:That's nice by BadDreamer · · Score: 1

      It takes a lot of crazy and a lot of strength to beat someone to death without weapons. It takes enough strength to point a weapon and pull a trigger to kill someone with a firearm. The available pool of would be murders who can use a gun to kill is orders of magnitudes larger than the available pool of murderers who can take on an average citizen unarmed with a lethal outcome.

      Gun control is important. And so is staying out of dark alleys with punks with shanks. Guns are not relegated to dark alleys, someone who has a gun can quickly kill you in broad daylight and get away with it. Not that easy with a shank, and much, much harder unarmed.

    62. Re:That's nice by xaxa · · Score: 1

      "Woman shoots intruders" makes a good story, "woman shot by intruders" is just a regular day in the USA.

      Nevertheless, here's a couple of articles:
      http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/131161/
      http://www.topix.com/forum/city/noble-la/TR15JA061K07R7VC6
      http://omaha.com/article/20120912/NEWS/120919892

      Continuing is pointless without some statistics. The report you link to has some, and prints in bold "The data set contains only 11 stories out of 4,699 where a criminal took a gun away from a defender; the reverse was reported more than 20 times more often.", but in the text notes that this is because the dataset didn't collect data where the defender was injured.

      http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-kellermann.htm shows a different side.

      Frankly, I don't care to debate this -- I'm happy with the situation in my country, presumably you like your country's approach, and arguing over the Web is rarely useful.

    63. Re:That's nice by redmid17 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You'll notice they do not control for legal carry versus illegal carry among a number of other quite obvious and important factors. That study is pretty much worthless.

    64. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The first thing you should note:

      METHODS:

      We enrolled 677 case participants that had been shot in an assault and 684 population-based control participants within Philadelphia, PA, from 2003 to 2006. We adjusted odds ratios for confounding variables.

      Does Philadelphia represents the entire US?

      Second thing to note, from the full article rather than the abstract:

      However, compared with control participants, shooting case participants were significantly more often Hispanic, more frequently working in high-risk occupations1,2, less educated, and had a greater frequency of prior arrest. At the time of shooting, case participants were also significantly more often involved with alcohol and drugs, outdoors, and closer to areas where more Blacks, Hispanics, and unemployed individuals resided. Case participants were also more likely to be located in areas with less income and more illicit drug trafficking (Table 1).

      Again, does the above represent the entire US?

    65. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate

      You are 4 times more likely to be murdered in the United States than in the United Kingdom.

      There are very few (if any) European countries that come even close to the rate of intentional homicides in the United States. The average of all European countries is somewhere around 3 times (or more) lower than that of the United States.

      But you think like an 'American', I just wasted 2 minutes of my time.

    66. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      victims who carry guns are 4.46x more likely to get shot

      Do you suppose maybe that's because people likely to get shot decide they should carry a gun, or because guns are like a magic magnet that attract other people with guns and make them want to kill you? People don't get shot because they carry a gun. They carry a gun because they (obviously rightly) feel like they might get in a shootout.

      The trouble with that study is that it started with the group people who had failed to defend themselves against firearms assaults and then sought to relate that to the general population. It assumes that everyone with a bullet hole in them is the same socio-economic category as a random sampling of Philadelphia residents.

    67. Re:That's nice by oreaq · · Score: 3, Informative

      Try to legalize drugs and killing and see if the number of occurrences go up or down.

      It has been tried with drugs in a couple of European countries. Hard drug (Cocaine, Heroin) use has decreased in all cases I know of (Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands). It has also been tried locally in a couple of European cities with the same effect. The results for soft drugs are inconclusive. What is your point?

    68. Re:That's nice by BLKMGK · · Score: 1

      Well consider the audience. I once sat through a discussion at DEFCON about "survival" should the worst happen. Speaker said he didn't like guns or violence and would try to bargain and trade for goods when someone came calling looking for things to survive. This is what's known as a "victim" and the first time someone came knocking they would take everything he had. But he still really believed that he could make it.... This is the mentality you face when talking common sense about this stuff with this group - fantasy land.

      --
      Build it, Drive it, Improve it! Hybridz.org
    69. Re:That's nice by sulimma · · Score: 2

      Even when it comes to murder, there are a number of European contries with higher rates.

      Yes. Greenland. A country where most people own a firearm. Also Estonia and Lithuania. Poor countries.

      All other european countries, even countries who where in civil war a few years ago have murder rates a factor of 2 to 8 lower than the US.
      http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/homicide.html
      The link you posted ranks the US, one of the richest nations in the world, at place 103 of 180 countries in murder rate. Something you can be proud of!
      Virtually all countries at comparable development to US have murder rates much lower than the US.

    70. Re:That's nice by executioner · · Score: 1

      if gun violence was the ONLY type of violent crime I would agree with you. But it is not. each of those countries has a much higher VIOLENT crime rate than the US, and while the GUN crime is down it is hardley reassuring when the other crime goes up.

      --
      "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
    71. Re: That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Plastic printed guns are a public health issue.

      How is that different from any other kind of gun?

      You can take a plastic one through a metal detector without setting it off, which is the primary concern with these. (Of course they don't mention the issue of the ammunition still being detectable, but hey why ruin some good Fear Mongering?)
      Then there is the less discussed issue of production, it's easier for the "average joe" to pick up a 3-D printer and whip a bunch of these out than it is for him to setup a metal shop and machine a metal firearm. But in this regard they're more concerned about people printing up high-capacity magazines for use in regular guns.

    72. Re:That's nice by edawstwin · · Score: 2

      Problem is, (1). surely the Police should be sorting out these problems rather than individuals taking the law into their own hands

      As the saying goes, "When seconds count, the police are only minutes away." These individuals are not "taking the law into their own hands". They are taking their lives into their own hands.

      And it is not the police's job to protect citizens. See Warren v. District of Columbia

      --
      I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it by not dying. - Woody Allen
    73. Re: That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Plastic printed guns are a public health issue. In the actual test-firing using a rifle cartridge caused the handgun to explode. Why should I have my health insurance premiums jacked up to offset the insurance companies looses due to paying out on some moron that blew his hand off?

      The same reason you are paying higher premiums because of obesity and smokers. You all voted for the democrats, you all wanted this "were all in it together" mentality. Now you get to pay for it.

      I have no idea how you voted, but if you don't like paying for others {stupidity|laziness|ignorance} whatever... Start voting outside the 2 party paradigm and stop with the "that's throwing your vote away". Because that is only true when you buy into that mentality and keep it alive.

    74. Re:That's nice by cold+fjord · · Score: 1

      If you had bothered to read Murder by Numbers you would have a more useful understanding. Many American states have murder rates below common European rates, and European Americans tends to commit murder at rates typical for other Europeans. And the United States tends to have less violent crime than Europe. So yes, you probably did waste your time going to Wikipedia instead.

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    75. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      From the first article:

      In over 52% of the murders in the US in 2011 in which the race of the murderer was known, the murderer was black. Over half of the victims of murder were also black. But blacks are only 13.6% of the population. Put all that together, and the murder rate in the US for non-blacks was more like 2.6 per 100,000 in 2011.

      As Peter Baldwin put it in his book, The Narcissism of Minor Differences, "Take out the black underclass from the statistics, and even American murder rates fall to European levels."

      This seems to assume that there are no blacks (or minorities for that matter) in Europe.
      The fact is that there are also minorities there, and crime rates are also disproportionally high among those communities, so if you're doing a fair comparison, you'd need to either go with the initial numbers, or remove "black murders" from the European numbers as well.

      The chart showing the US in the middle of a bunch of countries for homicide rate is also laughable. Look at the countries to the left of the US: all of them have severe social problems or are involved in ongoing armed conflict. The first "civilized" country to the right is Luxembourg, but it should be noted that: 1) it's also legal to carry firearms there, and 2) crime rate statistics for Luxembourg are always inflated because about half of the population actually lives out of the country (it's actually an independent city-state), so the rate of crimes is divided by the living population. See Monaco at the end of the list? Same deal.

      Using Switzerland is also a bit of a red herring. As far as I know (but I admit could be wrong here) almost every Swiss male is in the reserve army. Meaning they are required to keep their firearms at reach, but they do not actually get any ammunition. The idea being that in the case of conflict, munitions can be distributed quickly.

      I'm not going to go through the rest of the article since it's already clear it's biased to hell, and attempting to sell a point.
      Funny that the website's name is "American Thinker". Food for thought.

    76. Re:That's nice by cervesaebraciator · · Score: 2
      Indeed. Also, re: 1), my right to defend myself does not require the permission or even recognition of any other person, governing body, or law enforcement. It comes from the fact that I am human. Further:

      (2). you give examples of older people using guns to defend themselves... but you're missing the point that they still needed to do that, so the guns DID NOT PREVENT crimes being at least attempted,

      The presence or absence of guns will not change human nature. People will try to kill people, with pointy sticks or bare hands if needs be. These examples weren't about preventing that from happening, but about giving the weak a better fighting chance than they'd have with bare hands.

      (3). I have no data, but I rather suspect that given a thug/criminal with a gun vs. decent, law-abiding individual with a gun, in most situations, the former will have the upper hand on account of the fact that the law-abiding individual isn't expecting whatever crime that's happening to happen right then.

      Perhaps. It does not follow from this, however, that one ought to increase the thug/criminal's advantages.

    77. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I love when people site the rate of murders by guns in the US vs the UK and then totally ignore the overall murder rate like it's better to be murdered by a knife or hammer or fists than with a gun. (incidentally, all of those murder more than all long guns which sort of makes the entire "assault rifles" must be banned rather moot.) To add to this, the UK is considering a ban on "pointed kitchen knives", the "reason", "no one needs a pointed kitchen knife", now, why does that sound familiar. Funny we are not trying to ban, register and require background checks for pressure cookers and fireworks. Facts have never been and will never be a part of this. This is why every time gun control is pushed, the arguments are always emotional based with lots of "think of the children", "if we can save one child" rhetoric with the complimentary accusations of racism thrown in for good measure. Flame on!

    78. Re:That's nice by cervesaebraciator · · Score: 1

      It assumes that everyone with a bullet hole in them is the same socio-economic category as a random sampling of Philadelphia residents.

      Which is obviously untrue. People with bullet holes in them are far more representative of residents of Camden.

    79. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We have legalized killing people in some situations. In many states a home intruder can be killed under nearly any circumstances.

      And the point with drugs is that it hasn't made *any* reduction in drug use over the years while vastly harming society. And it will be the same with guns. The same number of criminals will use them, only law abiding citizens will, by definition, no longer be able to protect their homes or exercise their 2nd amendment rights.

      Just another moral crusade against yucky guns that considers that lack of any positive outcomes as an unimportant fact.

    80. Re:That's nice by fearofcarpet · · Score: 1

      Interestingly, I live in Europe and have yet to be killed by the roaming death-squads that are apparently rampant here. However, when I lived in the US I was shot at multiple times. Usually because some idiot was shooting downhill or mistook me getting off the school bus for a dear and only occasionally by our local lunatic that sat on his back porch shooting at anything that moved. Oh, and once or twice because I was "a damn hippie," but fortunately they were too drunk to hit the broad side of a barn.

      But my point was about the lose definition of the word "fact." As in, according to Slashdot it is a well-known fact that Europe is a violent anarchist paradise and that the lack of guns here just breeds more tire iron and cricket bat assaults... usually against the elderly, who cower in fear, wishing they had the liberty to own a gun with which they could keep the kids off of their lawn.

      --
      Actually, I wrote my thesis on life experience.
    81. Re: That's nice by dskoll · · Score: 1

      Because now they're worried the guns will inadvertently kill the people who fire them.

      And that's a problem... how?

    82. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've seen what the elderly can do with cars.

      How many have shot and killed relatives thinking they were intruders?
      Protip: > 0 is too many.

      Bullshit. It depends what benefit you get in exchange for those shootings.
      And if your reaction is "But, you can't place a dollar value on a human life!", first, you damn well can, and second, even if not, you can certainly weigh human lives against human lives.

      1 accidental shooting in exchange for 100 criminal shootings stopped would be a clear win.
      (I'm not saying that's at all a reasonable estimate, just a constructed counter-example.)

      You're trying to do a cost/benefit analysis while ignoring any benefits -- this is just as dishonest as the folks on the other side who try to do a cost/benefit analysis while ignoring any benefits, and would ask "how many crimes are stopped by law-abiding citizens with guns? protip: > 0 means guns are a force for good!" with the same goddamn smug sense that they've just won the argument you have.

      If you want to claim rationality, you need to (1) estimate the costs, (2) estimate the benefits, and (3) compare them. Anything else makes you a liar and a scumbag.

    83. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You correctly point out that Nancy Lanza, the mother of the Sandy Hook murderer, was the lawful owner of the guns her son used to butcher 20 children and 6 staff.

      Had the federal assault rifle ban been prolonged, then she still would have been the (albeit deceased) lawful owner of several less lethal weapons, but her son's death toll would have stopped much, much lower.

      Some of the lives spared that day were children who fled the classroom when he stopped to reload. Not only that: If only he'd been forced to pause and reload early and often, somebody could have grabbed him for the few seconds needed for others to close in -- that's all that was needed to stop the shooter at the Tuscon shooting (when congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot in the head). Even the Tuscon shooting could have ended better if the shooter would have had to stop and reload sooner.

      Would a few armed bystanders be able to help in those situations? Probably -- you don't need a drum clip and an assault rifle to land a disabling shot, or even provide a little suppressive fire to buy people a few seconds to escape.

      Personally, I'm all for controlling even simpler sidearms -- I live in Israel, a country where your highest chance of being murdered by a firearm is by being the spouse of a flipped out security guard. There is a law forbidding them from taking their weapons home from work, but it isn't enforced.

      Looking at the USA, though, I realize things could be much, much worse. Here's to hoping you guys manage to fix it in the upcoming rounds!

    84. Re:That's nice by SirGarlon · · Score: 1
      GP's article goes on to say:

      In over 52% of the murders in the US in 2011 in which the race of the murderer was known, the murderer was black. Over half of the victims of murder were also black. But blacks are only 13.6% of the population. Put all that together, and the murder rate in the US for non-blacks was more like 2.6 per 100,000 in 2011. As Peter Baldwin put it in his book, The Narcissism of Minor Differences, "Take out the black underclass from the statistics, and even American murder rates fall to European levels."

      That's a bit of an exaggeration, since 2.6 per 100,000 is still more than double the murder rate of major European countries like Poland and Spain.

      Now, I take away a different message from that article than GP intended: middle-class white people generally don't need to be afraid of getting shot, even in the US. More guns will not make them safer.

      How to address black-on-black violence in the US is a very different subject.

      --
      [Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
    85. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      1)Gun ownership is not a Human Right

      It would seem that in the US, it is. It says so in our Constitution. We made sure it was so that tyrants like the one in Britain that we defeated in the revolution could not take that basic right of self defense away from the people.

    86. Re:That's nice by Thruen · · Score: 1

      I never claimed it would be 100% effective, I was pointing out that saying we shouldn't have it because it wouldn't be 100% effective is not logical. So really, if you were paying attention, I was saying it won't be 100% effective but we should do it anyway because it will help.
      As for your right to own a gun, I'm alright with that, unless you specifically want to own assault weapons, which is just crazy. Before you respond, here's my reasoning, simplified for your simple mind. Whatever is easy for your average joe to get will be easy for criminals to get. An AR for home defense is an accident waiting to happen, odds are your home will not be invaded by anything you need more than a couple shots to take down, because as many who oppose gun control will tell you most crimes committed using firearms are committed with handguns, not assault weapons. If you think you need an AR to fight against the tyranny of the government, one possibility is you expect to fight the military, in which case you are hopelessly outgunned anyway, not to mention that possibility depends on the military (made up of people like you and I) being alright with attacking their friends and families. The next possibility is civil war, in which case you're fighting your neighbors (probably even moreso than in the first civil war) and being able to own an AR yourself means so can they, so that doesn't really work out. After this handful of situations we have invasion by another country, which would also result in you being hopelessly outgunned. I'm probably missing some example, but you get where this is going, there's no real benefit to owning assault weapons.
      The second amendment does not say you have a right to buy the biggest gun ever made just so you can imagine something else was that big, I'm sure if they knew what an effective killing tool firearms would turn into they would've been a bit more restrictive even then. Now, I respect the constitution and I think it's an important document that establishes certain basic rights, but even the folks who wrote it made it easy to change because they knew it wasn't perfect. I really think people need to stop pointing to a 200 year old document as if it's infallible. And I'm sure you'll shoot back and tell me how disrespectful it is to say that or how unpatriotic I'm being, but if you ask me that's backwards. The Constitution was never intended to be unalterable, that's why they created a process to allow changes to be made to it, it's only supposed to need a majority vote. And unlike the first amendment, that could realistically happen with the second.
      Finally, let me tell you that as a gun owner myself, I don't think they need to take away all firearms and I don't think it'd ever happen, despite people saying requiring paperwork is the first step towards that. Where I live, paperwork has been required for as long as I can remember, and my first time filling it out I did make a mistake. I didn't go to jail, I was never charged or fined or even spoken to by the police. I had to fill the form out again. Wow! Huge hassle to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, right? If you do something stupid, like lie about a criminal conviction, it probably isn't an accident and I hope they do make a federal case out of it as well as keep you from owning a gun. As for your gun registry concerns, I fail to see the huge problem with a gun registry. I have a big problem with all of the other information the government seems to be collecting, such as yesterday's story about them saving all digital communications, but a national gun registry seems like a fantastic idea. If every recovered bullet could be compared to a database of bullets fired from guns prior to their sale, it'd make finding murder weapons much easier. They'd still need to actually find it and perform all the usual tests, but if they can quickly find the original purchaser it could speed things up.

    87. Re:That's nice by abhisri · · Score: 1

      You pulled out that old canard that people shot dead are more dead* than people beaten to death with cricket bats, wrenches, or tire irons, or stabbed to death.

      So how good do you rate your chances of beating to death, a fleeing victim who is 10 feets away from you, with just a cricket bat, wrench or tire iron?

      Also, If you did NOT have guns being sold like chewing gum everyplace, the thugs and gangs might have a harder time procuring one too. Works for Japan and Singapore at any rate.

    88. Re:That's nice by QuantumPion · · Score: 1

      Murder is inherently wrong. Owning a gun is not.

    89. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The question is where to draw the line.

      Should handgrenades be illegal? They make for one heck of a deterrent / defensive weapon, good people will not do anything bad with them, and proper handling reduces, just like with guns, the risk of accidents.
      And why can't I have a rocket launcher or land mines? I could sure motivate myself to learn how to handle both perfetcly fully within the confines of the law, so from my point of view there would be no problem. ...

      Actually, I think that bludgeons and knives belong on one side of this line, while guns, handgrenades, etc. are on the other.

      captcha: botulism

    90. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What the FUCK were you doing to get shot at so many times?

      I don't know a SINGLE PERSON who has ever been shot at. Not ONE. And I have lived in Texas for 30 years. Gun culture central.

      I invite you to go for a walk at night in your local urban population center if you are so certain that you won't be assaulted.

      Also, why don't you go to Mexico and do the same. Guns are illegal there, so yo should feel perfectly safe. Remember, the US is right next to Mexico, and we have drug cartels in practically every population center in the US. What happened there will most assuredly happen here.

    91. Re:That's nice by abhisri · · Score: 1

      Actually, if the other guy has a gun too, logically your best bet at survival is to shoot and kill him first. If you do NOT do that, AND you are trespassing, you stand a high chance of being killed... especially because US laws allow the home-owners to kill you.

      If you are trespassing, and the other guy does NOT have a gun, then you have the option of NOT murdering him since you yourself are at no risk. He will lose his stuff, but you will probably not risk a death sentence, if you were masked and he couldn't identify you.

      Socio-economics do not matter. If we both had a gun, and you were pointing at me, I WOULD shoot first, to save myself. And burglars are the ones who would shoot first, since you are legally allowed to kill them anyways.

    92. Re: That's nice by Salgak1 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Which is an amusing thought: the shop tools required to build, for example, an AK rifle from a de-milled parts kit and a 20-dollar flat are cheaper than buying a 3-D printer. And printer filament isn't cheap either: I would wager that you could purchase everything you need to build an AK-format rifle, **including tooling**, for less than many 3D printers. And that's buying NEW tools. . .

    93. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Apparently she was in the process of having him committed having recognized that he needed help and it was this that supposedly set him off when he found out. She was trying to do the responsible thing...

      Who are you to define what someone needs? How do you know that she "never used it" but apparently are ignorant of her efforts to have her son committed? Seems to me she might have wanted to use it when he tried to kill her...

    94. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, they're very effective at putting lots of black people in jail.

    95. Re:That's nice by cold+fjord · · Score: 1

      However, when I lived in the US I was shot at multiple times. Usually because some idiot was shooting downhill or mistook me getting off the school bus for a dear and only occasionally by our local lunatic that sat on his back porch shooting at anything that moved. Oh, and once or twice because I was "a damn hippie," but fortunately they were too drunk to hit the broad side of a barn.

      I think you are probably mistaken. If there was shooting going on, I doubt it was directed at you. Most likely it would have been aimed at the trolls that seem to be circling you. Trolls used to be the big targets before zombies came along.

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    96. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Locking up killers is to keep them from harming others again (while in prison, at least). Locking up drug users just costs a lot of money and serves no real purpose other than to punish the poors and blacks disproportionately (rich white people can opt for rehab and house arrest).

    97. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think that technically makes it a civil right rather than a human right, but you're correct - the 2nd explicitly uses the word "right" to keep and bear arms.

    98. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This ^ is exactly why gun control won't work. Ironicly the same people who ignore the drug laws to manufacture and sell drugs are also usually the same people who ignore gun laws and buy / sell / use guns obtained illegally. They already freely move both over international borders with impunity, so how is it that tougher laws are going to make any difference?

    99. Re:That's nice by tqk · · Score: 1

      You ought to watch Gladiator again, but turn up the sound. I've watched it often enough to know that's really, "... The beating heart of Rome is not the marvel of the senate ..."

      I'm still wondering how (Julius) Caesar's assassins managed to get past the Praetorian Guard on their way out.

      Strength and honour.

      --
      "Tongue tied and twisted, just an Earth bound misfit ..." -- Pink Floyd.
    100. Re:That's nice by void* · · Score: 2

      Problem is, (1). surely the Police should be sorting out these problems rather than individuals taking the law into their own hands

      1) Defending yourself is not taking the law into your own hands. Even in "castle doctrine" states, the legal standard is generally a "reasonable person" standard, not a "whatever the guy decided/believed at the time is ok" standard - which is something that people critical of castle doctrine tend to completely ignore.
      2) The police have no obligation whatsoever to do anything at all. They have no legal obligation to protect specific individuals, except in cases where they've specifically promised such protection. Their duty is to society as a whole, not any individual. The law on this varies state to state, of course, but it's pretty generally true. That they are not legally obligated to does not mean they will not try, but leading into the next point ...
      3) It is unrealistic to expect the police to be able to defend you in the first place. They may have too many high priority calls to get to them all. They may not get there in time even if they do respond. This is basically the reason *why* point 2 is the case - and *realistically*, you can expect it to be more likely that they will show up after whatever happened is already over, and less likely that they will be able to show up in time to affect the outcome.

      --


      Code or be coded.
    101. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Here's a list of states in the US with castle doctrine laws. Philadelphia is in Pennsylvania. Is Pennsylvania on that list?

    102. Re:That's nice by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      Especially for the old, weak, or handicapped? When they show up in the house? When they are a gang?

      You're right. I'm going to have to watch out for those gangs of old, handicapped burglars showing up in my house.

      Alright, give us all the Viagra and Geritol, and nobody gets hurt...

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    103. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The overall murder rate in the US is 2-3x that of Canada, and even greater than the rest of the "western" first-world democracies (Western Europe, Japan, Australia). The difference in firearm-related murders, of course, much higher.

      The way more "violent crime" argument is apple and oranges. What the UK counts as violent crime is much different than what the US does.

      http://blog.skepticallibertarian.com/2013/01/12/fact-checking-ben-swann-is-the-uk-really-5-times-more-violent-than-the-us/

      American Thinker should be renamed American Cherrypicker. Anyone who finds that site compelling is seriously lacking in the critical thinking department.

    104. Re: That's nice by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      So silly, it's not the gun manufacturers. You think NY's 7 round magazine law was bad for business. Now suddenly every gun owner in NY needed new magazines. Which could be sold for a premium. Nope, that was good for gun manufacturers.

      Even banning civilian gun ownership would really only hurt the small manufacturers. Nope, the gun lobby is often dragged kicking and screaming by gun owners.

      Check out the Pennsylvania Outdoor Show, in which the NSSF (gun lobby) tried to be gentle, and we tore the gun lobby a new one. Until they got on board with the general gun owning public.

    105. Re:That's nice by cold+fjord · · Score: 1

      So how good do you rate your chances of beating to death, a fleeing victim who is 10 feets away from you, with just a cricket bat, wrench or tire iron?

      The typical thug has a pretty good chance of beating to death a fleeing vicitm that is 10 feet away, initially, especially if they are old or handicapped. Walk with a cane? Wham! In a wheelchair? Wham! 67 years old? Wham!

      Two or three thugs and one victim? Wham! That thug might even just be faster than you are. Wham! Oh, no! You slipped in the mud. Wham!

      So. . . are you planning to be young and healthy forever? I assume so. Don't be surprised if it doesn't turn out that way.

      Also, If you did NOT have guns being sold like chewing gum everyplace

      You know that doesn't really happen, right?

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    106. Re: That's nice by Nyder · · Score: 2

      Bad ammo causes weapon damage as well. And plenty of people build their own guns: you can build an AK-format rifle cheaper than buying one, although it DOES take some fairly common shop tools. . . .So the "public health" issue is a straw-man argument. If you really wanted to, you could build a simple single-shot pistol or shotgun with hand tools and perhaps $10-20 of common parts available in any store that sells plumbing supplies. . .

      Zip gun time...

      --
      Be seeing you...
    107. Re:That's nice by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      Now, watch this: The rate of firearm-related deaths per capita [wikipedia.org] is 10.23 in the US and 0.25 in the UK.

      I love this statistic. It is so fun to play with.

      who are we including in "firearm deaths" suicides? dont count them let darwin do his thing. Gang wars? dont count them either, they are just assisting the police in taking out the gangs.

      Also why do the gun control people only every like to point out firearm related deaths? why does it seem like other deaths, which are much more prevalent, are not as important to you? Also why does violent crime not bother you? other places have a higher violent crime rate than in america where guns are easily available.

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    108. Re:That's nice by phlinn · · Score: 1

      You can fix those if you also fix the districts created to give seats to democrats. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Texas_redistricting is pretty strong evidence that it does go both ways, although I'm not aware of any objective measure of which party benefits more from the practice. It probably varies from year to year.

      --
      "Pulling together is the aim of despotism and tyranny! Free men pull in all sorts of directions" -- Havelock Vetinari
    109. Re:That's nice by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      Funny, you hit the nail on the nose. It's a free speech (distribution of information) issue. And yet you get modded down for the truth.

      Please mod this as insightful.

    110. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When talking about drug laws the problem is not that they aren't 100% effective. The problem is that the minimal value of effectivness contrasted with the opportunity cost of criminalization (ie. making criminals out of people who's only crime is being stupid) makes it a poor method of problem control. If you look at the ratio of drug users before they were illegal compared to now it's not just that it's not 100% effective. The problem is worse now than it ever has been. In other words, it's not solving the problem AT ALL. I think it's far more advantageous to stop locking people up for using drugs (which creates criminals where there were none before), and start approaching the problem as though we actually intend to solve it. Social scorn is a good demotivator. Entertainment industry could stop glorifying stupidity and that might help as well. Employers have every right to not want a workforce that's all whacked out / smashed. Government assistance should be absolutely denied to drug abusers. You need aid? Can't get a job? Well then you better not be using drugs.

      And it's not much different when talking about guns. You can't fix stupid and that's double true when you start talking about using legislation to do it.

    111. Re:That's nice by Catbeller · · Score: 1

      Second that mod up.

    112. Re:That's nice by Catbeller · · Score: 1

      I've had guns pointed at me twice. You haven't? How does that alter the fact?

      Your logic, isn't.

    113. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you know im going to sound heartless but lets use some % to put things in perspective. 2 people in 100,000 is NOT much. we have some 7-8 billion people on this planet. I am sure we can afford to let a few of them disapear.

    114. Re:That's nice by harrkev · · Score: 3, Insightful

      People who want to ban or control guns, by definition, do not use logic. I got the statstics from the Australian web site myself. Even adjusting for population growth, violent crime went up by about 40% in the 10 years after their great gun grab. Murders did go down a little, but for every single life saved, over 600 additional people were either assaulted or sexually assaulted. That is what gun control actually does, yet nobody who WANTS gun control actually bothers to study the numbers. Links to the spreadsheet with numbers and links to the sources are HERE.

      I also love the concern over "gun violence" -- as if having somebody stabbed to death is no big deal. Shouldn't people worry about violence in genera instead if focusing on one particular tool? A person stabbed to death is just as dead as a person shot to death.

      We also tried "assault weapon" bans (what an arbitrary list) and bans on larger magazines. Effect on crime? Approximately zero. Clearly, that worked so well, we have to bring it back again.

      My absolute favorite is that there are approximately 300,000,000 guns in the US (give or take). 2011 reported 11,101 gun homicides. That means that the gun grabbers want to restrict the rights of ALL Americans to try to stop the 0.0037% of guns that cause the problem.

      To put it another way, approximately 45% of households own guns. Assuming a uniform distribution of family sizes across gun-owning and defenseless households, that means that 140,200,000 people are in a household with guns (US population in 2011 is 311,591,917). The government wants to infringe on the rights of over 300 million people to stop 11,101 criminals (assuming one criminal per murder). That means that they are passing laws in order to try to stop the 0.008% of gun owners that do bad things. To put it another way, for every single criminal that these laws try to stop, there are 12,630 honest gun owners who will be collateral damage as a result of these laws.

      --
      "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
    115. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The overall murder rate in the US is 2-3x that of Canada, and even greater than the rest of the "western" first-world democracies (Western Europe, Japan, Australia). The difference in firearm-related murders, of course, much higher.

      I’m Glad That I Don’t Have Canadian Murder Rates Where I Live

      The way more "violent crime" argument is apple and oranges. What the UK counts as violent crime is much different than what the US does.

      England has worse crime rate than the US, says Civitas study

      American Thinker should be renamed American Cherrypicker. Anyone who finds that site compelling is seriously lacking in the critical thinking department.

      Some people are simply more critical of thinking that doesn't match their own.

    116. Re:That's nice by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      1). surely the Police should be sorting out these problems rather than individuals taking the law into their own hands

      When I called 9-1-1 for a man who was making death threats against a cashier. There response was "It's New Haven, what'd'ya expect us to do about it."

      Police are good for traffic fund raisers and police reports.

    117. Re:That's nice by PortHaven · · Score: 2

      Most of American murders are localized in a less than five cities. Which also have far far many other problems. Corruption, major gun control, poor schools, etc.

    118. Re: That's nice by phlinn · · Score: 1

      You've never met a hand reloader I take it. Ammunition isn't nearly the problem you imagine. I agree with you about the likely reaction if the government actually tried to round up all guns.

      --
      "Pulling together is the aim of despotism and tyranny! Free men pull in all sorts of directions" -- Havelock Vetinari
    119. Re:That's nice by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      well the first 10 amendments in america are human rights. they were not granted to us by our government, just our government acknowledged that we have and always have had these rights (or that is the intent, what the presidents over the years and the SC have decided makes it a little harder on us)

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    120. Re:That's nice by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      I think the difference is that Europe didn't have the widespread incidence of racial slavery nor the length of legacy of it.

      And I believe that is a major factor into American socio-economic issues.

    121. Re:That's nice by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      Fairly good actually... first hit to the back of the head. And they're probably on the ground.

    122. Re:That's nice by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      I am going to say that if you were shot that many times, you either were in the bad neighborhoods of Baltimore city.

      Or you were tresspassing...

    123. Re:That's nice by charles2678 · · Score: 1

      Knives and sticks are less dangerous: it's far easier to run away

      Which not everyone can do. My fiancee has spina bifida; she couldn't walk until fairly late childhood, and running isn't ever going to happen -- it was having her aunt's pearl-handled pistol in a big granny-purse that saved her from being mugged as a child. (Mugger presents knife and asks for her wallet; she reaches into purse, pulls out the gun, cocks it, says "no"; would-be mugger wets pants and runs off. Granted, a smarter mugger would have done a cut-and-run on the purse as a whole).

      Mind you, her family was from the country a generation before her; they started firearms safety training early (wild animals with rabies were a real problem in their area -- even having a few cases of dogs in their kennel getting infected).

      Like almost everyone else I know, she agrees that many firearms should be restricted -- large-magazine weapons and the like -- and that safety training is essential... but taking the only effective means of self-defense away from people unable to run is unreasonable.

    124. Re:That's nice by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      Let's not forget they account for murders differently in the UK.

      =)

    125. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      idk, maybe it's a matter of personal preference but I'd rather go out like that than be totally defenseless.

    126. Re: That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Reloaders still require primers and powder. You can cast bullets, although high-powered and rifle rounds generally need to be copper cladded. Casings wear out, so supplies of those are needed. Not required for black powder firearms, however.

    127. Re:That's nice by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      Right, he'd have used pressure cookers.

      In fact, the Aurora theater shooter could have killed more people with $10 than he did with the guns. Simply, penny lock the doors. Walk in with 2 gallons of gas and a lighter. Everyone would have been burned to death. And none would have escaped. Evil will find a way.

    128. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think his point is that he like to try and string together to totally unrelated issues in order to try and justify his statements. It's like throwing in the words "common sense" lately. It's a sure sign there will be no common sense and if a idea was really good it wouldn't need the latest buzz words to push it on the public.

    129. Re:That's nice by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      Personal arms should be legal. Squad based arms should only be owned by a collective community (ie: cannons, machine guns, etc) be owned by towns.

      Which they pretty much are, based on how many law enforcement units now have light tanks, fully automatic rifles and machine guns, and incendiary grenades. (ie: LAPD)

    130. Re:That's nice by abhisri · · Score: 1

      And pray thee, why would your average thug want to actually beat you to death? Rob you, sure. Knock you out maybe. Run up a murder charge, when your intent was just robbery?

      It must be an American thing to value your possessions more than your life? Or perhaps the American thugs are more psychotic than thugs elsewhere.

    131. Re:That's nice by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      Do you realize rifles are used in less murders than bludgeoning weapons. And semi-automatic rifles (ala so called "assault weapons") are only a small percentage of that greater number.

      So why focus all the effort on a gun that is not even the problem. Just cause it "looks scary" to 1D10T5 errors?

    132. Re:That's nice by jamstar7 · · Score: 1

      Now, watch this: The rate of firearm-related deaths per capita [wikipedia.org] is 10.23 in the US and 0.25 in the UK. The only countries (of the 75 listed) with higher rates than the US are: Panama, Mexico, Columbia, South Africa, Brazil, Swaziland, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Jamaica. Interestingly, the country with the lowest rate, Japan, has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the world [google.com]. Of course, I'm not suggesting a causal relationship, but I will point out that the presence of a gun is a prerequisite to any form of gun violence.

      Kinda hard to have gun-related deaths in societies that actively ban guns, you know. Got any stats on non-gun-related violent deaths in those countries? The numbers would probably surprise you as people tend to use weapons of opportunity.

      --
      Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
    133. Re:That's nice by phlinn · · Score: 1

      Stop including suicides and defensive homicides in there, and we can start having a real discussion about the impact of guns on crime. There are major problems with comparing across location in any case, due to the confounding influence of culture. Even given that caveat, state by state in the US there is no significant relationship between gun ownership rates or gun control laws and homicide or murder rates.

      --
      "Pulling together is the aim of despotism and tyranny! Free men pull in all sorts of directions" -- Havelock Vetinari
    134. Re:That's nice by harrkev · · Score: 1

      Must also be an American thing to not like being raped. Silly Americans.

      --
      "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
    135. Re:That's nice by gorzek · · Score: 1

      Are you a troll or what? Where did I ever mention rifles?

      Handguns are by far the most common type of firearm death.

    136. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The country you're thinking of is Portugal, where the maximum sentence the law allows for heroin possession (for personal use) is a strong recommendation that you seek treatment.

    137. Re: That's nice by swillden · · Score: 1

      Nah its about the bribery. The gun industry needs their profits so they lobby for no gun control. 3d printing guns would reduce profits so it must be banned.

      Heh. Have you actually looked at what happens to gun and ammunition sales whenever gun control legislation is discussed? If it's about profits, then the gun industry should be pushing for gun control bills. To be proposed, not passed, of course.

      However, it's not really about profits and you're not going to see significant pushback from the gun industry over 3D-printed guns.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    138. Re:That's nice by phlinn · · Score: 1

      Why do you claim the death toll would have been lower? Do you actually have any proof of that at all, beyond your wishful thinking?

      --
      "Pulling together is the aim of despotism and tyranny! Free men pull in all sorts of directions" -- Havelock Vetinari
    139. Re:That's nice by abhisri · · Score: 1

      The thing is, that if you had a gun, and I had one too, then if I was a criminal, instead of checking the local state laws, I would simply opt to shoot you dead, instead of running the risk of being shot dead. Hell, the easy availability of guns would make me do so just to play it safe, even if I did not see a gun in your hand. Who knows? You might pull one hidden away, and shoot me. Criminals elsewhere? They would loot you but have no pressing need of seeing you dead, unless you can identify them.

      For the record, you do not get a huge number of folks getting clubbed/stabbed to death either, on a daily basis in Japan. Nice straw-man.

    140. Re: That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      ... In the actual test-firing using a rifle cartridge caused the handgun to explode....

      Your concept of how bullets and guns work may be a bit faulty.

      Firearms are specifically machined to accept a single type of cartridge. That cartridge is manufactured to very specific tolerances, including the slug's diameter and weight, and the type and amount of powder used.

      You can't just stick a rifle cartridge into a hand gun unless they are both designed to fire that cartridge. An example of this is Marlin's .44 cal carbine, and a .44 cal Ruger Blackhawk or a Smith and Wesson Model 29.

      There are specialized single-shot handguns used for hunting, varminting, and competition target shooting that are designed to fire rifle cartridges. Needless to say, most of those kick hard enough to damn near break your wrist even when you are careful, let alone trying to have a running gun battle.

      As for 3D guns resulting in bans, that time is over with. The technology is in the wild and available for anyone who needs it. Sure, there were already CAD models that someone having metalworking skills, a metal lathe, and a milling machine could make, but now the ability is in the hands of anyone who needs it and can manage to build and operate a 3D printer. You no longer need to metalworking skills to build a handgun. Just average computer skills and a 3D printer that you can build from open source plans.

      The Liberator is a copy of a gun distributed in Europe during WWII. The name is apt, since if what you suggest, a gun ban or confiscation attempt comes about, having a homemade weapon to liberate a better firearm from the government may be required.

    141. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Look at the countries to the left of the US: all of them have severe social problems or are involved in ongoing armed conflict.

      Social problems? Like a historically oppressed minority still stuck in inferior neighborhoods where chemical dumps, rail yards, and other health hazards are more likely to be located? Social problems like an ongoing illegal incursion, aka the "reconquista" along with violence on Cinqo de Mayo which was just yesterday (googl San Jose Cinqo). An ongoing war like in California's "Emeral Triangle" where the DEA fights the Mexican cartels and to a lesser extent, local growers of cannibis?

      Yes. Ongoing war and social problems as you say. I don't think it's the guns that put us on the left side of that chart.

    142. Re:That's nice by empty_other · · Score: 1

      That was brave of her. But if he had a gun, would she still have drawn hers? Would she still have lived? Because he would probably pulled the trigger first. After that he would have stolen her purse, sold her gun to a colleauge, and you would have two robbers running around with guns.

      Here's what a civilised country with a well-educated, well-paid police force would do: Give away the purse without resistance (and without a gun inside), allow the mugger to think he has won and leave you (it is VERY rare a person would kill if not threatened). Then contact the cops and give an accurate description of the suspect. They will keep a lookout for the suspect, and most likely find him. Then you call your card company to close your card, your phone company to close your phone and your insurance company to get some of your money back for your probably expensive phone.

      If you do not have a well-educated, well-paid police force close by, then there is your real problem. Not guns.

    143. Re:That's nice by SSCGWLB · · Score: 1

      Where to start.

      First of all, using the term 'assault weapon' or 'assault rifle' is a red flag. This term has been miss-used so much it has lost any meaning. The military doesn't consider the AR-15 a 'assault rifle' because it is only semi auto (i.e. does not have select fire). Some people consider anything scary looking an "Military style assault rifle", use term at your own risk.

      Fortunately for all of us, you don't get to dictate what somebody can 'reasonably' have in their house. An AR15 is no more of an 'accident waiting to happen' then any other firearm. The AR15 is a perfectly acceptable home defense weapon, some times more then one bad guy shows up. According to police statistics, one in every three too four rounds hit (here is one of many links discussing it: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/08/nyregion/08nypd.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0). Despite what the movies tell you, it typically takes several shots to disable/kill. So, assuming two hits to disable (low according to statistics) + three 'bad guys' = 18 to 24 rounds expended. And these are numbers for people who are required to train and qualify with their weapons. I will gladly take my 30 round standard capacity mags, thank you! Personally, I do prefer a pistol for home defense. I like my .45 "military style assault pistol" for this purpose. It also has "assault clips", FTW!

      Lets also not forget that they are many sporting and competetion uses for an AR15.

      It also gladdens my heart that the AR15 is currently (and has for quite some time now) been selling in record numbers, by far larger numbers then any other single firearm. Magpul, which makes 30 round (standard capacity) magazines, is well over a million magazines on back order. Last I heard they estimated 3+ million AR15s in the hands of US citizens.

      "...one possibility is you expect to fight the military, in which case you are hopelessly outgunned anyway..."
      Not really a fan of history are you? Wars have been fought and won by a bunch of out-gunned untrained peasants for centuries.

      "The second amendment does not say you have a right to buy the biggest gun ever made just so you can imagine something else was that big, I'm sure if they knew what an effective killing tool firearms would turn into they would've been a bit more restrictive even then."
      Our founding fathers were smart men, I am sure (some of them being inventors and tinkerers themselves) that they knew that better weapons would be invented in short order. They didn't put any restrictions on the state of the art in 1787, why would they put any restrictions on future weapons? I am sure glad they didn't.

      "The Constitution was never intended to be unalterable, that's why they created a process to allow changes to be made to it, it's only supposed to need a majority vote. And unlike the first amendment, that could realistically happen with the second."
      Of course it can be changed, it is very very hard to change the constitution (by design). The US Senate cannot even pass a bill (with few restrictions), how do you expect an amendment (with a much larger % of yes votes) to pass? Pure fantasy.

      Bun and bullet registry is a poor idea, for so many reasons. Canada tried it, spend 20 years and hundreds of millions of dollars on it, they are now the process of dismantling it. Their own words: “The Harper Government has always been clear; by eliminating the wasteful and ineffective long-gun registry, we can instead focus our efforts on measures that actually tackle crime and make our streets and communities safe,”. It sounds like they still have a registry for handguns, I am curious how long that lasts.

      Good day.

    144. Re:That's nice by blackbear · · Score: 1

      Considering how often these gun bills have come up, and then gone flaccid, it's going to take some industrial-strength Viagra to get gun control advocates to mount a campaign to put to bed any criticism and pass the climax of votes necessary for it to become a law.

      Meanwhile, all of these slick politicians are going to piss and moan about their inability to penetrate the electorate to get the support necessary to squirt this bill through congress.

      Their orgasmic response to recent mass shootings has quickly turned to a nag-fest. As they rag on the electorate to just understand and validate their point of view, they insist that if we are all defenseless then we have nothing to fear, and will all be safer in the end. Of course, this is just more misguided emotional logic from the side that just wants to be cared for by government.

    145. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Now, I'm not for taking everyone's guns away as NRA nuts seem to think everyone opposed to them is, but I do see a dire need for reform, and polls suggest that almost all of America agrees."

      More recent polls show less than half of America thinks we need *any* new gun laws...

      Polls are such fickle things...

    146. Re:That's nice by Shompol · · Score: 1
      A printed gun openes a can of worms known as "gun control". This event is most significant as a failure of any future attempts at gun control by the state than any specific technologies involved with this particular event.

      GP's post is right on topic.

    147. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Just let us run better background checks and get rid of huge loopholes people use to avoid them!"

      That sounds reasonable, until you consider the changing landscape of "mental health". I believe there was a story here on /. explaining how under the latest (expanded) definitions, over half the country would have a diagnosable "mental disorder". And it wouldn't be the first time psychiatry was abused for political reasons... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_abuse_of_psychiatry_in_the_Soviet_Union)

    148. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The USA needs a martial arts lobby.

    149. Re:That's nice by fearofcarpet · · Score: 1

      Nope. Although I am trolling in the sense that I'm curious to see how people rationalize their fervent belief that the world will come to end if any gun regulations are passed, I was shot at on several occasions. As I said, usually by idiots shooting downhill or without a clear field of view, sometimes by the crazy guy that shot at everything that crossed his property line, and on occasion by drunk rednecks. I should qualify by saying that lived in the middle of nowhere. No local police or city utilities (other than power) or paved roads or anything like that. Our neighbor used to train his dogs by shooting skeet off his back porch and we could barely hear it. I used to practice by shooting small tree branches and G.I Joe action figures with my scoped Ruger .22 semi-auto and walking cans with a .44 mag revolver (but that was an occasional treat because the cartridges were so expensive) which is insanely fun. My uncle was actually shot by his own uncle while out deer hunting, but they were bow hunting, so it "only" left a silver-dollar-sized hole in his calf.

      --
      Actually, I wrote my thesis on life experience.
    150. Re:That's nice by cayenne8 · · Score: 1

      How to address black-on-black violence in the US is a very different subject.

      Sounds like a problem the black community needs to solve for themselves, like raising their kids to respect the value of a human life more. Black families didn't have these types of serious, out of control violence problems prior to the 60's as far as I know...? At least not this prevalent and wide spread.

      Regardless, it isn't a problem that can be legislated away, and they certainly aren't going to listen to anything a bunch of white guys suggest to them.

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    151. Re:That's nice by fearofcarpet · · Score: 1

      I see, your basic argument is that it matters how people are killed with guns (that link actually breaks it out into intentional, suicide, accidental, and unknown BTW). The biggest difference between gun deaths and other forms of death is that the former is incredibly simple to prevent. Sure, you can tell people not to drive cars--that way they will never die in a traffic accident--but cars are much more useful to many more people than guns.

      And I hope you realize that "gun control people" aren't a monolithic group of gun prohibitionists. I'm a hunter who owns many guns, has been shooting all my life (even competitively when I was younger). I just don't agree that any idiot that wants any kind of gun should be able to go out and buy as many as they want. Like cars--which are also lethal weapons when used improperly--I think guns should be licensed and registered and that gun owners should have to prove competency. Stupid people, the mentally ill, violent criminals, and children are good examples of people who should not be allowed to own firearms of any sort.

      --
      Actually, I wrote my thesis on life experience.
    152. Re:That's nice by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 2

      Yeah, confiscation will never happen. Oh wait...

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    153. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      good luck convincing anyone that the threat of roving gangs is so severe that arming the elderly is a moral imperative

      Strawman arguments are lies.

    154. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You must be new here. For quite some time now slashdot has been nothing more than a circle jerk of progressive nonsense. Their idea of tolerance is that they tolerate everyone except those that disagree with them. If you have a dissenting viewpoint then you're "trying to pick a fight", or "Trolling". Your best bet for finding intelligent discussion while maintaining respectful disagreement is to find another board.

    155. Re:That's nice by fearofcarpet · · Score: 1

      Now, watch this: The rate of firearm-related deaths per capita [wikipedia.org] is 10.23 in the US and 0.25 in the UK. The only countries (of the 75 listed) with higher rates than the US are: Panama, Mexico, Columbia, South Africa, Brazil, Swaziland, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Jamaica. Interestingly, the country with the lowest rate, Japan, has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the world [google.com]. Of course, I'm not suggesting a causal relationship, but I will point out that the presence of a gun is a prerequisite to any form of gun violence.

      Kinda hard to have gun-related deaths in societies that actively ban guns, you know. Got any stats on non-gun-related violent deaths in those countries? The numbers would probably surprise you as people tend to use weapons of opportunity.

      Sure, here you go. (Hint: its still a factor of four or five higher, depending on if you include Eastern Europe.) And yes, in fact, it's impossible to have gun violence without guns, which is why they should be licensed and registered and people should have to have background checks and pass competency tests to own them.

      --
      Actually, I wrote my thesis on life experience.
    156. Re:That's nice by fearofcarpet · · Score: 1

      Well, you say that, but do have any evidence to back up that claim? (And editorials from Fox News or Cato do not count as evidence.) Also, why does it matter how someone dies from a gun? They're still dead. And it's a hell of a lot harder to kill someone accidentally with a knife than a gun.

      Defensive homicides? You mean like when family members accidentally shoot each other because the think someone is breaking into the house? Those are still homicides, right? Defensive homicides are also a crime, by they way, except in extraordinary circumstances or in places with incredibly well thought out "stand your ground" laws. Or is there a rash of people staving off murders by shooting the would-be murder that I just didn't encounter living in the US for 30 years?

      --
      Actually, I wrote my thesis on life experience.
    157. Re:That's nice by loufoque · · Score: 1

      By pointing a gun at a criminal, you're putting his own life in danger, which makes it more likely that he will attempt to fight back.
      Guns only work for self-defense when you have superiority. Pointing a gun at someone better armed than you or at an armed mob is just plain suicide. This is an education problem.

    158. Re:That's nice by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      And pray thee, why would your average thug want to actually beat you to death? Rob you, sure. Knock you out maybe. Run up a murder charge, when your intent was just robbery?

      Yet you try to imply that a criminal with a gun has no such compunction, and will shoot their victims dead merely by virtue of their weapon of choice (because, apparently, guns are magical and can control human thought):

      f I was a criminal, instead of checking the local state laws, I would simply opt to shoot you dead

      You are consistent only in your lack of consistency.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    159. Re: That's nice by Salgak1 · · Score: 1

      Except nobody MAKES a 7-round magazine, and certainly won't for every variety of firearm out there. It **MIGHT** be worthwhile tooling up for a 7-round mag for a 1911-series pistol, AR rifles, and AK rifles. But the gun owners would crucify, via a boycott, any company who produced them. There is already talk of boycotting gun companies that remain in NY and Connectitcut: Magpul and others are ALREADY abandoning Colorado (after accellerating production and shipping to Colorado customers to get mags into people's hands before the new law took effect: A Grandfathering provision protects anything sold before the effective date of the law. . . ) .

    160. Re:That's nice by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      Interestingly, I live in Europe and have yet to be killed by the roaming death-squads that are apparently rampant here.

      Equally interesting, I've lived in the midwestern USA for my entire life, and have yet to be so much as looked at funny, let alone shot at.

      Anecdote for Anecdote, we cancel each other out.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    161. Re:That's nice by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      Defensive homicides? You mean like when family members accidentally shoot each other because the think someone is breaking into the house?

      No, jackass, that's called an 'accidental death.' He means defensive homicides. You know, like, when someone tries to kill you but you manage to kill them first?

      You're obviously being disingenuous, as anyone capable of cogent thought can easily parse the difference between the two. Or maybe I'm overestimating your ability to reason.

      Having a valid argument is one thing, but you don't really seem to be in possession of anything but factless anecdotes, ad hominem attacks, and general ignorance.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    162. Re:That's nice by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      As for your right to own a gun, I'm alright with that, unless you specifically want to own assault weapons, which is just crazy.

      So, you have no problems with me owning a mini-14, then?

      It's not an "assault weapon" under the definition of either Assault Weapon Ban, in spite of using the same type of ammo as an AR15, having the same rate of fire, having the same 30+ round magazines available, etc.

      So, just exactly what makes owning an AR15 "crazy", while owning a Mini-14 is "alright"?

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    163. Re:That's nice by MugenEJ8 · · Score: 1
      I'm just going to point out the flaws in your talking points...

      I never claimed it would be 100% effective, I was pointing out that saying we shouldn't have it because it wouldn't be 100% effective is not logical.

      So we should try it even if the law is only 0.0001% effective. Got it.

      If you think you need an AR to fight against the tyranny of the government, one possibility is you expect to fight the military, in which case you are hopelessly outgunned anyway, not to mention that possibility depends on the military (made up of people like you and I) being alright with attacking their friends and families.

      So even if we would only be 0.0001% successful in thwarting a tyrannical government, we shouldn't try? Especially if its our right...?

      Why even bother standing up for ourselves...

      Gun control advocates will always fail to heed the fact that all they're doing is removing the guns from the law abiding citizens. You know... the ones who aren't out holding up banks or knocking over convenience stores.

    164. Re:That's nice by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      That was brave of her. But if he had a gun, would she still have drawn hers? Would she still have lived? Because he would probably pulled the trigger first. After that he would have stolen her purse, sold her gun to a colleauge, and you would have two robbers running around with guns.

      Here's what a civilised country with a well-educated, well-paid police force would do: Give away the purse without resistance (and without a gun inside), allow the mugger to think he has won and leave you (it is VERY rare a person would kill if not threatened). Then contact the cops and give an accurate description of the suspect. They will keep a lookout for the suspect, and most likely find him. Then you call your card company to close your card, your phone company to close your phone and your insurance company to get some of your money back for your probably expensive phone.

      If you do not have a well-educated, well-paid police force close by, then there is your real problem. Not guns.

      And what if the "mugger" had actually been titled "rapist?" What's your brilliant solution for that one? Just get raped and pray?

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    165. Re: That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "The gun industry needs their profits so they lobby for no gun control. 3d printing guns would reduce profits so it must be banned."

      The first sentence is contradicted by the second. The gun industry does lobby for gun control precisely to block competition and to keep society from a more responsible marketplace for weapons. But your point stands, we will most likely see a shit storm of politicians stirring up the plebes about the need for bans on guns(amusingly, enforced by people who will shoot you if you resist their desire to keep you from having guns). It will all be driven by the fact that they are part of and friends with the gun industry which they protect.

    166. Re:That's nice by Cow+Jones · · Score: 1

      Now, watch this: The rate of firearm-related deaths per capita [is 10.23 in the US and 0.25 in the UK]

      Do you see the difference?

      Indeed I do. You pulled out that old canard that people shot dead are more dead* than people beaten to death with cricket bats, wrenches, or tire irons, or stabbed to death.

      No, he pulled out that old canard that people shot dead are more dead when they are killed multiple times.
      Per capita means per person (literally per head). Any number over 1 would be very impressive (barring Zaphod Beeblebrox taking two shots to the heads).

      --

      Ah, arrogance and stupidity, all in the same package. How efficient of you. -- Londo Mollari
    167. Re: That's nice by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Except nobody MAKES a 7-round magazine, and certainly won't for every variety of firearm out there. It **MIGHT** be worthwhile tooling up for a 7-round mag for a 1911-series pistol,

      Yes, it might be

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    168. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Objectively, gun control is pro-thug.

      Objectively, a society in which being able to "defend" oneself relies only on one's ability to have a firearm, has a problem.
      Objectively, a society in which being safe is regarded as equivalent to the capacity to defend oneself, has a problem.

      Guns are not jesus christ, do not cure cancer, and, surprisingly, do not bring about world peace.

      PS: Concerning the "defense" argument: if you really want to be objective, pull up the number of gun deaths in the USA. From that, what fraction is people genuinely (uncontestedly) defending themselves against evildoers?
      I think we can all agree that if that is 100%, the "defense" argument makes perfect sense; I also think we can agree if that is 0%, the "defense" argument is vacuous. It's likely somewhere in between. So all that is left is a disagreement on what percentage legitimises the defense argument, and how close the actual percentage is to the desirable percentage.

    169. Re:That's nice by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Sounds like a problem the black community needs to solve for themselves

      They didn't create this problem for themselves, you want them to fix it without help?

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    170. Re:That's nice by f0rdpr3fect42 · · Score: 1

      I bothered to read it and there are some cringeworthy abuses of statistics in there. I'm not particularly on either side of the gun control debate at the moment, either, so I didn't go in looking to pick a fight with either side. Just to point out some of the failings, though:

      They use Greenland as one of their prominent countries with a surprisingly high murder rate compared to the US. Seriously? Your statistic is muders per 100,000 people and you focus on a country with a population of around 50,000? These numbers are far too sensitive to noise to take any real meaning away from. And the other countries cited weren't terribly surprising to see. They're all countries that still have some pretty extreme cases of poverty. Desperation leads people to do terrible things. We're one of the world's wealthiest countries. I would hope to see us compared more favorably to the other wealthy countries of the world.

      Then we get into that whole "well, it's not so bad if we don't count black people" bit. Let's ignore the potentially offending bit of that and focus on the numbers. Oh! So if we remove our underclass murder rates, then things are closer to Europe. Well, yeah. Because we removed all of the underclass murders from our numbers, but not theirs. This isn't a reasonable comparison to make at all. If you're going to futz with the numbers, you at least need to futz with ALL of them so they're on equal ground.

      Finally, we get to my favorite. The correlation between gun ownership and murder rates by country. There's a pretty chart of the data! The author's eyeballs conclude that it looks like higher gun ownership is related to lower murder rate. Now, I look at the same chart and mostly come away thinking there's not much correlation either way, but if I had to choose a side, I'd side with the author and say things are a slight lean in his favor. Thankfully, the author has brought statistics to the table this time and goes on to say that there's a statistically significant -0.23 correlation coefficient between murder rate and gun ownership.

      ...beg pardon?

      This is such a small correlation coefficient as to be essentially meaningless. Checkthis page on correlation coefficients and look at the visualization of what different coefficients look like near the top. Correlation of -0.23 is basically nothing.

      Again, I'm not an advocate for a lot of this increased gun control legislation. A lot of it has sounded pretty terribly written and thought out. I am an advocate for the proper use of statistics to back up arguments, though, and this article doesn't do it for me. This isn't the first time I've been to American Thinker, and honestly, it's becoming a game for me to go through and see where the authors misuse numbers. That's why no one wants to take your article seriously. You have sources, but the existence of sources does not make their content credible.

    171. Re:That's nice by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Sure, you can tell people not to drive cars--that way they will never die in a traffic accident--

      Driving cars kills people no matter how you drive them. You don't have to hit anyone or anything, your car doesn't have to explode or go off a cliff. Every so many gallons burned, someone dies. Gasoline and diesel vehicles alike emit soot as they go down the road, even with fancy emissions controls, and this soot is carcinogenic. We have wars over oil. Refineries pollute and cause illness and in some cases death.

      but cars are much more useful to many more people than guns.

      Our society was literally deliberately reshaped in order to induce people to buy cars. Permitting auto companies to buy up and shut down profitable freight and public transportation lines, implementing the interstate highway system, and ongoing legal protectionism (including bailouts) for auto companies, especially American ones, created a need for widespread ownership of automobiles and a general increase in vehicle-miles traveled per vehicle.

      Stupid people, the mentally ill, violent criminals, and children are good examples of people who should not be allowed to own firearms of any sort.

      Stupid people should, first and foremost, be prohibited from posting to Slashdot.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    172. Re:That's nice by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      My uncle was actually shot by his own uncle while out deer hunting, but they were bow hunting, so it "only" left a silver-dollar-sized hole in his calf.

      A hunting arrow with a nice sharp broadhead on it can kill you just as dead as a typical deer hunting cartridge, say a .308? The difference, though, is that it's much harder to conceal a bow in your jacket than a handgun. That has both positive and negative ramifications.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    173. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They didn't create this problem for themselves,

      That's an extraordinary claim. He probably won't be convinced.

      you want them to fix it without help?

      Nah, he wants them to fix it without his help. He doesn't speak for everybody. Nobody's stopping you or others from helping.

    174. Re:That's nice by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Worst. Thinking. Ever. "Current laws aren't 100% effective, so let's not bother with them anymore." This suggests you don't support any law against anything, ever, because it might not be 100% effective.

      Actually, the argument is significantly more complex than you make it out to be, and you're only able to even make this argument due to cognitive dissonance. Some of the drugs which have been banned have significant medical use; some of them for psychological purposes, some for physical. Some are cancer-fighting and some are pain killers. Some of them even help break the cycle of addiction! But a whole class of drugs (those which do interesting things to your mind, less alcohol which was too popular, and things which Big Pharma has patented and thus can profit from) has been banned due to their negative effects to society in spite of their substantial potential benefit.

      The question then becomes whether it is more beneficial to grant a monopoly on certain classes of firearms-related violence to military and paramilitary organizations created by the state, or to permit people to exercise their natural ability to utilize technology to increase their abilities in spite of secondary effects. Since law enforcement personnel commit crimes at about the same rate as the general population, there's really no reason to believe that any such restrictions will in fact reduce crime; rather, they will create an even greater divide in power between the citizenry and the people supposedly tasked with protecting them, without addressing the base issues in our society which actually lead to violence.

      The problem is while we're all saying, "Just let us run better background checks and get rid of huge loopholes people use to avoid them!" there's a small percentage of people shouting back "You can't have our freedom! The constitution says we can have guns!" and it's making it impossible to come to an agreement.

      My problem with more federal restrictions on gun ownership is that I do not consider them qualified to define who is or is not responsible enough to own a gun. Kent State proved that it's not a government institution. If you can be made a felon or declared a nutter, you can be deprived of your right to keep and bear arms? I just don't trust this government with the power it has already.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    175. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I must not have made my point clear enough. A homeowner is much less likely to actually defend their home with a gun in the states that have no castle doctrine law. Such states also tend to have much more strict gun laws. Pennsylvania is the 10th most gun-restrictive state in the US according to the Brady Campaign, an anti-gun PAC. Gun laws also correlate with lower gun ownership from state to state. I encourage you to compare Brady state scores with the FBI's data on violent crime and murder rates by state and by year.

      Regarding your assertion about socio-economics not mattering...have you read this study?

      Have you cross-referenced gun ownership by country vs. firearm homicide rate by country vs. income inequality by country?

      Regarding your assertions on criminal behavior in the US...where is your evidence? Are you involved in law enforcement in the US? Do you have a criminal psychology background? Are there studies or raw data from the FBI, CDC, or other neutral parties supporting your assertion? Have you examined numerous case studies to come to your conclusion? Does your evidence match your confidence?

    176. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A real comparison would be interesting. Try removing suicides and police violence; in the US most gun violence is suicide. Japan may have the lowest gun violence but they have a huge overall suicide rate.

    177. Re: That's nice by cockpitcomp · · Score: 1

      Clearly you have not tried to buy primers in the last few months.

    178. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, you say that, but do have any evidence to back up that claim? (And editorials from Fox News or Cato do not count as evidence.)

      An easy task. The Brady Campaign is an anti-gun PAC that rates states in the US by how restrictive their gun laws are. The FBI has thoroughly compiled yearly crime data sent in monthly by local law enforcement. So...

      Cross-reference Brady score with FBI data on violent crime and murder rate per 100,000 by state. Stretch it out over the course of 10, 20, 30, 40, or even 50 years. The data goes back to 1960. Compare them all, or compare the top 10 and bottom 10 Brady score states.

    179. Re:That's nice by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      implementing the interstate highway system,

      The Interstate system was built to allow movement of large bodies of troops across country quickly.

      Note that Eisenhower, back before WW1 (yes, ONE), was once tasked to find out how long it would take to move an infantry division from the East Coast to the West Coast by road.

      It took 61 DAYS!

      Much later, Ike saw the Autobahns (built for much the same reason - to move troops) and decided that we really needed some of that this side of the Atlantic. Hence the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System....

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    180. Re:That's nice by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      Interestingly, I live in Europe and have yet to be killed by the roaming death-squads that are apparently rampant here.

      And I live in the USA, and have yet to be killed by any of the hundreds of millions of guns here.

      Your point was?

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    181. Re:That's nice by spitzak · · Score: 1

      In fact, the Aurora theater shooter could have killed more people with $10 than he did with the guns. Simply, penny lock the doors. Walk in with 2 gallons of gas and a lighter. Everyone would have been burned to death. And none would have escaped.

      Do you seriously really believe that is as likely to work as him being able to kill some people with a gun? I'm generally pretty neutral on this, but you are saying some pretty insane stupid things here that make me doubt the logical basis of people on your side.

      IMHO guns themselves are not really as dangerous as people make them out to be, if you consider the numbers of them around. I also think they are overblown as a self-defense, my only encounter with crime was to be surprised at close-range by a mugger with a gun, and I am pretty certain that if I had been carrying a concealed weapon then I would have lost a $500 gun and not just $50 from my wallet.

    182. Re:That's nice by cayenne8 · · Score: 1

      They didn't create this problem for themselves, you want them to fix it without help?

      Really?

      Who pray tell, thrust this upon them?

      What policy(ies) passed in say the 60's started the downhill all of the US black culture to the point where we have it currently today?

      What help do you suggest? Is there really something we can legislate to make more black men responsible for their offspring and stick around to help raise them? Is there a way to legislate poorer black families teaching their youth that guns, gangs and general thug-dom aren't the paths to try to work for in life, and that they should instead value an education for a career in life that likely will not involved being a famous rapper or basketball player?

      Seriously....what can the outside world do to help this? What can the govt do to change attitudes and perceptions? You can't write a law to force people to think and act in a more proper and community serving manner....at least I don't know of a way, do you?

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    183. Re:That's nice by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      Funny thing is I agree with the fact that not everyone should be able to get a gun. felons and people who have proven to be unstable. what I do not agree with is law abiding citizens being stripped of their constitutional rights.

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    184. Re:That's nice by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      well he is wrong about the interstate but he is right about the auto industry buying up the tram car lines etc to tear them down and build roads.

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    185. Re: That's nice by cold+fjord · · Score: 1

      How are things looking for the Glocks and the police service weapons? They weren't excluded from the law, so they are illegal too in New York.

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    186. Re: That's nice by drinkypoo · · Score: 0

      How are things looking for the Glocks and the police service weapons? They weren't excluded from the law, so they are illegal too in New York.

      I don't know how their law works, but in California you can convert a magazine to whatever-round by drilling a hole in the side and installing a pop rivet. Obviously you could drill this out at any time, which would equally obviously be illegal.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    187. Re:That's nice by drinkypoo · · Score: 0

      The Interstate system was built to allow movement of large bodies of troops across country quickly.

      Instead of expanding railways? The interstate has the same problem as rail, which is that it can be bombed. Temporary roads can be laid, but rail can be serviced by men and equipment delivered by train, and with an adequate rail network (much like the interstate highway network) you can divert around disruptions until repairs can be made.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    188. Re:That's nice by LordLimecat · · Score: 1

      Prostitution is legal in Amsterdam. Guess where the human trafficking capital of the world is?

      Unfortunately, the world is rarely as simple as "legalize this, and the problem disappears".

    189. Re:That's nice by Jyms · · Score: 1

      Have a closer look at your stats. A country like the USA has one of the highest guns per capita rates 88.8 per 100 and sits uncomfortably high in the gun related deaths list. By contrast, a country like South Africa has very strict gun control laws (12.7 per 100), yet sits even higher up the list than the USA (with a 7th of the guns per capita). The USA has figures of 10.2 firearm related deaths, of which 3.2 are homicides and 6.3 are suicides. South Africa on the other hand sits at 18.5, almost twice the rate of the USA, but the breakdown of homicides and suicides is 17.0 homicides and just 2.0 suicides. In other words, only the criminals have guns. Not legal ones, mind you, but guns none the less.

    190. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... I would simply opt to shoot you dead...

      Maybe it's good that you don't have a gun, then. Most people are a little more hesitant to murder someone in cold blood.

      Is this situation like that of pedophilia, where the ones who speak out against it the loudest tend to be the closeted child-molesters themselves?

    191. Re: That's nice by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      The real challenge to gun enthusiasts is steady supply of reliable ammunition.

      I would expect the next project from them to be a single-shot black gunpowder muzzleloader pistol, precisely for this reason. Modern cased ammo can be regulated, and reloading supplies will eventually dry up; but it'll be much tougher to ban lead and basic gunpowder ingredients.

    192. Re:That's nice by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      It is a state right not a federal one. Just like drivers licenses , you can't really regulate it at the federal level. Therefore federal laws are mostly worthless.

      BATFE might be very surprised to hear that.

      Now if you're arguing that this is the way it should be in theory, I am not going to open that can of worms. But, realistically, under the standing interpretation of 2A by all branches of power, the feds can and do regulate firearms - and if you do something they don't like, you will get locked up for a long, long time.

    193. Re:That's nice by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      They are incomparable things, anyway.

      A murder is an action that immediately harms someone else - there's no way around it, it's right there in the definition. As such, it is illegal, to deter would-be murderers under threat of punishment, and to serve justice by punishing those who commit it anyway.

      Drug use is an action that does not, by itself, harm anyone but the user (and even that depends on the drug, the dose etc). It may put person in a state where they are more likely to commit harm to others, but it is not at all a certainty. So banning drugs can only be justified on the nebulous grounds of public good, and that requires a very definite proof of causal relationship. Observations have shown that such a relationship doesn't hold (i.e. banning drugs does not reduce their use), and furthermore that such a ban has a large number of unpleasant side effects with violence in illegal drug trade. On the other hand, at least some drugs also have perfectly legitimate utilitarian reasons for use (medical marijuana etc); and of course there's recreational use.

      Guns are similar to drugs here. Owning a gun, in and of itself, does not cause anyone harm. An argument is made that more legal guns means more lost/stolen guns means more illegal guns in the hands of criminals, which seems to hold true, but whether that actually has a detrimental effect on crime rates is not proven (and, if anything, comparing stats before/after bans in several countries that tried them indicates that there isn't one). At the same time, they do have a legitimate utilitarian use - self-defense - as well as recreational one.

    194. Re:That's nice by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      well i dont need a road to drive a truck, just land i need a rail for a train to work so if a road gets bombed, I drive around it, if a rail gets bombed, im screwed.

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    195. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      To say that the UK and Australia etc have higher total violence rates is potentially misleading. The classifications of crime into violent/non-violent vary substantially around the world - see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violent_crime

    196. Re:That's nice by drinkypoo · · Score: 0

      well i dont need a road to drive a truck, just land

      Even were it legal, how fast do you think you could drive cross-country on totally unprepared land?

      if a rail gets bombed, im screwed.

      If rail is getting bombed, you're going to have bigger problems.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    197. Re:That's nice by Twisted64 · · Score: 1

      That Murder by Numbers article is trying pretty hard with the "Murders per 100,000 people" graph. It also doesn't support your comment about the UK, Australia and much of Europe in ANY way whatsoever.

      I'm wasting my time, but can't help pointing out that it isn't really helpful removing blacks from the equation - they might be responsible for half the crime, but the country as a whole is responsible for its citizens, and blacks aren't exactly the most recent immigrants.

      --
      Consciousness is a myth. Trust me.
    198. Re: That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Plastic printed guns are a public health issue. In the actual test-firing using a rifle cartridge caused the handgun to explode. Why should I have my health insurance premiums jacked up to offset the insurance companies looses due to paying out on some moron that blew his hand off?

      It's amazing how you have no concept of how insurance works. I'm especially amused by one of the other replies blaming the Democrats for private company insurance valuations.

      Insurance is an amortization exercise. The entire point is that a bunch of people get together and pool their collective money so that if anyone in the pool gets sick, they can pull from the pool to pay for it. This only works if enough people are concerned about getting sick that a pool can be built, and that very few people actually get sick so that the pool is never emptied.

      As for the idea that "I shouldn't have to pay for health insurance, libertarianism, etc", you are already being insured by the government. Guess who pays the hospital for deadbeats without insurance who don't pay their bill? As cost inefficient and overhead building as mandatory private insurance is, no-one wanted the government to insure against deadbeats, so it was privatized. Now private insurance companies are required to cover deadbeats, a wonderful "saving" for tax payers; that is, assuming you only care about your tax bill and not your total expenses.

    199. Re:That's nice by RichZellich · · Score: 1

      Those aren't remotely like the numbers I see in statistical charts. I'm assuming you're using _all_ deaths by firearms, which is heavily weighted to suicides, rather than homicides, where the US is much lower. Yes, in countries that don't have many guns, suicide numbers will obviously be much lower, although the suicide rate may well be considerably higher than in the US.

      From the same chart, homicides by firearm is 3.2 for the US and .4 for the UK - I'm guessing the rate is held down somewhat by including Scotland with England in the "UK" numbers. If by "type of crime" you mean "by means of what weapon", it may make a difference in the numbers, though violent crime is violent crime. Without looking it up, though, I know that gun crime skyrocketed in England after they confiscated guns from all the law-abiding people - somehow, that didn't affect the guns possessed by criminals, who even started importing full-auto firearms from Eastern Europe.

      Note also that a large number of the US homicides are also criminal-on-criminal, not criminal-on-innocent-citizen - while that observation doesn't change the raw numbers, it changes what they really mean to us.

      "the presence of a gun is a prerequisite to any form of gun violence" - dumb statement. The presence of a violent criminal is a prerequisite to any form of violence. I might point out that in the US, there are anywhere from one to three MILLION cases each year where the mere presence of a firearm stopped or prevented a violent crime, usually without needing to fire the gun. Personally, I don't think it worthwhile to trade off 1-3,000,000 potential homicides prevented each year for 15,000 committed, especially since most ot the "committed" ones are criminals shooting other criminals. As a non-criminal, I think I'll keep my defensive pistol, thank you very much - I like the odds in _my_ favor.

    200. Re:That's nice by RichZellich · · Score: 1

      Nice strawman. Pretty transparent, though.

      You're missing the difference between making bad acts illegal, and using illegal Prior Restraint on a civil right to illegalize an object that might be used for a few llegal purposes as well as for its many obviously legal and beneficial purposes.

      You don't have to make guns illegal if you have laws making murder and assault illegal, by whatever means accomplished. Much simpler than trying to take 300,000,000 guns away from 100,000,000 law-abiding gun owners, who have a Constitutionally enshrined right to have them..

    201. Re:That's nice by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      obviously if either get bombed (which was what i was under the impression) then it really doesnt matter. The point is with a truck I have an option to move cargo/people around , with no rail, theres no option to move said cargo/people.

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    202. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sounds legit. Most objective statement I've heard.

    203. Re:That's nice by oreaq · · Score: 1

      Guess where the human trafficking capital of the world is?

      It's in the middle east. What is your point?

    204. Re:That's nice by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Right, he'd have used pressure cookers.

      In fact, the Aurora theater shooter could have killed more people with $10 than he did with the guns. Simply, penny lock the doors. Walk in with 2 gallons of gas and a lighter. Everyone would have been burned to death. And none would have escaped. Evil will find a way.

      That lacks the joyously spontaneous expression of individual freedom that we associate with mass shootings. It sounds suspiciously like socialism to me.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    205. Re:That's nice by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Do you realize rifles are used in less murders than bludgeoning weapons. And semi-automatic rifles (ala so called "assault weapons") are only a small percentage of that greater number.

      So why focus all the effort on a gun that is not even the problem. Just cause it "looks scary" to 1D10T5 errors?

      You're right, gun control laws should focus on handguns. Oh, wait, that's probably not what you want at all is it?

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    206. Re:That's nice by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Looking beyond murder, to total violence - the UK, Australia, and much of Europe have more violent crime than the US.

      At the risk of stating the obvious, "violent crime" is a very broad concept, ranging from common assault (just pushing someone) up to murder.

      Now, I am happy to believe that there are more fist fights in the UK, but the crime of punching someone in the face is in no way equivalent to murdering them, even if both are indeed violent crimes.

      If the actual murder rate were lower in the US than the UK, that would be an interesting argument in defence of widespread gun ownership. But it's not. At this point, gun-advocates usually try to separate out big cities like Chicago, and say that in the affluent suburbs, the murder rate is much lower.

      Well, no shit, but it's the same if you take out big cities from the UK's murder figures. Most rural counties in the UK probably have a couple of murders a year.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    207. Re:That's nice by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      The police have no obligation whatsoever to do anything at all. They have no legal obligation to protect specific individuals, except in cases where they've specifically promised such protection. Their duty is to society as a whole, not any individual.

      That's an American thing. It's so they can't be sued.

      In the rest of the world we realise that the mergency services like the police, ambulance or fire service can only be expected to do their best, and individuals should only be blamed for gross failures in their professional duties, not for failing to arrive at your house wihin 10 seconds of your emergency call.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    208. Re: That's nice by delt0r · · Score: 1

      In NZ in the 60's. A guy made a .22 in metal work, and then shot the principal.

      --
      If information wants to be free, why does my internet connection cost so much?
    209. Re:That's nice by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Sounds like a problem the black community needs to solve for themselves

      There is no "black community". Society is a whole, made up of individuals who can be described/categorised in many different ways.. It's as stupid as saying that someone white is part of "the white community" and is therefore a billionaire, because most billionaires are white.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    210. Re:That's nice by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      However, when I lived in the US I was shot at multiple times. Usually because some idiot was shooting downhill or mistook me getting off the school bus for a dear and only occasionally by our local lunatic that sat on his back porch shooting at anything that moved. Oh, and once or twice because I was "a damn hippie," but fortunately they were too drunk to hit the broad side of a barn.

      I think you are probably mistaken. If there was shooting going on, I doubt it was directed at you. Most likely it would have been aimed at the trolls that seem to be circling you. Trolls used to be the big targets before zombies came along.

      Ah yes, a subtle variation on the "if you disagree with me, you must be trolling" slashdot meme. Because obviously in a society with widespread gun ownership, there are abosolutely no idiots with guns at all.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    211. Re: That's nice by phlinn · · Score: 1

      No, but primer and powder can also be made by hand I thought. I can find directions on the web, although it sound like even more of a pain than the rest of the reloading process.

      --
      "Pulling together is the aim of despotism and tyranny! Free men pull in all sorts of directions" -- Havelock Vetinari
    212. Re:That's nice by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      To add to this, the UK is considering a ban on "pointed kitchen knives", the "reason", "no one needs a pointed kitchen knife",

      No one needs a large pointed kitchen knife in public. If you're a chef on the way to work, fine, you can have it in your tool roll, in the same way that lumberjacks can carry their chainsaws to work in the back of their pick-ups, but not down the pub.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    213. Re:That's nice by asylumx · · Score: 1

      According to whom?

    214. Re:That's nice by phlinn · · Score: 1

      Yes, actually. You can find the basic argument here, but before I saw other takedowns I took the numbers from the reference article in the JAMA and plotted total murder and firearm homicide rates versus the legislative score he gave, and against the best numbers I could find on actual ownership rates. Lots of other graphs in there as I poked at the numbers out of curiosity. Total suicides not just firearm suicides go down with greater gun control efforts, which surprised me because I expected guns to mostly be a substitution rather than addition. Still lots of confounding variables left unaccounted for. The suicide rates in Alaska and Wyoming probably have more to do with them being more depressing places to live for people, and both depression and attitude towards guns are likely related to living in a sparsely populated region. Deliberate homicides and murder rates aren't the same thing because of self defense laws. Legitimate self defense is still included in homicide numbers.

      The distinction matters, because people usually support gun control because they are worried about being murdered, not because they are worried about killing themselves. The association that does exist between suicide rates and ownership isn't all that strong. Lots of variance, and the suicide rate goes from roughly 10 per 100,000 to 15 as ownership rates climb from about 12% to 55%. Given that auto deaths completely dwarf accidental firearm deaths, are you going to support a ban on vehicles? How about swimming pools?

      One of the most interesting things in the original JAMA article is that he found a negative correlation between certain types of gun control and gun homicides. I give him props for including that information.

      --
      "Pulling together is the aim of despotism and tyranny! Free men pull in all sorts of directions" -- Havelock Vetinari
    215. Re:That's nice by asylumx · · Score: 1

      I agree with you, but as you can see from all the other responses and the fact that my simple, citation provided statement is modded into oblivion as a "Troll" there is a ridiculous lack of ability to analyze the situation and a knee-jerk response to "protect my guns" instead of thinking like a scientist should. How can you educate people when they are too busy denying there's anything they don't know?

      It seems pretty simple:
      1. Criminal points gun at law abiding citizen
      2. Law abiding citizen points gun back
      3. Law abiding citizen pauses to decide if he'll stay a law abiding citizen if he shoots
      4. Criminal, who is already a criminal and has little to lose, sees the escalated response and shoots
      5. Law abiding citizen is hospitalized and possibly dies.

      There are a lot less gun owners that are as well trained how to respond in a situation like this than the NRA would have you believe.

      I actually had an NRA member say to me once "Are you afraid that someday I'll protect you with my gun?" No, I'm afraid you will get both of us shot because you're trying to be a hero while you happen to be standing near me.

    216. Re:That's nice by asylumx · · Score: 1

      Given your strange interpretation, you still have this to deal with: There were 4.46x more people who failed to defend themselves when they had a firearm in their possession than there were people who failed to defend themselves when they didn't have a firearm in their possession. Clearly possessing a firearm did not give them an advantage, and also clearly it in fact gave them a disadvantage.

    217. Re: That's nice by Kremmy · · Score: 1

      I'm kinda bothered that it's considered an ISSUE that a RIFLE cartridge was too much for a HANDGUN.

    218. Re:That's nice by cwsumner · · Score: 1

      Drugs are banned so there are no drugs on the street, right?

      ...
      You're ignorance is showing.

      There is a big difference between outlawing behavior and banning inanimate objects. Banning objects seems to always result in windfall profits for criminal gangs and more danger for citizens. The truth is that laws cannot control the whole world and sometimes the laws are worse than not doing anything. But people don't like to hear that, so the politicians don't say it. And we get the "worse than nothing"...

    219. Re:That's nice by cwsumner · · Score: 1

      And it is not the police's job to protect citizens. See Warren v. District of Columbia

      This is true. If the police don't save you, you can't sue them. Because that is not actually their job, much as most police try...

      The technical term for a place where the police DO have the job of protecting the individual citizens is a "Police State". It is generally agreed than no-one actually wants to live in a police state.

    220. Re:That's nice by jamstar7 · · Score: 1

      Now, watch this: The rate of firearm-related deaths per capita [wikipedia.org] is 10.23 in the US and 0.25 in the UK. The only countries (of the 75 listed) with higher rates than the US are: Panama, Mexico, Columbia, South Africa, Brazil, Swaziland, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Jamaica. Interestingly, the country with the lowest rate, Japan, has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the world [google.com]. Of course, I'm not suggesting a causal relationship, but I will point out that the presence of a gun is a prerequisite to any form of gun violence.

      Kinda hard to have gun-related deaths in societies that actively ban guns, you know. Got any stats on non-gun-related violent deaths in those countries? The numbers would probably surprise you as people tend to use weapons of opportunity.

      Sure, here you go. (Hint: its still a factor of four or five higher, depending on if you include Eastern Europe.) And yes, in fact, it's impossible to have gun violence without guns, which is why they should be licensed and registered and people should have to have background checks and pass competency tests to own them.

      We already have gun registration and background checks (unless you cop an AK off the street or at a gunshow), what the normal everyday citizen needs is a bit of training in gun handling if he intends to exercise his 2nd Ammendment rights.

      Hell, give everybody in the US a few weeks of military training while we're at it. Some time crawling through the mud, blood and puke would give the chickenhawks an idea of what they're asking our kids to put up with.

      --
      Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
    221. Re:That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just what the world was needing, a gun that can pass a metal detector. The nation's stalkers, felons, terrorists, etc all appreciate this invention.

    222. Re:That's nice by Fjandr · · Score: 1

      An assault weapon is a rifle that looks scary; they're functionally not very different from a standard rifle. A grenade launcher is already heavily restricted, and civilians can't buy actual grenade ammo for them. As for bayonet mounts, I have yet to hear of a single crime committed with a bayonet, probably because it's far more effective to use the knife by itself. Stock and grip changes, as well as muzzle brakes, provide accuracy increases, but if reversing that was the goal they'd ban optics. A barrel shroud prevents you from burning yourself. A flash hider sounds scary, but doesn't do all that much for anyone who isn't hiding from a trained sniper spotter. Silencers are already heavily restricted.

      If you meant an assault rifle, which is actually capable of firing more than one round per trigger pull, then they're already crazy expensive and highly restricted. They're also not used in US crimes due to their overwhelming expense and the difficulty of obtaining one. The few crimes that have occurred since the Valentine's Day Massacre in the 20s have mostly been law enforcement officers who have access to the assault rifles in their local police armory.

      The problem with gun registries is not their usefulness to law enforcement when times are good. It's their usefulness to tyrants when things are bad. Unfortunately, the US has a long history of abusing data that's been collected for other uses. Other countries have even worse records when it's come to using firearm databases.

    223. Re:That's nice by Fjandr · · Score: 1

      He said "murders," not "deaths."

      Most firearm deaths are suicides, and the suicide rates in countries depend far more on other factors than the availability of firearms.

    224. Re:That's nice by Fjandr · · Score: 1

      And most firearm deaths in the US are suicides, but Japan has far more suicides per capita than the US despite not having many firearms. Removing firearms would be unlikely to result in a statistically significant reduction in suicides. Simply look at the suicide rates for the UK and Australia following their widespread bans on firearms to see the effects (or rather, lack thereof).

    225. Re: That's nice by alexandru_preoteasa · · Score: 1

      Is it bad that I instantly thought of Fallout 2 when I saw this comment?

    226. Re: That's nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      when the time comes though.... in my vision of the last being (s) on earth or whatever race against infinity or lack there of (sorry this is fun) or zombie robots there might be you dont have a chance or access to a store or any supplies to make a gun in a split second so....yea it is going to be very handy i approve.... survival of the fittest... well whoever is smart enough to do it with out a license. stamp that shit.....then again......you don't want to have happen to us what happened to mattel with their recreation of the hoverboard. very disappointed real kids (& adults) from the future. sadly no working hoverboard. they are both engineered with 3d software anyway so the only thing that makes them faulty is the materials the person decided to give the machine

    227. Re: That's nice by tftp · · Score: 1

      primer and powder can also be made by hand I thought

      You can make black powder, for all the good it will do to your precious firearm. You cannot make a modern propellant without mastering the chemical and extrusion problems. A few of your attempts will result in an explosion.

      You cannot make a primer. The oldest chemistries of primers are known, but they are very unstable. I do not know off the top of my hand what primers are in use today, but Wikipedia lists lead azide, lead styphnate and tetrazene. The technology of producing and loading a highly sensitive substance is quite specific; I recall reading about blending of these crystals under a layer of ethanol, for example, but I don't know if it is in any way related to reality. This is a highly explosive process, and it has to be automated and perfected over a hundred years to get to where we are today. Probably there is no chance of making primers in somebody's garage without *exact* description of *all* technological processes and parameters, and without all the necessary equipment.

      In the end, it's not an impossibility. There are hundreds of people in the country who know all about these processes because they run them every day at ammo factories. If need be, those people could become a core of garage-based manufacturing of primers and propellants. So far that hasn't happened, and the real secrets are safe. Wikipedia may describe 90% of the technology, but the remaining 10% always takes 90% of the effort. You can easily classify making of primers and propellants as rocket science.

  2. Not really by Pecisk · · Score: 2

    While 3D printing looks cool and interesting in general, this is really far fetched. You already can make assassination weapons from schematics from Internet - if you have skills and good understanding of physics involved.

    And no, you can't really use this are argument against gun control laws.

    --
    user@ubuntubox:~$ stfu This server is going down for shutdown NOW!
    1. Re:Not really by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You already can make assassination weapons from schematics from Internet - if you have skills and good understanding of physics involved.

      This is why 3D printed guns are a game changer: the average Joe Blow can get himself a gun without needing any sort of gunsmithing skills.

      --
      "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
    2. Re:Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As far as gun laws, the horse is out of the barn. 3D printing technology is only going to improve and get access to more durable materials. It is also going to be cheaper. As much as I hate it, at this point there really isn't going to be any law that will prevent undetectable guns in 10 years or so. I expect security screenings to start to become a shitload more intrusive.

      I think I feel like how people felt when the first nukes were detonated. They knew it retrospect that it was inevitable--someone would have figured it out since it was just putting together the science and engineering. They just wished nobody did.

    3. Re:Not really by Pecisk · · Score: 2

      If you have really read articles about it, no, you really can't. 3D printing is tool here, not magic wand which will make reliable and fully functional weapon.

      --
      user@ubuntubox:~$ stfu This server is going down for shutdown NOW!
    4. Re:Not really by mrchew1982 · · Score: 4, Informative
      um, you could already make a pretty scary shotgun out of a piece of iron pipe, a cap and a nail. google "zip guns" sometime.

      really it's a non issue, most of these homemade guns are pretty useless, including this 3d printed one. With a lifetime measured in tens of rounds, it really isn't all that special.

      and as always, you still get the same time in the federal pokey if you get caught doing something naughty with it.

    5. Re:Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      3D printing is a magic wand, it will change *everything*, computers got better, right? So obviously everything else can get better too.

    6. Re:Not really by jamesh · · Score: 2

      While 3D printing looks cool and interesting in general, this is really far fetched. You already can make assassination weapons from schematics from Internet - if you have skills and good understanding of physics involved.

      And no, you can't really use this are argument against gun control laws.

      An understanding of physics you say... we'll need to look into the school system to ensure a safer America for all.

    7. Re:Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Except Slashdot comments

    8. Re:Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The point you want to make is fair. The wordings you choose to address your fellow /. reader seem apply to yourself only, though.

    9. Re:Not really by Trepidity · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's perhaps a commentary on the state of craftworking skills in the U.S. that making a rudimentary, one-shot gun is now considered too high-skilled for a regular person to do. The level of skill and equipment needed is basically at the level of a 1950s high-school metalworking class.

    10. Re: Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      last time i checked, bullets were still made of metal

    11. Re:Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dear Retard,

      Can you get bullets through airport security? Because THAT is the point here, you simpleton.

      Regards,

      - Someone who is just passing by but can't help but be stunned by your own idiocy.

    12. Re:Not really by rvw · · Score: 2

      You already can make assassination weapons from schematics from Internet - if you have skills and good understanding of physics involved.

      This is why 3D printed guns are a game changer: the average Joe Blow can get himself a gun without needing any sort of gunsmithing skills.

      Another game changer: you can melt them when the crime is done. No hassles with getting rid of the gun, just melt it. Traces on bullets won't have any value then.

    13. Re: Not really by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      And, as has been done in the movies, could easily be hidden in a keychain. If not in a rabbit's foot, then inside one of the larger remote-included keys.

    14. Re:Not really by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      Yeah, hide them in a belt buckle or behind your cufflinks. A metal signal with the wand gets a visual check that verifies there is metal that looks expected. I can think of 100 ways to get bullets past the worthless security we have today. Only a change to zero-metal policy would defeat them, and that would result in severe problems for the travel industry.

    15. Re:Not really by flyneye · · Score: 1, Troll

      The funny part is, the troll are going to run wild today over the site, because all the mod points are going to be used on this particular article to bounce posts up or down, till they are entirely depleted.
      Good luck with that, let me know how it all turns out for you.

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
    16. Re:Not really by flyneye · · Score: 1

      They'll just use rubber bullets. Ba boom, ching !

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
    17. Re:Not really by flyneye · · Score: 1

      Oh, I don't think it'll just be in the U.S. The internet kinda does away with borders or at least has less stopping power than our borders ( which is one of the jobs our government IS responsible to protect, above even the phony power they've given themselves) I'm sure you will find easy ways to download the file to print one EVERYWHERE.
      I bet China couldn't keep it out.

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
    18. Re:Not really by wienerschnizzel · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Gun related crimes are not being done using legally held weapons. You're no better off with a printed gun than you are with a black market S&W. In one case you leave traces of your presence in the black market, in the other you leave traces of downloading the schematics from the internet. In the long run owning a 3D printer and gun schematics will be equal to having the means to murder someone. If your average Joe Blow has an opportunity and a motive on top of that, he'd still get busted.

    19. Re:Not really by gl4ss · · Score: 2

      use a plastic pipe then. it's just a single shot anyways and shotgun shells(with plastic pellets) are more likely to get through security than bullets.

      thing is the guy behind this likes to act all the time like this is the first time someone can build a gun at home and how that will change civilization. it's all bullshit, he should just treat it as a technical challenge, not something that's going to change civilization by bringing power to change the world to everyone and not just governments (really, he's acting like this would make governments obsolete. he's so full of crap).

      the only reason people aren't using more zipguns, crossbows etc in the usa is because regular hand guns are so easy to get it's not worth the effort(because people obviously in USA want to shoot other people for varying reasons).

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    20. Re:Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe when 3D printing improves enough we will no longer need to shoot people... if i can print food, car, house, computer, etc. why do i need to shoot people?

      I don't think there will be no more killing... just really low chance of happening

    21. Re:Not really by Salgak1 · · Score: 1

      I'd say FAR earlier than that. Production-line firearms preceded powered shops by quite a bit. . .

    22. Re:Not really by EdgePenguin · · Score: 1

      The situation is the same in the UK, and I suspect most other western countries. This is something that has always bothered me, that I have never had the opportunity to learn these kinds of skills. Manufacturing is seen as inherently lower class than coding or services, something poor Chinese workers do in sweatshops for pennies, and I think we have recently started paying the price for such economic myopia.

    23. Re:Not really by Lord+Kano · · Score: 1

      Yeah, hide them in a belt buckle or behind your cufflinks. A metal signal with the wand gets a visual check that verifies there is metal that looks expected. I can think of 100 ways to get bullets past the worthless security we have today. Only a change to zero-metal policy would defeat them, and that would result in severe problems for the travel industry.

      Someone who is truly determined could sneak a bullet through security inside of their body. I guess that real X-Ray scanners could prevent that but how far do we go?

      LK

      --
      "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
    24. Re:Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That state of craftworking skills on a forum populated by people with masters in computer science and IT helpdeskers who don't feel like working.

      Not exactly representative of the country. Head over to the gun forums and you'll see what ol' bubba is up to in the machine shed.

    25. Re:Not really by khundeck · · Score: 1
      This is mostly true, except, I'm curious about this part (in the article):

      "But one important trick may be the group’s added step of treating the gun’s barrel in a jar of acetone vaporized with a pan of water and a camp stove, a process that chemically melts its surface slightly and smooths the bore to avoid friction."

      I don't do 3D printing, but this sounds kind of like digital-age gunsmithing (?)
      KPH

    26. Re:Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Umm you can melt down firearms too. Hotter crucible but still. Lets not even start with acid or probably just as good methods like dumping it in the ocean.

    27. Re:Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Another game changer: you can melt them when the crime is done.

      ...because metal doesn't melt.

      blah blah more heat blah blah. There's plenty of ways to melt and/or dispose of existing guns. Idiots keeping them, or just dropping them in trash cans got them caught... same thing here. You still wouldn't want to leave that melted lump of plastic at the scene, and if it's at your house, that'll get you busted just as easily. If you could melt it, put it back through the printer, and make a neat little action figure or something, that'd be fun.

    28. Re:Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Politicians are not rational animals. They will act on whatever brings the most lucre, or least pain, related to their constituents, or their lobbyist partners. Passing laws regulating 3D guns will make everyone involved feel better, while avoiding the more serious issues involved, such as background checks to help screen crazies.

    29. Re:Not really by redmid17 · · Score: 1

      The firing pin on any gun is going to need to be metal or it would fail after the first firing attempt.

    30. Re:Not really by redmid17 · · Score: 1

      The firing pin on any gun is going to need to be metal or it would fail during or after the first firing attempt.

    31. Re:Not really by inking · · Score: 1

      I'm afraid the world isn't limited to the US. It's rather difficult to get hold of firearm in some countries. For instance, I remember hearing a criminology report several years ago stating that more Yakuza die to liver failure, because of excessive tattoos, than to gunfire. Even more died to knife wounds. The ability to easily print firearms would be somewhat problematic in this case. Of course, there's always the possibility to outlaw ammunition sales, thus fixing the issue entirely for quite some time.

    32. Re:Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, many of the gun crimes are committed with legally held weapons. Not all, but let's be honest about it.

      But it is, as you say, easy enough to get a black market gun.

    33. Re:Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's not actually true. Printable plastic won't do it, but we have ceramics quite sturdy enough for the task, if you make it the right shape (wider pin, with a cone down to the tip, and a tapered rather than straight firing pin hole). Even easier for an open-bolt gun, where the firing pin is just a nub sticking out of the bolt face.

    34. Re:Not really by jeffmeden · · Score: 1

      You already can make assassination weapons from schematics from Internet - if you have skills and good understanding of physics involved.

      This is why 3D printed guns are a game changer: the average Joe Blow can get himself a gun without needing any sort of gunsmithing skills.

      What game does this change? The average Joe Blow (without any felony convictions) can get a gun without any gunsmithing skills AND without having to buy a 3d printer. This is not up for debate, and is not going away in any of our lifetimes. Even the recent attempt at better defining this transaction failed to gain enough support. Plus, there are 100 million guns already in the US, so even if Joe Blow is a felon, he can very very very easily acquire a gun without any chicanery or suspicion, by simply rustling up some cash and buying it from a private seller. If there is any "game" out there to be changed, it is certainly NOT in the US. Maybe in a few years, third world regimes will be overthrown with printed guns, but for now simply importing guns from the many available arms dealers seems to not be any sort of issue, for the likes of Syrian Rebels and others in similar situations.

      "3d printed" guns are a solution looking for a problem.

    35. Re:Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Entirely wrong, mod parent down!

      Anyone in the USA can make a firearm. Really, it's ok. Right now. No permit necessary for it to be legal. You do need some skill, and usually some fairly specialized tools, but so long as you made it it is LEGAL. The only restriction is that what you make is for your own personal use. If you intend to sell/transfer such an item to another person, you must have a license to do so. Defense Distributed has such a license. This is a matter of ongoing law and has ALWAYS been the case. Your ignorance does not change the facts.

      Contrast that to your "black market S&W" which, by virtue of the words "black market" I assume you live in an area like Chicago or New York, taking possession of is illegal, carrying is illegal, and possessing is probably illegal.

      They bear zero relation to one another. No more insightful mods on parent.

    36. Re:Not really by wienerschnizzel · · Score: 1

      I've said nothing about 3D printed guns being illegal.

    37. Re:Not really by Rhacman · · Score: 1

      I think the bigger issue about the 3d printed gun is combining the fact that a nearly unskilled person could make it with the fact that security scanners will have a difficult time detecting it.

      --
      Account -> Discussions -> Disable Sigs
    38. Re:Not really by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      Because all that stuff will be copyrighted and patented and somehow owned by large mega corporations who will say you're not allowed to have square corners or rounded door knobs on your house because they own the patent on them.

    39. Re:Not really by PraiseBob · · Score: 1

      Because making a rudimentary one-time device using a metalwork shop is the exact same threat level as buying a 3d printer, downloading plans off the internet, and producing an automatic assault rifle?

    40. Re:Not really by PraiseBob · · Score: 1

      How easy is it for Joe Blow to buy a fully automatic weapon?
      How many fully automatic weapons are used in crimes today?
      How many criminals would prefer to use an untraceable, cheap, disposable, and fully automatic weapon instead of what they currently have?

      That is why 3d printed guns are a game-changer.

    41. Re:Not really by Trepidity · · Score: 2

      But that isn't what they demonstrated here: they demonstrated the ability to 3d-print a rudimentary one-time device.

    42. Re:Not really by usuallylost · · Score: 1

      I have to wonder if this is really a changer of much of anything. He is using a 3D printer that is $8,000 used and if my understanding is correct the media is going to cost him a couple of hundred bucks per gun. For that kind of money I suspect he could have gone to a pawn shop and bought some metal working tools and gone to his local community college and taken some courses on how to use them. My suspicion is that using traditional techniques he could turn out a lot more reliable, and less likely to blow your hand off, weapon of at least similar utility.

    43. Re:Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dear Anonymous Coward Retard,

      When was the last time you were able to get a bullet through airport security??

      You can already get a pen through airport security that would make a pretty good .22 barrel. But the thing that stops that is getting the .22 shell through airport security.

      I'll let you start spewing off again when it is legal to get bullets through. Last time I checked... lead and brass still sets off metal detectors. The powder charge alone would set off the explosives detector.

    44. Re:Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What you said is equivalent to "anyone with machine shop access/knowledge will be busted, because he clearly has the means to murder someone using stuff he could make." Replace `machine shop` with `3D printer`.

      As a society and in Common Law we agreed long ago that such statements are specious and treat them accordingly. Does anyone on trial with metalworking tools/skiils no longer need "means" to be convicted? Absolutely not, means must still be shown. We don't assume such a person DID make a firearm just because he or she COULD; this is analagous to "guilty until proven innocent" and is antithetical to law in the USA. Thus, your premise is invalid. QED.

      Mod GGP down.

    45. Re:Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Isn't that already the case? And for considerably less than a 3d printer?

    46. Re:Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The average Joe doesn't have the 30K needed to buy one of these printers.

    47. Re:Not really by PraiseBob · · Score: 1

      The backyard forging of a zip gun has already reached its pinnacle. There is basically no improvement in technology that can make it easier or better if you are just going with plumping parts. The 3d tech is still in its infancy, and is expected to improve a thousand fold in efficiency, strength, speed, etc, over the next couple decades. I don't think anyone is all that worried about todays capabilities, and that 1st generation alpha gun.

    48. Re:Not really by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1
      Dear More Retarded Anonymous Coward,

      My Mont Blanc pen has a large metal body on it. I could comfortably carry four .32 ACP rounds within the body, and they'd be invisible because they are covered/surrounded by a substantial tube of stainless steel.

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    49. Re:Not really by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      My kitchen oven would melt the printed pistol in about 30 minutes. How would that metal firearm do?

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    50. Re:Not really by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      Source?

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    51. Re:Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "The First Fully 3D-Printed Gun Has Been Successfully Test-Fired"
      More "Not really":
      As in not really "First Fully" since all the parts weren't 3D-Printed. But I guess "The First Almost Fully 3D-Printed Gun Has Been Successfully Test-Fired" don't sound as cool.

    52. Re:Not really by WilyCoder · · Score: 1

      unless they figure out how to make plastic bullets then who gives a shit about plastic guns

    53. Re:Not really by Rhacman · · Score: 1

      Metal is not itself a prohibited item on planes. Small metal objects are a lot easier to conceal from the scanners than large ones.

      --
      Account -> Discussions -> Disable Sigs
    54. Re:Not really by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      An unexplaned metal hit will cause problems. I had a knee brace on after surgery, and they had to see the brace and swab it for explosives, but didn't care whether there were 100 cartridges hidden in it somewhere (roughly the volume available, with the small .380 used for this gun). But a metal hit on your torso that persists with your clothes removed will cause issue. At least from my experience with concealed metal hits.

    55. Re:Not really by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      The implication is that this gun, which was successfully fired at least twice, has no metal firing pin. How do we reconcile reality with some random opinion on the Internet? Oh yeah, that's right, the "ignore the Internet opinion" works.

    56. Re:Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In one case you leave traces of your presence in the black market, in the other you leave traces of downloading the schematics from the internet.

      If only there was some way to download a file anonymously.

    57. Re:Not really by dywolf · · Score: 1

      fire a few hundred rounds through it and then get back to me.
      assuming it hasnt blown up then, and can still knock out a 1 inch group at 50 feet afterwards.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    58. Re:Not really by dywolf · · Score: 1

      Yes. the great big bulge from making plastic parts thick enough to withstand the pressure is completely undetectable

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    59. Re:Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh, you mean just like you can do with any gun today? Read up on Thermite, If you can make a single shot gun you can make that stuff.... Actually, if You can go to the bathroom you can make that stuff.

    60. Re:Not really by spitzak · · Score: 1

      I think the swap for explosives would pick up cartridges hidden in it? I guess I am unclear what you are saying.

    61. Re:Not really by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      You need a very high quality 3d printer to do this. You'll get injured if you try to use a makerbot or other hobbyist printer.
      Sure you can download the plans and print this out, but how do you test to be sure it's going to be safe?

    62. Re:Not really by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      To be honest, they should be teaching good soldering skills in college for CS people. I learned to solder in shop class, with big bulky soldering irons, completely unsuitable to modern stuff. I feel like an ignoramus every time I have to ask a tech to solder on a couple of test lines.

    63. Re:Not really by kungfugleek · · Score: 1

      The level of skill and equipment needed is basically at the level of a 1950s high-school metalworking class.

      Hell. In 1950, building a gun in shop class was probably required for graduation.

    64. Re:Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or read TFA, or the TFS of the previous story (well, one of the half-dozen previous stories about this gun, at any rate), and know that it has a metal firing pin made from a nail.

    65. Re:Not really by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      I wouldn't exepect so, the traces of gunpowder should be below detection for a commercial cartridge, carefully hidden inside another container, but yes, it would be something that would need to be tested before I try it.

    66. Re:Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No guns, but my dad's 1950-ish high school shop class produced two swords, a number of large knives, and a crossbow.

    67. Re:Not really by Rhacman · · Score: 1

      No need to be sarcastic. I agree that leaving it on your person would potentially be detectable via pat-down or backscatter, but not necessarily so for carry on articles. Visually it would be easy to conceal on ones person with even moderately loose clothing. The shape of the thing is arbitrary so it wouldn't even look like a gun on x-ray. It would also likely make it past security checkpoints that only use metal detectors, which are typically set at a threshold so that things like belt-buckles don't set them off.

      --
      Account -> Discussions -> Disable Sigs
    68. Re:Not really by Lord+Kano · · Score: 1

      I suppose it would take the additional step of adding scars to explain it but lumbar plates could cause a metal detector hit. And how would they prove that you didn't have them?

      LK

      --
      "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
    69. Re:Not really by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      They are "allowed" to refuse you entry without a doctors note.

    70. Re:Not really by Lord+Kano · · Score: 1

      But, that's not "required". Correct?

      LK

      --
      "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
    71. Re:Not really by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      nothing is "required" They *are* the law. You do what they say when they say it. The rules are almost consistent, but the application of them isn't.

    72. Re:Not really by Lord+Kano · · Score: 1

      nothing is "required" They *are* the law.

      They certainly seem to think so.

      LK

      --
      "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
    73. Re:Not really by redmid17 · · Score: 1

      The implication is expressly not that. For the literate in the group, you read about the nail used as a firing pin. "The only parts of the weapon that weren’t made using a 3-D printer were the actual.380 round and a nail used as a firing pin"

    74. Re:Not really by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      I think the bigger issue about the 3d printed gun is combining the fact that a nearly unskilled person could make it with the fact that security scanners will have a difficult time detecting it.

      You are assuming that an all-plastic gun will ever be viable as a serious weapon. Presumably, someone somewhere would be manufacturing undetectable guns for spies/hitmen/terrorists/people exercising their Constitutional rights already if that were true.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    75. Re:Not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I did metalwork and woodwork at school (1970s) and fucking hated them both, along with pretty much everybody else. Teachers in these subjects appear to have been selected purely on their ability to make the subject seem uninteresting. It wasn't until I was grown up that I became interested in things like motorcycle mechanics, electronics, basic carpentry, and so on.

      Some subjects are just wasted on kids.

    76. Re:Not really by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      You already can make assassination weapons from schematics from Internet - if you have skills and good understanding of physics involved.

      This is why 3D printed guns are a game changer: the average Joe Blow can get himself a gun without needing any sort of gunsmithing skills.

      Another game changer: you can melt them when the crime is done. No hassles with getting rid of the gun, just melt it. Traces on bullets won't have any value then.

      Even better you could recycle it in your 3D printer, thereby making your murder a green one. Ethical pluses and minuses.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    77. Re:Not really by Fjandr · · Score: 1

      The firing pin can be set in a removable block.

    78. Re:Not really by Fjandr · · Score: 1

      Hard.
      None.
      Plastic barrels wouldn't hold up to fully automatic fire. Metal barrels have a hard time holding up to fully automatic fire.

    79. Re:Not really by PraiseBob · · Score: 1

      Right. You're reinforcing my point.
      It is currently hard to acquire such weapons, thus they are never used. It isn't because the criminals WANT to have the same firepower level as police and homeowners. They would want to use automatic weapons but can't get them because of restrictions and cost.
      However, a criminal could find a sturdy metal pipe to use as a barrel and print the rest of an automatic weapon.
      With this technology, it changes from hard, to easy. From expensive, to cheap. This guy is putting on his own handicaps by only using plastic. He could have a fully functioning automatic rifle today if he wanted and was willing to substitute a few metal parts. And if he can do it today, lots of people can do it tomorrow.

    80. Re:Not really by Rhacman · · Score: 1

      I never made any assumptions as to how effective a plastic gun is or will ever be. A gun that can fire a potentially lethal round one or more times is a weapon, "viable", "serious" or not. All I've stated is that 3D printing is a technique that permits a weapon to be more easily, cheaply, and discreetly obtained that is also difficult to detect by security screeners. The example of a iron pipe and a shotgun shell satisfies easy, cheap, and discreetly obtained. 3D printing adds the element of difficulty to detect.

      --
      Account -> Discussions -> Disable Sigs
    81. Re:Not really by Fjandr · · Score: 1

      Anyone can already do that more cheaply than using 3D printers.

      They're called CNC machines, and they're almost as easy to use, and their use is cheaper to boot.

      This changes nothing but perceptions.

    82. Re:Not really by tftp · · Score: 1

      With a lifetime measured in tens of rounds, it really isn't all that special.

      A large number of handguns are used to make either zero or one shot in their entire history. Not everyone religiously, every week, goes to the range with a thousand rounds and comes back with only empty brass. Many concealed carry firearms are never discharged. Barrel durability is not a concern at all. Barrels of big guns (like those on ships) are designed only for a few hundred shots - and they are far more expensive than a few grams of plastic. A printed gun is a problem only if you are a professional who shoots frequently - a soldier, or a target shooter, or a hunter. Even police officers are safe - they rarely shoot; whenever they do, it's a big deal.

    83. Re:Not really by tftp · · Score: 1

      They would want to use automatic weapons

      What for? Could you please elaborate? What gangbanger would want to carry a replica of M16 and a few magazines full of ammo? What target would that be useful against? Handguns are far more practical for what criminals are doing. Full auto weapons are only useful for laying suppressive fire, preferrably against a massed enemy. A terrorist might want one (see Mumbai,) but a common criminal, IMO, has no use of it.

  3. Interesting synergies will appear by ProzakLord · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now militia style groups mostly in rural areas are going to be recruiting geeks to operate the 3D printers. Anyone fancy making up a t-shirt saying: "Will print for moonshine"

    1. Re:Interesting synergies will appear by RichZellich · · Score: 1

      You're being snobbishly insulting to "militia style groups mostly in rural areas" with that stupid comment. If you meant it to be humorous,it doesn't read that way.

      Besides, anybody can operate a 3D printer - the expertise is in weapons design, manufacture, and asembly (in great abundance in said populations) and the ability to use CAD/CAM software (which is not exactly in short supply in said populations).

    2. Re:Interesting synergies will appear by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Now militia style groups mostly in rural areas are going to be recruiting geeks to operate the 3D printers. Anyone fancy making up a t-shirt saying: "Will print for moonshine"

      And after the geeks have printed a couple of weapons, they get to "volunteer" to be target practice.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    3. Re: Interesting synergies will appear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nobody with any familiarity with firearms would consider this useful. Anyone with modest skills and access to machine tools can make a working gun that won't blow up in your face.

  4. Printing a gun is a crime.... by Swistak · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    ... and buing it completelly legally for your kid is absolutelly alright. Welcome to America! Where only thing standing between you and realiable rifle is 7 day waiting period. At the same time God forbid you fail at making science expiriment - even if you're 15 year old girl - you'll be charged as an adult terrorist! Thank God I'm not living there

    1. Re:Printing a gun is a crime.... by Trepidity · · Score: 4, Informative

      It's actually not a crime to print a gun (or otherwise manufacture one for personal use), which is why this guy did so openly and was not arrested.

    2. Re:Printing a gun is a crime.... by Fluffeh · · Score: 1

      It's actually not a crime to print a gun (or otherwise manufacture one for personal use), which is why this guy did so openly and was not arrested.

      You are totally correct, however, I dare say that given how much of a game-changer this is in terms of policing weapons, and how politicians hate being caught with their pants down without a law that has already been passed, your statement will be out-dated in 3... 2.... There...

      --
      Moved to http://soylentnews.org/. You are invited to join us too!
    3. Re:Printing a gun is a crime.... by oodaloop · · Score: 1

      Thank God I'm not living there

      Which explains how you managed to get everything in that post wrong. I hope you have a better understanding of your own country.

      --
      Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
    4. Re:Printing a gun is a crime.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, this shit could really blow up in his face! :D

    5. Re:Printing a gun is a crime.... by swillden · · Score: 1

      It's actually not a crime to print a gun (or otherwise manufacture one for personal use), which is why this guy did so openly and was not arrested.

      Though, just to be on the safe side, this guy did get a firearms manufacturing license.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    6. Re:Printing a gun is a crime.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, because it being a crime totally is the basis on which cops decide to fuck you up... lol

      Nowadays, America's SS-equivalent can storm your home whenever they please, you don't have the right to even ask why, nor contact anyone. It has zero requirements, but is usually preceded by somebody accusing you of being a "Nazi^Wcommunist^Wterrorist", just so the general public of morons readily accepts it.

    7. Re:Printing a gun is a crime.... by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      Printing a gun is a crime

      No, it's not. It's perfectly legal to manufacture a firearm for personal use in US.

      only thing standing between you and realiable rifle is 7 day waiting period

      There's no waiting period, 7-day or otherwise, on a firearm purchase in US (some states may enforce their own laws on that matter, and some do it only for handguns or only for people without a concealed carry permit).

      Thank God I'm not living there

      I'm not going to say that this would necessarily preclude you from posting anything meaningful about the country, but you should really work on researching things better before posting. It comes off really silly when you rant about things that you've got wrong in the first place.

  5. And... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The Gorn is inconsolable.

  6. Anarchist and radical libertarian? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Don't care if OP likes Mr. Wilson or not, but spreading false information is simply childish. Cody Wilson is not an "anarchist". He is a CRYPTO-ANARCHIST. There is a tremendous difference. I would have thought the /. crowd would know the difference, but I guess ignorance knows no boundaries.

    1. Re:Anarchist and radical libertarian? by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Don't care if OP likes Mr. Wilson or not, but spreading false information is simply childish. Cody Wilson is not an "anarchist". He is a CRYPTO-ANARCHIST. There is a tremendous difference. I would have thought the /. crowd would know the difference, but I guess ignorance knows no boundaries.

      Agreed, crypto-anarchists are basically anarcho-capitalists which is another way of saying libertarian (in the US sense).

      I know slashdot readers don't like to use these terms, but true anarchists are left wing while crypto-anarchists are right wing.

      Most left wing thinkers would classify anything based on capitalism (such as anarcho-capitalism) as right wing by definition, and say that the term "anarchist" has been hijacked to create confusion. It is mainly in the US that the free market/capitalism/the exploitation of the poor by the rich is seen as the best way to organise humankind.

      A system without government which results in the rich becoming powerful without hindrance is not anarchism, as that depends on all three of liberty, equality and fraternity, and no coercive power structure at all. In the absence of unlimited shared resources and wealth, and without the democratic expression of the majority to correct things, the rich will always have power.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  7. thing to hold the bullet and firing pin by gl4ss · · Score: 2

    that's the gun this is.. and it exploded on second shot.

    the design should use some metal pipe, imho.

    --
    world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    1. Re:thing to hold the bullet and firing pin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Are you unaware that airsoft is a sport played by children that involves firing plastic bullets at each other?

      A fully plastic "gun" is useless without metal ammunition.

    2. Re:thing to hold the bullet and firing pin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I forget the name of the move. But in it a would be presidential assassin makes a plastic gun at home. He gets the ammo through security as a lucky rabbits foot on his key-chain. Am guessing even today something similar would work. If no explosives test are conducted. Of course there are many explosives that could be loaded into the gun that would pass through today's onsite testing.

    3. Re:thing to hold the bullet and firing pin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I sense much rage in this one. Forgot your medication this morning?

    4. Re:thing to hold the bullet and firing pin by geirlk · · Score: 1

      Coward

    5. Re:thing to hold the bullet and firing pin by Bearhouse · · Score: 1

      Agree that metal would be better, but that's defeating the entire purpose, eh?
      Gun exploded when a larger-capacity, (says "rifle") cartridge was used. Too much power for the plastic, I suppose.

      But of course you're right in essence; it's a piece of crap.

    6. Re:thing to hold the bullet and firing pin by mrbester · · Score: 1

      The plot for that (In The Line Of Fire) was referenced repeatedly on a recent CSI where there were fire once printed guns used in several murders.

      --
      "Wait. Something's happening. It's opening up! My God, it's full of apricots!"
    7. Re:thing to hold the bullet and firing pin by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      > the design should use some metal pipe, imho.

      Then it wouldn't be "fully 3-d printed then", would it, you fuckwit. Nor would it get through airport security, imbecile.

      well this isn't 3d printed fully either nimbusdubulus. the pin and bullet are metal, and I'd place much more emphasis on being able to build cheaply and easily rather than at "omg fully 3d printed with a 8 thousand dollar stratasys printer". at stratasys material pricing(unless you hack the cartridges) the metal pipe would be cheaper too!

      not that hard to get a metal pipe through security either! 70% of luggage has some. and what the fuck is it with dumbwits assuming that the intended use is to fool TSA to let a single shot piece of shit through security??

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    8. Re:thing to hold the bullet and firing pin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      not that hard to get a metal pipe through security either! 70% of luggage has some. and what the fuck is it with dumbwits assuming that the intended use is to fool TSA to let a single shot piece of shit through security??

      A metal pipe in the luggage isn't very usable since you will have to disassemble/assemble the gun before usage.
      If the intention is to use the gun after you have arrived/landed it's easier to just pick up something at you destination.

    9. Re:thing to hold the bullet and firing pin by tgd · · Score: 1

      You seem to think he actually intends to design it for that, mongoloid.

      I think you both could use a thesaurus.

    10. Re:thing to hold the bullet and firing pin by BLKMGK · · Score: 1

      yes, it exploded on the second shot AFTER having a much more powerful shell loaded not because it had any issues after the first firing... I agree some pipe would be an improvement.

      For those screaming that it would then have an issue with security I'd point out that the pipe need not be installed in the weapon at all times and that it could be brought through security easily as part of another object - say a tripod for a camera. And no, he wasn't trying to build a gun that could be brought through security although he has likely come pretty close to accomplishing that.

      --
      Build it, Drive it, Improve it! Hybridz.org
    11. Re:thing to hold the bullet and firing pin by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      You need to learn how to read.

      They did a test show with two different cartridges. The second was a high pressure round.

      They did another test of just the barrel, and fired 11 rounds before failure.

      This is a prototype. I expect a 100 round barrel may be developed in the future.

    12. Re:thing to hold the bullet and firing pin by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      The "entire purpose" is somewhat vague. Is it just proof of concept, settling a bet that it couldn't be done? If the purpose was to create something practical then it wouldn't be based totally on 3d printing, it would just have some 3d printed plastic parts plus some machined metal.

      If the purpose is just to get guns for self defense, then the answer is just to go out and buy one. It's not illegal, and the US government is never going to be taking them away like the loonies think (this 3d guy is self described as "crypto-anarchist").

      Really, the actual purpose is to make a political statement, so it is not intended to be a practical gun. This is performance art.

    13. Re:thing to hold the bullet and firing pin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Was the first metal gun was much more reliable? Plastics in 5 years might perform adequately. And 3D printers in 20 years will print metal, gas, plastic, etc... refills will always be a ripoff though

  8. OT: Slashdot encoding problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does everyone see these malformed characters or is it a problem in my Web browser?

    are â" so to speak â" up

    1. Re:OT: Slashdot encoding problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Yes. Somebody obviously copied and pasted, and in their rush to get that "oooh ooh, I got first post, now maybe the boys will admire me!!!" rush, they did not preview.

    2. Re:OT: Slashdot encoding problem by BrokenHalo · · Score: 1

      However, it would be nice if copy/paste would reproduce mdash and other entities properly. It shouldn't be that hard.

    3. Re:OT: Slashdot encoding problem by gorzek · · Score: 2

      "It shouldn't be that hard" seems to be the Unicode motto.

    4. Re:OT: Slashdot encoding problem by tqk · · Score: 1

      Does everyone see these malformed characters or is it a problem in my Web browser?

      However, it would be nice if copy/paste would reproduce mdash and other entities properly.

      It's a feature. It lets us easily and quickly determine whether poster is a man or a boy. Or a Windows dork or Mac dweeb.

      --
      "Tongue tied and twisted, just an Earth bound misfit ..." -- Pink Floyd.
  9. 3 D printing of guns can be done better by roman_mir · · Score: 1, Interesting

    This guy doesn't do this right, if he wants to make better guns of higher quality he shouldn't be printing PARTS for guns, he should be doing something else, printing molds and figuring out ways to use thermal molding and composite materials, like carbon fibers and plastics to make really durable quality parts.

    1. Re:3 D printing of guns can be done better by udachny · · Score: 0

      Oh, and bullets, how about cartridges?

      Print molds for cartridges, they are easy to cast from plastic.

      The bullet itself can be made from marbles for example, not very good, but possible. You have a plastic gun, marble or granite bullets, just add Maynard tape primer instead of a percussion cap and catching, you are a terrorist :)

    2. Re:3 D printing of guns can be done better by StripedCow · · Score: 1

      You don't need a 3d printer to make molds. Making molds would nullify the advantage of using a 3d printer: simplicity.

      Unless, of course, somebody invents a 3d printer that can automate the entire process.

      --
      If Pandora's box is destined to be opened, *I* want to be the one to open it.
    3. Re:3 D printing of guns can be done better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are also my sock puppet.

    4. Re:3 D printing of guns can be done better by RichZellich · · Score: 1

      I'm thinking that his CAD/CAM drawings are just as useful when fed into a CNC milling machine, which is also priced within hobbyist reach these days. I know hobbyists who have built their own, for that matter.

      Once you have the computerized engineering drawings, nothing says you can only input them to a plastic-output machine.

  10. Why is this a problem? by jonwil · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The law says that its not illegal to produce a gun at home. People have been making guns at home for years.
    Why is it suddenly a problem that someone can 3D print a gun instead of making one out of a block of metal with machine tools?

    1. Re:Why is this a problem? by GNious · · Score: 1

      Level of entry - the 3D printed version is likely easier to make (requiring less skill in some areas)

    2. Re:Why is this a problem? by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 1

      Why is it suddenly a problem that someone can 3D print a gun

      because when the price of the 3D printers will drop, and the guns CAD models become available anywhere on the Net, the first retarded person will be able to make one in no time and play with it in his closest mall or school.

      --
      Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
    3. Re:Why is this a problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Cops putting people under visual surveillance is okay but cops attaching GPS transponders to everyone is not so much okay. Normally lowering the barriers to do something via technology results in a net gain but if it's so easy that even a child could make weapons just by clicking a mouse and pushing a few buttons, I am not so sure.

    4. Re:Why is this a problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So only the rich or highly skilled should have the ability? Sounds a bit elitist to me.

    5. Re:Why is this a problem? by will_die · · Score: 1

      Doing out of metal would be ok, it is the creation of a gun that is not detectable which is against the law. They get around this by adding a block of metal, besides the firing pin, which makes it legal.

    6. Re:Why is this a problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The law says that its not illegal to produce a gun at home. People have been making guns at home for years.
      Why is it suddenly a problem that someone can 3D print a gun instead of making one out of a block of metal with machine tools?

      If I may... Um, I'll tell you the problem with the scientific power that you're using here, it didn't require any discipline to attain it. You read what others had done and you took the next step. You didn't earn the knowledge for yourselves, so you don't take any responsibility for it. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could, and before you even knew what you had, you patented it, and packaged it, and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox, and now you're selling it, you wanna sell it. Well... your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should.

    7. Re:Why is this a problem? by rohan972 · · Score: 1

      Level of entry - the 3D printed version is likely easier to make (requiring less skill in some areas)

      If that's the issue it's like saying it's legal until (too many of) you start doing it. Can a right only be allowed until people start exercising it?

    8. Re:Why is this a problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's easier to kill a person with a gun than a knife, yet that has not stopped guns on the street (nor knifes). Difficulty should not be taken into account when making solid rules.

    9. Re:Why is this a problem? by muffen · · Score: 1

      The law says that its not illegal to produce a gun at home.

      The law says the exact opposite, but I'm guessing location-wise we are also close to opposite.

    10. Re:Why is this a problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The law says that its not illegal to produce a gun at home. People have been making guns at home for years. Why is it suddenly a problem that someone can 3D print a gun instead of making one out of a block of metal with machine tools?

      It'll probably make no difference at all. It might risk children trying to print their own guns and inadvertently killing themselves when they inevitably fail... which oddly enough isn't likely to help the NRA's case.

      Another possible practical difference is that *if* (it's a big if!) these things ever get to a point where they are practical, it'll kill the market for existing gun manufacturers. And presumably, that wouldn't help the NRA's funding either.

      All in all, I think the NRA should be totally against these things, and gun control advocates should encourage them!! :D

    11. Re:Why is this a problem? by argStyopa · · Score: 1

      "You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before."

      http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/rahmemanue409199.html
      -Rahm Emmanuel

      --
      -Styopa
    12. Re:Why is this a problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A wood gun that can be used once require even less skill - you won't need the internet or connecting a computer to a fancy 3D printer or run software. No incompatibilities because the 3D gun recipe was for another brand of printer.

      Drill a hole in a block of hardwood, to hold the cartridge. Glue another piece of wood over it. This other piece should have a small hole for the firing pin. (A nail) Hit the pin with a club to fire the "gun". If the wood block is big enough, it won't explode when you fire in this manner.

    13. Re:Why is this a problem? by Lord+Kano · · Score: 1

      It would appear that you are operating under several misconceptions.

      Very little of the NRA's funding comes from gun manufacturers.

      New technology doesn't eliminate demand of old guns. Curio and Relic firearms are booming.

      LK

      --
      "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
    14. Re:Why is this a problem? by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      Yup and only white southernors and non-Irish/Italian northernors should be given gun permits.

      History of gun control has ALWAYS been elitist.

      The wealthy are still allowed to have fully automatic machine guns. Average folks, not so much.

    15. Re:Why is this a problem? by Captain.Abrecan · · Score: 1

      Not really, where would the retarded person get the ammunition? It's still tough. I haven't been able to find any since around October.

    16. Re:Why is this a problem? by BitterOak · · Score: 1

      Level of entry - the 3D printed version is likely easier to make (requiring less skill in some areas)

      That's one reason. Another is that plastic guns could pass through metal detectors. And 3-D printed objects can be melted down and the plastic re-used for other things. I.e. disposable guns. Disposable guns would be a nightmare for forensic investigators.

      --
      If I can be modded down for being a troll, can I be modded up for being an orc, or a balrog?
    17. Re:Why is this a problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      how hard is it to hook plumbing parts together?

      the sten SMG was designed so that a household plumber could put it together.

    18. Re:Why is this a problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When a retarded guy is the only one with a gun... is HE the one who is retarded?

      *GONNNNNNNGGGGGGG*

    19. Re:Why is this a problem? by dywolf · · Score: 1

      its also a helluva lot less reliable, inaccurate, and more prone to exploding in your face.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    20. Re:Why is this a problem? by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      It might risk children trying to print their own guns and inadvertently killing themselves when they inevitably fail...

      That sounds like more of a parenting problem than a gun problem.

      FTR, if I wanted to be responsible for the actions of children, I would have some of my own.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    21. Re:Why is this a problem? by SethJohnson · · Score: 1

      More to the point of challenging forensics is the lack of any rifling leaving marks on a slug to match it to its source weapon.

      I doubt the melting-down of a weapon would befuddle investigators any more than when traditional guns are thrown into rivers, lakes, and oceans. When it's gone, it's gone, be it plastic or steel.

    22. Re:Why is this a problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      oops. That genie is out of the bottle. We can't sit around debating whether this should have been done. We can only debate how we deal with it now.

    23. Re:Why is this a problem? by adamchou · · Score: 1

      I'm all for gun rights, but I can't see the point of building a gun that is made to be used only a few times and is made of plastic. It sounds like something that would only be used in an assassination attempt, not for self defense or hunting. It just reminds me of something like this

    24. Re:Why is this a problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "The law says that its not illegal to produce a gun at home."

      Maybe in your country. In mine this is a big deal - we aren't big fans of guns and we enjoy a low gun related crime rate, and I'd like to see things stay that way.

      In the Netherlands, child pornography is protected under freedom of speech - I assume you're ok with it being disseminated to the US from there?

    25. Re:Why is this a problem? by GNious · · Score: 1

      The exploding-in-your-face seems like a good reason to permit it >:]

    26. Re:Why is this a problem? by BitterOak · · Score: 1

      More to the point of challenging forensics is the lack of any rifling leaving marks on a slug to match it to its source weapon.

      I imagine that as printable gun technology improves, 3-D printed guns will have rifling. Otherwise you'd have to shoot someone at extremely close range to do any real damage. Rifling on virtually any gun used for defense or combat is essential in order for bullets to maintain their speed and trajectory for all but the closest range shots.

      I doubt the melting-down of a weapon would befuddle investigators any more than when traditional guns are thrown into rivers, lakes, and oceans. When it's gone, it's gone, be it plastic or steel.

      But guns aren't cheap. People will be reluctant to dispose of guns that way unless they were involved in an unusually "hot" situation. And things thrown in the river have a way of turning up. A melted plastic gun could simply be reprinted as a dildo.

      --
      If I can be modded down for being a troll, can I be modded up for being an orc, or a balrog?
  11. I'm scared. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When I went to high school in the early 90's; Saturday Night Specials were quite popular with drug dealers and little punk ass bitches that wanted to boast how dangerous they were. This ended when detectors were installed towards my senior year. The size of this 3d printed looks compareable. So how do you scan for this? We really don't need more guns contrary to arguement. People are always going to kill each other by some means already invented. So why do we need new ways? I'm not a pacifist. I like to fight but even I can see no practical beneficial need to become an armory courtesy of a printer that can do anything. There's something else wrong with our society and THAT' s exacerbating this. Fix that. Guns don't solve problems long term. A.B.

    1. Re:I'm scared. by Barsteward · · Score: 2

      "There's something else wrong with our society and THAT' s exacerbating this."

      unfortunately the dickheads that derive their bravery from behind a gun don't understand common sense. These are the same dick heads that start a fight over being "dis-respected" because they don't understand what respect is.

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
    2. Re:I'm scared. by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      Really, you don't think the problem might lie not in guns, but in a legal/judicial system that repeatedly releases violent criminals back on the street. And a legislature that has created a failed war on drugs and fueled an entire criminal underworld.

    3. Re:I'm scared. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So you're generalizing gun owners as all cowards who need a gun to lord power over others and emotionally weak idiots who can't handle hearing another person's negative opinion regarding them?

      Your credibility went from near zero to negative. Good work. It's gotta be difficult to utterly fail as hard as you did. I'm sure you spout off about tolerance and the like, but you seem like you're only interested in tolerating the things you feel should be tolerated.

    4. Re:I'm scared. by Barsteward · · Score: 1

      it lies in the mind set, if we had no criminals then we wouldn;t need a judicial system

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
    5. Re:I'm scared. by Barsteward · · Score: 1

      if you shoot for sport (targets only) then they don;t fall into the equation, but all the others that shoot animals for "sport", show off to their friends etc are generally dick heads

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
    6. Re:I'm scared. by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      When I went to high school in the early 90's; Saturday Night Specials were quite popular with drug dealers and little punk ass bitches that wanted to boast how dangerous they were. This ended when detectors were installed towards my senior year.

      When I went to high school in the late 90's, we were allowed to have shotguns and .22 rifles on campus. We didn't have metal detectors, the district couldn't afford them even if they wanted to.

      Still, nobody ever got shot, nor did anyone feel the need to brandish their weapons to "boast how dangerous they were." In fact, the only homicide to happen during my tenure at that school was when a good friend of mine was stabbed to death, in his house, by his own step-brother.

      Sounds to me, when comparing anecdote to anecdote, that guns aren't the problem - your local culture is.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  12. BBC has video - look like quite a recoil by Bearhouse · · Score: 5, Informative

    Video here:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22421185

    From the video, looks like despite the modest cartridge used, there's quite a kick. Guess the plastic is rather light.
    So, no need to get excited folks; a one-shot weapon with really poor accuracy, which needs a 3D printer.
    Thus more difficult and costly to produce, yet no more effective, than a 'saturday night special', 'zip gun' or 'bang stick', plans for which have been freely available for a long time.
    Probably equally as likely to blow up in your face, too...

    1. Re:BBC has video - look like quite a recoil by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It is perfect for a stickup, or sneaking past metal detectors to shoot a snitch in court, or sneaking into a political rally. Future versions might be good enough to have multiple shots so they can be used in hostage situations or hijackings. Oh, and to get rid of the evidence, you can just burn the damn gun in a fireplace.

      This is a game changer. Don't kid yourself. 10 years from now with advanced 3-D printers, anybody anywhere is going to be able to print up a decent and undetectable handgun. The worldwide security apparatus is going to have to change very fast.

    2. Re:BBC has video - look like quite a recoil by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Sneaking past metal detectors huh? I sure can't wait for cartridges that have plastic bullets and casings, and have propellant that bomb detecting machines don't notice.

      Until then, your 9/11 doomsday scenario isn't likely to happen. Hell, it isn't likely to begin with.

    3. Re:BBC has video - look like quite a recoil by Fluffeh · · Score: 1

      Sneaking past metal detectors huh? I sure can't wait for cartridges that have plastic bullets and casings, and have propellant that bomb detecting machines don't notice.

      Until then, your 9/11 doomsday scenario isn't likely to happen. Hell, it isn't likely to begin with.

      Again, I agree with your comment - but at the same time, imagine if three years ago, someone told you that in three years time, a chap could use a 3D printer to print an entire gun (ok, in this case short a firing pin) from plastic and that it would actually work. Yes, right now, it might be rather hard to imagine how on earth we might be able to have rounds that don't contain metal - but hey, there is nothing but time working against us here is there?

      --
      Moved to http://soylentnews.org/. You are invited to join us too!
    4. Re:BBC has video - look like quite a recoil by Bearhouse · · Score: 1

      Yes, I suppose they could do a Derringer-type weapon fairly easily.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derringer

      However, since the single-shot weapon is already quite bulky, (OK, they could make the pistol grip smaller, but I guess the barrel has to be that big to resist the pressure), a multiple barrel weapon would be hard to conceal. Making an 'automatic' version, which could be both more deadly and compact, is probably out of reach for printable plastics - just too much stress on the components.

      I guess it could be a game-changer if they start making really tough printable plastics, and someone starts selling undetectable rounds, (which would be banned pretty fast, I guess...still, you could always make your own from plastic & fireworks...)

    5. Re:BBC has video - look like quite a recoil by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, right now, it might be rather hard to imagine how on earth we might be able to have rounds that don't contain metal - but hey, there is nothing but time working against us here is there?

      It's only hard to imagine if you understand physics. It's simply not possible to get the density and frangibility required of a bullet in any material other than metal. Sure you could use round rocks or plastic airsoft pellets, but they'll achieve almost no penetration.

      Another thing to point out is that the only thing keeping this gun from blowing apart under the pressure of the round exploding is the brass casing. Musket load one of these printed guns and see what happens.

    6. Re:BBC has video - look like quite a recoil by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Black powder and a projectile worked for ages.
      They've had ceramic bullets available to the general public for a long time (popular at indoor firing ranges because there's no lead to deal with and they cause less damage to the walls at the end).

      Personally, I'd be more worried about a ceramic knife (also readily available) than a one-shot plasic gun.

    7. Re:BBC has video - look like quite a recoil by deblau · · Score: 1

      Yes, because the first automobile rolled off a perfectly tuned assembly line with 500 horsepower and heated leather bucket seats...

      The first light bulb cost a few pennies to make and could be seen a half mile away...

      The first mobile phone could fit in your pocket and play Angry Birds...

      Yep, no need to get excited folks.

      --
      This post expresses my opinion, not that of my employer. And yes, IAAL.
    8. Re:BBC has video - look like quite a recoil by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, right now, it might be rather hard to imagine how on earth we might be able to have rounds that don't contain metal - but hey, there is nothing but time working against us here is there?

      An all-plastic cartridge is easy enough. But it comes with enough disadvantages that it won't be popular, and so it will be an expensive item. First, the non-metal bullet will be a lot less dangerous. It is harder to kill if your bullets can be stopped by a leather jacket, or if they simply don't penetrate deep into the victim.

      Second, the plastic cardtridge will turn any gun into a use-once gun. Because it will be full of molten plastic goo after firing.

      So the terrorist might get thorugh airport security, and shoot one of the pilots. Then he is beaten to death, and the copilot take over the plane. Killing a pilot is easier accomplished on the ground.

    9. Re:BBC has video - look like quite a recoil by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      Stone bullet and primer cap, composite casing, propellant...neatly installed and well-sealed.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    10. Re:BBC has video - look like quite a recoil by rossdee · · Score: 1

      " It's simply not possible to get the density and frangibility required of a bullet in any material other than metal."

      How about diamond? That should be hard and dense enoubh - maybe with carbon fiber fins to stabilize it in flight, smootbore barrel and a sabot (like a tank gun)

      (I amnot saying this projectile could be #D printed, but it wouldn't show up on metal detector.

    11. Re:BBC has video - look like quite a recoil by Bigby · · Score: 1

      There are a lot of posts acting like this isn't a big deal because it doesn't function all that great yet. Your post is exactly why it is a big deal. Wait until 3D printers can print steel... Or even a heavy and hard plastic. Let alone other applications... Maybe a precision textile printer could make kevlar...

    12. Re:BBC has video - look like quite a recoil by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      Really, I mean shotgun shells are mostly plastic today. And there are blackpowder sabot cartridges. So I wager it could be done...

    13. Re:BBC has video - look like quite a recoil by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Heck, I can do better and more damage with a 0.22 pellet a professional slingshot.

      All 3D guns do is make it more accessible to everyone, which is a common result of tech and likely something not desired culturally.

      On that logic, if a crazy nut-job can 3D print guns, then I say we let the snobby academic do stem cell experiments.

    14. Re:BBC has video - look like quite a recoil by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      It's simply not possible to get the density and frangibility required of a bullet in any material other than metal

      I wonder about hardwood spikes protected during firing by wadding. They'd have to be pretty big, but not so big that it would be a serious problem. They could be easily made from dowel stock with a hack saw and a pencil sharpener.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    15. Re:BBC has video - look like quite a recoil by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      " It's simply not possible to get the density and frangibility required of a bullet in any material other than metal."

      How about diamond?

      You're halfway there...

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    16. Re:BBC has video - look like quite a recoil by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      " It's simply not possible to get the density and frangibility required of a bullet in any material other than metal."

      How about diamond?

      Diamond is about 1/3 the density of lead. Which means it would make, at best, a very short range round.

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    17. Re:BBC has video - look like quite a recoil by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A bullet doesn't have to be metallic in order to work. It just works *better* with metal. I read a story once where someone was killed by firing a blank cartridge with the gun shoved in his mouth. Blanks have a wooden or plastic plug in them that will act as a bullet at this kind of "range", but it slows down in the air really fast (assuming you don't mount a doohickey in the end of the barrel to catch the plug). The case of the cartridge could probably be made mostly out of plastic like a shotgun shell, or a non-metallic composite material if you need more strength.

    18. Re:BBC has video - look like quite a recoil by adamchou · · Score: 1

      Watch the movie In The Line Of Fire and see some ideas on how to get bullets through a metal detector. I don't think it'd be that difficult if someone actually tried.

    19. Re:BBC has video - look like quite a recoil by ArsonSmith · · Score: 1

      ceramic or glass probably wouldn't be too difficult.

      --
      Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
    20. Re:BBC has video - look like quite a recoil by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      From the video, looks like despite the modest cartridge used, there's quite a kick. Guess the plastic is rather light.

      Nothing new here - pocket mouseguns also get a hefty kick, even from .32 ACP.

      So, no need to get excited folks; a one-shot weapon with really poor accuracy

      Are you implying that the accuracy is poor because of the kick? I very much doubt it would actually matter for the first shot, this thing having a very short barrel. And there will not be any follow-up shots as it is a single-shot pistol.

    21. Re:BBC has video - look like quite a recoil by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Yes, because the first automobile rolled off a perfectly tuned assembly line with 500 horsepower and heated leather bucket seats...

      The first light bulb cost a few pennies to make and could be seen a half mile away...

      The first mobile phone could fit in your pocket and play Angry Birds...

      Yep, no need to get excited folks.

      The rather obvious point you're missing is that we have had guns for hundreds of years, and know perfectly well how to make a decent one. It is pure fantasy to suppose that there will be such advances in plastic technology that it will become trivial to make a properly functioning gun from it.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    22. Re:BBC has video - look like quite a recoil by Bearhouse · · Score: 1

      Are you implying that the accuracy is poor because of the kick?

      No, unrifled, short, probably ill-fitting barrel...of course does not matter if fired inches away from target...

  13. "anarchist and radical libertarian" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    This is the real story here. Someone has, for the first time in history, managed to be both an anarchist and a libertarian at the same time. Up until now they have been mutually exclusive.

    1. Re:"anarchist and radical libertarian" by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      This is the real story here. Someone has, for the first time in history, managed to be both an anarchist and a libertarian at the same time. Up until now they have been mutually exclusive.

      Uh?

      libertarian has been used by some as a synonym for anarchism since the 1890s

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianism#Etymology

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
    2. Re:"anarchist and radical libertarian" by SwedishPenguin · · Score: 1

      Both Anarchist and Libertarian are very old terms, it is only recently that the term "Libertarian" has been (in the US at least, not so much in the rest of the world with the exception of a few kids spending too much time in online forums abound with conspiracy nuts) associated with what are essentially Anarcho-capitalists.

    3. Re:"anarchist and radical libertarian" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The whole point of "anarcho" is that there is no such thing as anarcho-anything. Anarchy is the complete absence of a a law structure, so the very idea of anarcho-law-structure is simply absurd, especially since Capitalism is definitely a structure of governing law.

      I've run across a number of these so-called "anarcho-capitalists," and all they really are, are people who want to sit around and smoke pot and not have to follow any societal rules in the performance of same.

    4. Re:"anarchist and radical libertarian" by darjen · · Score: 1

      Nonsense. Capitalism is not a structure of governing law. It is a way to determine who owns the means of production. Capitalism = private ownership. Government = public ownership. Capitalism is fundamentally opposed to government.

    5. Re:"anarchist and radical libertarian" by SwedishPenguin · · Score: 1

      No, capitalism is not fundamentally "opposed" to government. Government is in fact required for capitalism to function in any kind of efficient manner. If not for the laws governing ownership, ownership would be reduced to the concept of "what you defend, you own", meaning capitalists would have to employ massive armies to protect "their" property, both from rival capitalists and from the people who live or work there.

      Capitalism does not require private ownership, e.g. in state capitalism, the state owns the means of production, but the state is not controlled by the working class as it would in the case of Socialism with state ownership. (The difference between capitalism and socialism, if you did not read up on basic political theory, is where the ownership of the means of production lies, with the few (capitalists, whether private or state) as in the case of capitalism or with the people as in the case of socialism (whether by a worker-controlled state or cooperatively by the workers of the particular establishment, to mention only two models))

      Also, don't confuse the capitalist economic system with the ideologies advocating keeping such a system, e.g. Liberalism. Capitalism in itself cannot be "opposed" to something, it is an economic system, not an ideology.

    6. Re:"anarchist and radical libertarian" by darjen · · Score: 1

      Capitalists wouldn't need massive armies. Just competing private security companies. I do agree there would be a practical limit to how much property one person could reasonably defend. Therefore we would generally have a more egalitarian distribution of wealth than under the state.

      State capitalism and state socialism are just different forms of a planned economy. There is a clear difference between state capitalism and liberal, laissez-faire capitalism.

  14. What's next? by StripedCow · · Score: 1

    A printable nuclear missile?

    Technology is fun and all, but I sure hope we'll never reach the point where people can print stuff like that in their basement.

    --
    If Pandora's box is destined to be opened, *I* want to be the one to open it.
    1. Re:What's next? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      A printable nuclear missile?

      Technology is fun and all, but I sure hope we'll never reach the point where people can print stuff like that in their basement.

      Hey, at least we're one step closer to solving the Fermi paradox!

    2. Re:What's next? by stjobe · · Score: 1

      A printable nuclear missile?

      Neither the warhead nor the missile would gain much in either cost or simplicity of manufacturing from having a 3D printer available. Any part that could be made by a 3D printer is not a part that's hard to make or acquire by other means. The manufacturing challenges of both missiles and nuclear weapons lie in areas where 3D-printing is of no help whatsoever.

      Technology is fun and all, but I sure hope we'll never reach the point where people can print stuff like that in their basement.

      3D printing isn't magic, and it's not a sci-fi replicator. It can only work with one material at a time, and that material must currently be a (rather brittle) plastic. It is unlikely in the extreme that 3D-printers will ever be able to work with metal due to the temperatures needed.

      So there's no need to Chicken Little just quite yet.

      --
      "Total destruction the only solution" - Bob Marley
    3. Re:What's next? by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      They are having problems with the plastic Uranium.

    4. Re:What's next? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A printable nuclear missile?

      Good luck finding a shop that has the necessary uranium-ink-cartridge in stock.

    5. Re:What's next? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      3D printing isn't magic, and it's not a sci-fi replicator. It can only work with one material at a time, and that material must currently be a (rather brittle) plastic. It is unlikely in the extreme that 3D-printers will ever be able to work with metal due to the temperatures needed.

      not true anymore, we cutting-edge (commercial) 3D printers can now do multiple materials at a time

      and the must be plastic part is also false (look up e.g. sintering)

    6. Re: What's next? by jawrat · · Score: 1

      Just don't forget to hook up the doll!!! Oh, and DO remember to wear a bra on your head.

    7. Re:What's next? by phaggood · · Score: 1

      A recent article on bringing back the Saturn V J-1 engine mentions how 3D printing has enabled them to reduce the part count for some components from 5,600 parts to just 40; thus *vastly* simplifying (ie *MORE* simple, not 'now anyone can do it') the building of this engine.

      http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/04/how-nasa-brought-the-monstrous-f-1-moon-rocket-back-to-life/3/

    8. Re:What's next? by Nyder · · Score: 1

      A printable nuclear missile?

      Technology is fun and all, but I sure hope we'll never reach the point where people can print stuff like that in their basement.

      I don't know about you, but my mom would get pissed if I am messing with nuclear physics in her basement!!!!

      --
      Be seeing you...
    9. Re:What's next? by Catbeller · · Score: 1

      I don't understand. You don't believe in anticipating the next obvious steps, when the whole planet is breathlessly trying to make replication happen?

      You deal with the consequences *now*, before the train hits your car.

  15. What's the problem? by Slyswede · · Score: 1

    I don't really see home-made guns as a big problem. In fact, we all have hundreds of items in our homes that could be combined to form lethal devices. Strangely enough, most of us don't...

    So is a home-made gun legal? Maybe in the US, but not in the more civilized parts of the world. It certainly wouldn't be legal for me without a proper license.

    What is interesting in this case is that making it easy to create your own gun is likely to work against the motives of Defense Distributed and force the US to adopt more gun control. Maybe even looking at how other countries solve this problem. :)

    1. Re:What's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let us know when you actually do "solve" it then :)

    2. Re:What's the problem? by Slyswede · · Score: 1

      Well, you start by realizing that owning lethal weapons is not a human right.

      Next, you either amend the constitution or clarify the interpretation of the existing amendment to make it possible to get better control over who gets to own such weapons.

      And on a much higher level, work to reduce the "need" for people to own guns. When everyone can live happy without weapons no one will be interested in owning them.

    3. Re:What's the problem? by geirlk · · Score: 1

      Time to ban all but 3D printed guns.

    4. Re:What's the problem? by msauve · · Score: 1

      So, the solution is to deny facts and work to take away civil rights? Wow. That's pretty regressive politics. Should the Monarchy be reinstated, too?

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    5. Re:What's the problem? by foniksonik · · Score: 1

      I haven't heard a good reason why random people need to have guns. Random people don't get to have explosives, toxic chemicals, addictive drugs, nuclear material. In many cases these things are put to use in a productive manner but they are regulated and not everyone is allowed to have them and those who are must register for their use. What makes guns different? They are no more useful (to individuals) for waging a war against any modern army than knives would have been during the revolutionary war. There's no reason to continue to interpret the right to bear arms as being outside of the context of a regulated militia which would be trained and would have the additional means necessary to provide relief against an oppressive regime.

      --
      A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
    6. Re:What's the problem? by msauve · · Score: 1
      s/guns/random item/

      There's a natural right to self defense.

      Must men alone be debarred the common privilege of opposing force with force, which nature allows so freely to all other creatures for their preservation from injury? I answer: self defense is a part of the law of nature, nor can it be denied the community, even against the king himself...

      -John Locke

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    7. Re:What's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Following examples are applicable to the US, and may or may not apply wherever you live...

      I haven't heard a good reason why random people need to have guns. Random people don't get to have explosives,

      Tannerite (an ammonal binary explosive commonly used for exploding targets)

      toxic chemicals,

      Tylenol, a truly ridiculous number of cleaning and/or automotive supplies

      addictive drugs,

      ethanol

      nuclear material.

      You'll find they have nuclear material (protons and neutrons mostly) in every atom of their body, so please figure out what you meant to say and say it.

      In many cases these things are put to use in a productive manner but they are regulated and not everyone is allowed to have them and those who are must register for their use.

      Eh, no. Everything I just mentioned is available to everyone over the age of 21 (unless a parole/probation, restraining order, etc. imposes additional restrictions) with no registration or licensing.

    8. Re:What's the problem? by gnasher719 · · Score: 1

      So is a home-made gun legal? Maybe in the US, but not in the more civilized parts of the world. It certainly wouldn't be legal for me without a proper license.

      It would make perfect sense if there were the same legal requirements for purchasing a gun and for building one. Of course, printing a gun might be easier and less risky than stealing one from a gun store.

    9. Re:What's the problem? by Farmer+Pete · · Score: 1

      You've never heard of hunting? Well, let me give you a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunting>link.

      Maybe you actually have heard of hunting, and you consider it something that people shouldn't do. Okay. Please tell me how to cut the deer population down. As someone who has first hand seen that deer are the #1 killer animal in North America, I'm shocked that anyone would be so shortsighted to not support hunting.

    10. Re:What's the problem? by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      You're right...we need a more civilized weapon for more civilized nations....

      Like a LIGHTSABER!!!!!

    11. Re:What's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I haven't heard a good reason why random people need to have guns.

      My immediate and extended family require rifles and shotguns to provide food. We *could* go to the grocery store, but we'd pay more, get less, and the quality of the meat sucks ass. For about $1.50 (8mm Mauser bullet cost) and four hours worth of labor I can put 75 pounds of prime meat in the freezer, and knock back one Axis deer. Those deer eat the same food our livestock eat, which also costs us money (since we have to shell out mega-bucks for feed and hay). So, all in all, by having firearms, our family can eat, protect ourselves, keep the deer population in check (which keeps our sheep from starving), and save thousands of dollars each year.

      Not all of us live in an apartment a block away from a grocery store. Some of us don't have neighbors (or police) for miles.

      They are no more useful (to individuals) for waging a war against any modern army than knives would have been during the revolutionary war.

      Maybe, but I think you severely underestimate the amount of trouble a few million people with firearms can cause (should there be any 'Civil War 2'). Hopefully there won't be...

    12. Re:What's the problem? by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      So is a home-made gun legal? Maybe in the US, but not in the more civilized parts of the world.

      Funny, I wouldn't really consider places like Iran, Iraq, North Korea, or China to be all that civilized...

      What? Hey, if the anti-gun crowd can cherry-pick their examples, why can't I?

      What is interesting in this case is that making it easy to create your own gun is likely to work against the motives of Defense Distributed and force the US to adopt more gun control. Maybe even looking at how other countries solve this problem. :)

      Yea, like how they 'solve the problem' in Iran, Iraq, North Korea...

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    13. Re:What's the problem? by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      I haven't heard a good reason why random people need to have guns.

      Then you haven't been listening - I can name two damn good ones right off the top of my head:

      1) I love to eat venison, but the stores don't carry it - the only way for me to acquire fresh deer meat is to hunt, and a rifle is the most effective, humane means of doing so.

      2) There are other people on the planet with guns, and many of those other people want to use their guns to force their dominion upon the rest of us. While you may be happy living on your knees as a slave, some of us prefer life as free men, and are willing to give our lives to maintain that status.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    14. Re:What's the problem? by ogdenk · · Score: 1

      Defense. I have a a right to be dangerous when necessary and be empowered to defend myself, my family, my property and my rights.

      Fairly recent rulings determined that the police are not OBLIGATED to protect your life. When seconds count, the cops are minutes away. In my case about 45 minutes where I live.

      And if someone wants my guns that badly, come get'em. I'll even give you the ammo for free. 85 grains at a time. Very quickly. At roughly 1700 ft/sec.

      And semi-auto rifles in sufficient quantity with a sufficiently pissed off massive guerilla force would be a lot more effective than you think. No one goes toe-to-toe in combat anymore. It's suicide. Personally, I don't like to waste ammo. Other than suppressive fire, full auto isn't all that useful in small arms. This is why most modern military rifles are select-fire between 3-round burst and semi-automatic. One squeeze, one bang is good enough for me.

    15. Re:What's the problem? by Fjandr · · Score: 1

      Home defense is a good reason. I personally know a couple people who are still alive as a result of owning a firearm.

      If you have a problem with the 2nd Amendment, the proper course of action is to further amend it, not to ignore its meaning. SCOTUS has repeatedly held that various dependent clauses in the Constitution hold no restrictive power over the independent clauses to which they are attached. These have been applied to powers granted the Federal Government and to rights such as the 2nd Amendment.

      The 2nd does in fact mention that its purpose is to enable the creation of well-regulated militias. Militias being irrelevant to modern warfare does not in any way negate the statement that follows the reasoning portion of the amendment. It has the same effect in the 2nd as it does in every other amendment the language is used: "the right of the people ... shall not be infringed." That the exact same language is used in other amendments to denote individual rights, not collective rights.

  16. "up in arms about it" by Arancaytar · · Score: 1

    The First Fully 3D-Printed Gun Has Been Successfully Test-Fired

    Shortly followed by the first fully 3D-printed pun.

  17. Ridiculous legislation attempts & funny report by roman_mir · · Score: 0

    Legislating that guns must be detectable by metal detectors so that they cannot be brought onto airplanes......

    I mean, if you haven't understood yet how retarded so many laws are and how much of a show it is for a politicians who is pushing for nonsense legislation to make a name for himself, just look at this one.

    So it remains or becomes illegal to make fully plastic guns that cannot be detected, but how is it legal to bring guns on planes anyway? It's illegal right now (used to be legal in USA), so it doesn't matter if it's a plastic gun or any other gun. But the point is:

    a person who wants to bring a plastic gun that he prints onto a plane is already committing an illegal act by taking the gun to the plane. This legislation does NOT prevent him from printing the gun and bringing it onto the plane.

    What it does do it prevents people from legally printing plastic guns that they are not taking on planes. Understand?

    This legislation is nonsense, it doesn't change anything. People who want to bring undetected plastic weapons on planes will not be stopped by that law.

  18. For certain values of succesful by Hentes · · Score: 1

    Of the four test shots it worked twice, misfired once and exploded once. Not exactly something I would want to rely upon.

    1. Re:For certain values of succesful by Barsteward · · Score: 1

      no, but it would have the desired effect on a plane in the air

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
    2. Re:For certain values of succesful by BLKMGK · · Score: 1

      The first version apparently misfired, the second version corrected that issue. The second version was fired successfully but came apart when equipped with a more powerful cartridge. When using a suitable cartridge it apparently worked just fine - the second revision anyway.

      --
      Build it, Drive it, Improve it! Hybridz.org
  19. News! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So how long until we have news of the first killing by a 3d printed gun?
    How long until they are used in a criminal activity?
    How long until the guns are used in a mass killing?

    1. Re:News! by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      So how long until we have news of the first killing by a 3d printed gun?
      How long until they are used in a criminal activity?
      How long until the guns are used in a mass killing?

      Do you think Henry Ford* had to deal with morons like this, too?

      *Yes, I know Ford did not invent the automobile, but he was instrumental in the vehicle's mass adoption, and had his fair share of detractors.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  20. The bar is pretty low by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A lump of plastic that took months and is barely a "gun". This is what is supposed to change the world?

    1. Re:The bar is pretty low by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      Some paper over some wood and lots of wire taking off from a ramp at Kitty Hawk did...

    2. Re:The bar is pretty low by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Kitty Hawk flier was more of a plane than this lump of crap is a gun. No one flew before Kitty Hawk, there are already 300 million guns in the US. If someone flew the Kitty Hawk today, would it be as impressive?

    3. Re:The bar is pretty low by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      Actually, there is much debate on that.

      Many flew before Kitty Hawk. And some may have had even more legitimate claims. The Wright Brothers needed a skid platform for take offs. A Brazilian I believe was documented with a self take off and landing plane a year or two before.

      There was a man in Connecticut who may likely have flown 2 years before the Wright Brothers. And there were many many folks experimenting with manned gliders and the like.

  21. Why do we care about his political views? by rebelwarlock · · Score: 1

    "the anarchist and radical libertarian"

    I'm gonna have to stop you right there. The total number of fucks I give about anything Greenberg has to say is now exactly zero. I don't know who you're pandering to with such blatant manipulation, but I'm not sure the people who would fall for it are literate anyway.

    1. Re:Why do we care about his political views? by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

      Why do we care about his political views?

      Yeah, it's not like the looming possibility of mass circumvention of gun control laws is a political issue, or anything.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    2. Re:Why do we care about his political views? by MimeticLie · · Score: 1

      What gun control laws?

    3. Re:Why do we care about his political views? by Captain.Abrecan · · Score: 1

      I was gonna say, there certainly aren't any that affect criminals. "Oh look, a sign that says no guns, well I'm just gonna walk right past that..." or "Shit Carlos they passed a law, remember? Today is the day we have to turn all our guns in to the police department!" "Oh damn you are right! I will go start our stolen car, you round up all the illegal guns we have and put them in a box!" Meanwhile there is a man with a drill press and 5 milling bits making his own AR-15's for $100 each.

    4. Re:Why do we care about his political views? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Up until now, I was wavering on the issue of gun control. But your elegant rephrasing of the age old trope about imperfect enforcement of laws has changed my mind. I'm joining the NRA!

    5. Re:Why do we care about his political views? by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      the looming possibility of mass circumvention of gun control laws

      Citation desperately needed.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    6. Re:Why do we care about his political views? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What gun control laws?

      The ones in the paranoid fantasies of extreme right wing nutters.

  22. First thing we do with the fab economy by Stirling+Newberry · · Score: 2

    Is find a way to Darwinize the fringies using it. Excellent.

  23. Re:3D printing of guns can be done better by jamesh · · Score: 1

    You don't need a 3d printer to make molds. Making molds would nullify the advantage of using a 3d printer: simplicity.

    Unless, of course, somebody invents a 3d printer that can automate the entire process.

    Don't rule it out completely. Using a 3d printer to make a mold of something I downloaded is within the reach of my finances and ability, while making a mold from other means might not be. That doesn't really help me make a gun though, as i'd need to inject my mold with metal so it would need to withstand high temperatures, and such a printer is maybe not within my reach.

    You could print out the appropriate patterns to make a mold out of though, and the rest of the casting process is also simple enough

    Seems easier just to buy or steal a gun though, if you really wanted one

  24. First person killed wiht a printed gun? by Required+Snark · · Score: 2, Insightful
    This is a repost. I first put this up when the previous article about printed guns went up, and I was modded down to minus one million, which was no big surprise. Gun nuts live in a fantasy universe where they are John Wayne, and the bad guys wear black hats and are always destroyed by the guy in the white hat (i.e the gun owner). If you even hint that there are negative consequences from guns, they scream like you are trying to remove their dicks. So I post this again, and I expect the same mod down and moronic replies.

    Sill, I would like one pro gun person to admit that a printed gun will kill somebody, and not just some drug dealing child molesting scum, but a real live human being who didn't deserve to die. Like a kid who thinks that it's a toy. So man up for once, and admit that guns kill people. Just face the truth once, and stop complaining that I'm a "stupid liberul", or that you have a constitutional right to own a gun. That's not relevant. Dead people are relevant. So if you have a shred of integrity, stop dodging the question. Who will be the first person to be murdered by a printed gun? And all the other examples that follow:

    When will the first murder occur with a printed gun?

    When will the first accidental shooting occur with a printed gun?

    When will the first child be killed with a printed gun?

    When will the first suicide occur with a printed gun?

    When will the first robbery occur with a printed gun?

    When will the first car jacking occur with a printed gun?

    When will the first plane hijack attempt occur with a printed gun?

    These are the real world events that no-one in the pro-gun world is willing to acknowledge. It's not a case of if these will happen, but when.

    --
    Why is Snark Required?
    1. Re:First person killed wiht a printed gun? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Guns can be used to kill people. A 3D printed gun will, at some point, be used to kill an innocent child.

      Guess what? People die all the time. Someone being smashed in the head with a hammer is just as dead as someone who has been shot.

      Now let's get down to business: would you like to touch my penis?

    2. Re:First person killed wiht a printed gun? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      As a pro private gun ownership person I have no problem admitting that each of those things is likely to happen eventually if this technology reaches a reasonable level of effectiveness. My counter point is actually that people who want a deadly weapon will get one, gun or otherwise, and cause the same harm. Pretending otherwise does not make it less wrong to take rights and property away from people who will never commit any of those crimes.

    3. Re:First person killed wiht a printed gun? by Barsteward · · Score: 1

      "Now let's get down to business: would you like to touch my penis?"

      Can i touch it with my 3D printed gun acting as a hammer?????

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
    4. Re:First person killed wiht a printed gun? by Barsteward · · Score: 1

      comment typical of a person who thinks we should not try and make the place safer to live in. I guess he'd also approve of not testing medicines, car brakes, keeping supplies of sarin gas, etc....

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
    5. Re:First person killed wiht a printed gun? by Entropy98 · · Score: 2

      Try is the keyword. The whole point of what this guy is doing is to show the futility of trying to stop it. Sure people will probably die but how can it be stopped? You can't stop home made guns anymore than you can stop pressure cookers filled with fireworks.

      And your comment is typical of those who fail to grasp the negative consequences of trying and failing to make the world a safe utopia. Medical testing is a great example. If I'm dying of a terminal disease I want to be able to take experimental drugs. Sure I might have an averse reaction and die a horrific death but it should be my choice to take that risk. The decades of testing drugs must go through before anyone is allowed to take them is a travesty.

    6. Re:First person killed wiht a printed gun? by Entropy98 · · Score: 1

      Yeah, someone someday is going to be killed by a printed gun. All those things you listed will probably happen someday. It's regrettable, but what's you point??

    7. Re:First person killed wiht a printed gun? by Kaitiff · · Score: 2

      Well, lets answer some of these pressing questions, shall we?

      The first murder with a printed gun will occur some 100's of 1000's of years after the FIRST murder, and the untold millions since that had nothing to do with guns, or printed guns to be precise.

      Ditto with the first accidental shooting.

      Child to be killed.. hmm. I'll get back to you on that one, don't have a way to separate out the reports of children killed due to EVERY OTHER dangerous situation on the planet.

      First suicide.. lets see.. around about the time someone smart enough to figure out how to print his own gun decides to take his own life and can't figure out how to obtain one of the countless other guns, knives, scarves, ropes, pills, cars ad infinitum, ad nauseum. Oh, and more power to them btw, there is truly only one thing in life that you truly own, and that IS your life. Don't tell me you think you have the right to regulate someone else's life, really?

      First robbery... read above in regards to dangerous objects people use to commit robberies. OH, and while you're at it.. could you compile a list of petty thieves that have access to expensive 3d printing machines for me, hmm? I'd like to make sure we get a little perspective on this problem before it gets a little ridiculous.

      Car jacking.. see above

      Plane hijack.. now that one is interesting. Since the 9/11 hijacking's were supposedly carried off in part with plastic knives. What could have possibly stopped a few dangerous men with sub-standard weapons from wreaking havoc. Let me think... can't be an informed educated and trained group of men and women on the plane at the time that wouldn't have had a reason to fear a FUCKING PLASTIC KNIFE.. you know, ppl that HAD guns, or were familiar with them perhaps? Ones that didn't melt into a puddle at the mere mention of the word GUN. Nope.. I know.. lets spend untold millions of dollars creating ways to invade people's privacy, degrade and denigrate in public and prevent honest citizens from going about their lives. Yah, that sounds much more like it.

      --
      If I sound stupid, it's not me talking....
    8. Re:First person killed wiht a printed gun? by moeinvt · · Score: 1

      Get acquainted with your neighbors. Then you won't be so terrified of what they might be building in the basement workshop.

      If you want "safe" live in a police state, or maybe just go all the way and spend your life in a padded cell hidden away from the scary world.

    9. Re:First person killed wiht a printed gun? by NoImNotNineVolt · · Score: 1

      Just face the truth once, and stop complaining that I'm a "stupid liberul", or that you have a constitutional right to own a gun. That's not relevant. Dead people are relevant.

      No. Not in this country. This is a country ruled by law, not by man.
      The law recognizes my right to own a gun.
      If you don't like my right to own a gun, change the law.
      Until we can all agree that the Bill of Rights is important, people like you will continue to spout this garbage about guns.

      I read the text of the second amendment, and it looks like an anachronistic threat to modern civilization. A piece of legislation that prohibits our government from infringing on the peoples' right to bear arms like surface to air missile batteries or nuclear warheads has no place in today's world. But I don't see any subsequent amendments repealing it. I think it is important that we have prevent each other from killing each other, but I also think it is important that we don't ignore existing law wholesale. Especially law found in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights.

      I understand that it is considerably more convenient if the Supreme Court can simply interpret "shall not be infringed" to mean "shall only be infringed with good intentions", but I think I prefer the rule of law over the rule of convenience. Please help spread this message of rational thought: The second amendment, interpreted as written (and not how the Supreme Court has interpreted it), is undesirable, and ought to be repealed. Let's be honest with ourselves.

      And I say this as an avid gun owner, fighting against illegal gun control legislation in my anti-gun home state of New Jersey. If you want to enact gun control legislation, at least do it the legal way!

      --
      Chuuch. Preach. Tabernacle.
    10. Re:First person killed wiht a printed gun? by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      When will the first accidental shooting occur with a printed gun?

      When will the first child be killed with a printed gun?

      When will the first suicide occur with a printed gun?

      When will the first robbery occur with a printed gun?

      When will the first car jacking occur with a printed gun?

      When will the first plane hijack attempt occur with a printed gun?

      42.

      Wait, that doesn't work, does it?

      Anyway, I guess the question of "When will the first chicken-shit asshole come up with a bunch of hyperbolic, speculative nonsense in a pathetic attempt to marginalize opposing opinions?" has just been answered...

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    11. Re:First person killed wiht a printed gun? by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      comment typical of a person who thinks we should not try and make the place safer to live in.

      When your idea of "try[ing] to make the place safer to live in" flat-out requires people other than yourself to sacrifice civil liberties against their will, fuckin' A you shouldn't.

      For the record, automobiles are much more prolific than guns, take far more lives, and are used to commit many, many more crimes than guns are, but I don't see you advocating they be restricted. Kinda takes the wind out of your "want to make the world a safer place" argument when you won't even consider the more deadly of the two objects, presumably because doing so would inconvenience YOU.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    12. Re:First person killed wiht a printed gun? by PraiseBob · · Score: 1

      The answer is always the same for gun nuts: Some objects (such as knives or cars) are dangerous, therefore, there is no reason to attempt any kind of regulation of other dangerous objects, and thus no reason to keep weapons of war out of the hands of mentally ill felons. There is rarely any logic, it usually boils down to an irrational fear of other people invading their homes. I'd wager that most of them just want the chance to play out Rambo fantasies and legally kill another human.

    13. Re:First person killed wiht a printed gun? by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      we should not try and make the place safer to live in

      We should be trying to make the place safer to live in, but we should be using methods that actually achieve the desired result, and that do not trample over too many rights and freedoms in the process (the most obvious way to make everything ultra-safe is Panopticon - 24/7 observation cameras everywhere, including private homes - but I don't think you'd want that, would you?).

    14. Re:First person killed wiht a printed gun? by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      You can't stop home made guns

      You can't stop murder. But you can make the consequences severe enough to strongly discourage it. Any law's the same. This is regardless of whether you think the law is right.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  25. What's the big deal? by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Does ANYONE think that someone who wanted a gun for nefarious reasons could only now get one?

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:What's the big deal? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We are really in trouble when they start printing plastic bullets...

      Seriously the control point is now ammunition, has anyone tried to buy ammunition right now?
      It is hard to find or very expensive.

    2. Re:What's the big deal? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They can now get a gun that is completely untraceable and can be easily reduced to unrecognizable residue after use. Sounds to me like a weapon much more useful for murder than for self defense.

    3. Re:What's the big deal? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, obviously.
      If it's really hard to get a gun, certainly "ruthless mafia guys" (a comparatively tiny amount of the criminals) will still have some, but not your average wrongdoer... at least here in France, and most other European countries. The black market is no magic weapon factory, and most of it is closed to the vast majority of people who we call criminals anyway.

    4. Re:What's the big deal? by Nyder · · Score: 1

      Does ANYONE think that someone who wanted a gun for nefarious reasons could only now get one?

      Yes, but not for the reasons you do. I think if someone wanted a gun, they can get one off the street easier then finding someone who can 3D print them one, and that gun off the street would be good for a few more uses then at 3D printed one.

      In fact, I can go to a gun fair and get a gun no problem. Don't need background checks (unless they changed it), and last time i bought a shotgun, you didn't need background checks for it.

      Plus 3D printers are not that common. Granted they are becoming more popular, but currently? No.

      --
      Be seeing you...
    5. Re:What's the big deal? by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      Unless you live in Chicago where you can't buy a handgun easily. ;-)

  26. Die by the sword by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is it just me or does anyone else have that feeling that Cody Wilson has a death by gunshot wound in his future?
    I mean this in the greek tragedy sense, not the conspiracy sense.

  27. that's the reason why... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...the US elites are freaking out about gun controls NOW and not 20 years ago.

    With this tech in 15 years from now, most will just copy/paste their guns.
    So sales will drop though ownership will rise, massive wise.

    No wonder why deep US cointel is framing all those patsies... You can feel they are rushing to complete their (multiple) agendas.

  28. Undetectable firearm act by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh noes... Teh Undetectable Firearm act! Terrorism thwarted again!

    Oh wait... they are ignoring all the laws so I guess maybe they will ignore that one too and just leave out the metal. The pin could be easily made of a composite.

  29. Crickett by stud9920 · · Score: 1

    now all we need is someone to make a 3D printed baby sister to shoot

    1. Re:Crickett by Freddybear · · Score: 1

      Because irresponsible morons never bought dangerous presents for kids who weren't ready for them before so we need to prohibit all responsible people from buying dangerous things ever.

    2. Re:Crickett by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      Because irresponsible morons never bought dangerous presents for kids who weren't ready for them before so we need to prohibit all responsible people from buying dangerous things ever.

      This.

      Statistically speaking, it's safer to buy your 6-year-old a .22 rifle than a trampoline or swimming pool.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  30. End Result by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We have been able to build our own firearms for our own use all along. The only thing this will accomplish is that congress will get the bright idea that we shouldn't be able to do that anymore... and make it illegal. Yeah, thanks for that.

  31. I predict 3D printing by Mister+Liberty · · Score: 1

    of gravestones will soon become a booming businness.

    1. Re:I predict 3D printing by jason777 · · Score: 1

      Its closed-minded to think the design cannot be improved to the point where its completely reliable. People thought the same things when glock made a plastic lower. I for one am excited and hopeful about where this leads.

    2. Re:I predict 3D printing by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      Actually, that's not a bad business model you're onto. Plastic grave stones would last many years. Could be made to be very colorful.

      You know...you might e on a million dollar business there...

  32. TL;DR by fearofcarpet · · Score: 2

    From TFA:

    In the Forbes article, other than "a single nail that is used as a firing pin", the gun also includes another nonprintable part. The group, the article says, added a six-ounce chunk of steel into the body to make it detectable by metal detectors in order to comply with the undetectable firearms act. The act, Congressman Steve Israel says, is set to expire at the end of the year. "The very least we should do, as a matter of common sense, is extend the undetectable firearms act so that a plastic gun or component can't be brought onto planes because a metal detector can't detect them," notes Israel.

    I could never understand why people have no problem with a law that categorically bans ALL guns that are made from non-ferrous materials, and/or that do not look like a gun by X-Ray, but run around like crazy people talking about armed citizens overthrowing the government over limitations on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines--or f***ing background checks. The only way a citizens group would ever have a chance at affecting change in government with guns would be by assassinating a politician--you have no chance against the military or police, sorry. And the Undetectable Firearms Act was written pretty much with that problem in mind (and, obviously other public places like airports.) Why then aren't people pooping their pants over this clear restriction to the supposed core principle of the Second Amendment?

    Seriously, where are the protests and demonstrations against the banning of plastic guns 25 years ago? Where were all the threats to vote politicians out of office for violating their constitutional rights? If the answer to the theater shooting in Aurora was that movie-goers should have been carrying guns, and the answer to school shootings is armed teachers, then why not airplanes? Wouldn't we all feel safer if everyone in an airplane was carrying an undetectable plastic gun? I mean, what can box cutters do against bullets? This cognitive dissonance (and the total capitulation of the trampling of the rest of the Bill of Rights) perplexes me.

    (This is a re-post because I genuinely want to know the answer)

    --
    Actually, I wrote my thesis on life experience.
    1. Re:TL;DR by rohan972 · · Score: 1

      The only way a citizens group would ever have a chance at affecting change in government with guns would be by assassinating a politician--you have no chance against the military or police, sorry.

      Apparently the US military and CIA disagree with you:
      en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FP-45_Liberator
      en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deer_gun

      And I'm pretty sure a whole bunch of Iraqis and Afghans disagree with you too. Don't let facts get in the way of your opinion though, carry on.

    2. Re:TL;DR by LordLucless · · Score: 1

      People defend their liberties (all of them, not just the single one in the second amendment) when they feel those liberties, as expressed in their way of life, are threatened. People who own guns are threatened by general gun control, because they're afraid those controls will impact on their life (or, that they'll be the thin end of the wedge).

      Nobody owns undetectable guns, or really wants to own them. Therefore nobody defends that particular liberty. And if you don't defend it, you lose it.

      --
      Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
    3. Re:TL;DR by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Many rights are mutually exclusive. For example your right to swing your fist ends at my nose. Your right to open burn your garbage ends when particulate from that fire gets in my lungs. Your right to shoot a gun ends where my person and property begin. Your right to own an object (be it guns, drugs, or radioactive materials) ends when your careless storage of said object results in the death of innocent others.

      The bill of rights was written at a time when being obligated to allow a soldier to move into your house and live rent free while eating your food was a possibility so great that it was explicitly barred in the those bill of rights in the 3rd Amendment. The entire constitution, along with all criminal, civil, and tax law, needs to be tossed out and new ones drafted for the modern age. There is so much bullshit on the books that you can not venture outside your home without breaking some law and frankly may have already broken some laws before leaving your home.

    4. Re:TL;DR by asylumx · · Score: 1

      Most of the same people I know who are adamantly defending the 2nd amendment also seem to be of a mind that the guy responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing should be tortured, forced to testify against himself, and not allowed a lawyer. Also they don't seem at all worried about the cops forcing their way into innocent peoples' houses without warrants when they were looking for the guy. They also often want to ban Islam from the US entirely.

      So you're right, they defend "their" liberties -- but they are completely irresponsible toward the rest of the liberties that don't currently apply to their situation.

    5. Re:TL;DR by fearofcarpet · · Score: 1

      People defend their liberties (all of them, not just the single one in the second amendment) when they feel those liberties, as expressed in their way of life, are threatened.

      I disagree. The country that I grew up in died in the Fall of 2001 when we tossed the Bill of Rights out the window, quite literally sacrificing liberty in the name of security. From naked body scanners to universal wire taps to indefinite detention without a trial, anyone who doesn't feel those liberties being threatened is either an idiot or living in a cave. Yet people get their underwear in a knot over the mildest whiff of gun control, even when it doesn't affect them--e.g., people in the flyover states getting worked up over laws in California and New York.

      Nobody owns undetectable guns, or really wants to own them. Therefore nobody defends that particular liberty.

      Then why were they banned? I'm pretty sure that plenty of people would be interested in owning those James Bond-esque one-shot guns concealed in an umbrella or whatever. That nobody owns them is a directly result of making them illegal to manufacture (at least for civilians), which they started doing in the late 80's when the technology was made available. They still do make plastic/ceramic guns, but they have to put a hunk of iron in them and make them look like guns on an X-Ray to comply with the law.

      I'm not trying to be snarky, I am really trying to understand why something like universal background checks or limits on magazine capacity elicit howls of tyranny, while categorically banning any firearm made of a certain material flies right under the radar.

      --
      Actually, I wrote my thesis on life experience.
    6. Re:TL;DR by misexistentialist · · Score: 1

      I think you had the Cold War and 9/11 making people willing to give up rights to protect their government from attack, and plastic guns aren't something that even most gun enthusiasts relate to. Now the government is trying to take away the guns people own and prevent them from buying them as part of the Democrat road map to a total prohibition, and it's now or never for the frog to jump out of the boiling pot.

      As for airplanes, I think most people recognize them as a private vehicles, rather than public places, and thus not free zones. There is more cognitive dissonance with the "guns are bad" people on this issue, since they love seeing men with "military grade" assault weapons at airports, and enthusiastically support air marshals armed with "automatic pistols" with "high-capacity" magazines

    7. Re:TL;DR by fearofcarpet · · Score: 1

      How does arming allied forces with cheap handguns in the 1940's have anything to do with the modern military/police? You are barking mad if you think that any citizens group could stand up to either. Just look at the asymmetry in civilian and military deaths in Iraq and Afganistan. Hell, if you want to talk about the 40's, look at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

      --
      Actually, I wrote my thesis on life experience.
    8. Re:TL;DR by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If the answer to the theater shooting in Aurora was that movie-goers should have been carrying guns, and the answer to school shootings is armed teachers, then why not airplanes? Wouldn't we all feel safer if everyone in an airplane was carrying an undetectable plastic gun?

      This happened, but not in the way you describe. In 2003 the Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) Program was enacted, allowing flight crew members to volunteer for training from the Federal Air Marshal Service and conceal carry on planes. A bit more info on the wiki page.

    9. Re:TL;DR by fearofcarpet · · Score: 1

      I think you had the Cold War and 9/11 making people willing to give up rights to protect their government from attack, and plastic guns aren't something that even most gun enthusiasts relate to. Now the government is trying to take away the guns people own and prevent them from buying them as part of the Democrat road map to a total prohibition, and it's now or never for the frog to jump out of the boiling pot.

      I'm not going to touch the baseless assertion that somehow we are on the precipice of complete gun prohibition despite there being more guns in circulation now than ever before. However, the Number One argument against any and all forms of gun regulation is that people may need to take up arms against their own government. What does it matter if gun enthusiasts relate to plastic or metal or ceramic guns--isn't the point supposed to be about protecting the unfettered access to firearms by the public? It makes no sense to me that high-capacity magazines and assault weapons (which I will define as weapons designed for use against humans) are sacred cows, but that banning any guns manufactured using certain materials or in certain shapes is just ducky.

      As for airplanes, I think most people recognize them as a private vehicles, rather than public places, and thus not free zones. There is more cognitive dissonance with the "guns are bad" people on this issue, since they love seeing men with "military grade" assault weapons at airports, and enthusiastically support air marshals armed with "automatic pistols" with "high-capacity" magazines

      I'm not sure to whom you are referring, but I know of no one that likes seeing assault weapons anywhere but on TV and the firing range. Nor do I know of anyone who specifically wants air marshals armed with automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines (or who even goes into that level of detail.) Train stations and airports in France are full of soldiers walking around with automatic weapons--supposedly to "send a message to would-be terrorists"--and it makes me feel nervous and oppressed. And what kind of message does that send to my son? Ditto for the militarized police at the airports in Chile. "Excuse me officer, nice machine gun, do you know where the cab stand is?" Also, why draw a distinction between private vehicles and private movie theaters? I constantly hear the argument that, if only more people had been armed, <insert mass murder> could have been avoided. What else is exempt from that argument besides air travel? Sporting events perhaps, like the 1996 Olympics? What about marathons?

      --
      Actually, I wrote my thesis on life experience.
    10. Re:TL;DR by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They weren't used to "stand up to" military per se. They were used to kill military mingling among the population, and from whose corpse a more effective weapon could be obtained. They helped to bolster partisan forces by 1) giving a way to obtain military weapons cheaply, and 2) spread paranoia among the occupying forces, who would react by punishing civilians, thereby pushing more civilians towards anti-occupation causes.

    11. Re:TL;DR by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      People defend their liberties (all of them, not just the single one in the second amendment) when they feel those liberties, as expressed in their way of life, are threatened.

      I disagree. The country that I grew up in died in the Fall of 2001 when we tossed the Bill of Rights out the window, quite literally sacrificing liberty in the name of security. From naked body scanners to universal wire taps to indefinite detention without a trial, anyone who doesn't feel those liberties being threatened is either an idiot or living in a cave.

      Hell yeah, but we seem to have a lot of idiots.

      Yet people get their underwear in a knot over the mildest whiff of gun control, even when it doesn't affect them--e.g., people in the flyover states getting worked up over laws in California and New York.

      As GP said -- because they FEEL those liberties are threatened -- they believe there's a slippery slope at work that will eventually affect them. (And it's only fair to point out that they're not entirely wrong -- because of the influence of CA and NY on culture, increased restrictions on guns there will tend to result in an eventual denormalization of gun ownership in the public consciousness, making it easier for federal and/or flyover states' legislatures to pass similar restrictions.)

      Nobody owns undetectable guns, or really wants to own them. Therefore nobody defends that particular liberty.

      Then why were they banned?

      Because congress has a tenuous grasp on most areas of reality. Think of your favorite legislatorial WTFery about computers, internet, etc. -- they're that clueless about guns too, and they saw this movie once...

      I'm pretty sure that plenty of people would be interested in owning those James Bond-esque one-shot guns concealed in an umbrella or whatever. That nobody owns them is a directly result of making them illegal to manufacture (at least for civilians), which they started doing in the late 80's when the technology was made available.

      Nope, the technology wasn't available -- for the non-metal bit. The "must look like a gun on xray" provision is relevant, because you could make a one-shot gun in an umbrella, using the tubular metal shaft of the umbrella as a barrel.

      They still do make plastic/ceramic guns, but they have to put a hunk of iron in them and make them look like guns on an X-Ray to comply with the law.

      Except that they don't make them (in mass production -- this is the first functionally all-plastic prototype I've seen, but I'm sure there have been others). Seriously, there's none of these plastic/ceramic guns on the market, even though (with a chunk of metal for detectability) they'd be perfectly legal. Now one could argue they could make them, but since they're inferior in every way except sneaking through metal detectors, and the law takes that away leaving no reason at all to make them -- but I'd think there'd be some made and sold for novelty value alone, yes? And yet there are none. I suspect it's as simple as this: no manufacturer can afford liability insurance when selling a product that blows up after 10 rounds or so.

    12. Re:TL;DR by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you'd like an answer from an NRA member....

      1) The plastic gun law was ... pretty much in response to a myth. Nobody cared. The early ceramic guns still had lots of metal components. It was inconceivable that an all plastic gun could ever exist. So this regulation really continued to permit us to posess all conceivable items we could already posess, while having little more than cosmetic implications as to the mass of the weapon (which admittedly does effect accuracy in some ways)

      2) You need to understand the evolution of the NRA, who lost over a million members after 94 (joining 'more radical' organizations). Before, during, and after they have been accused of being everything from a terrorist organization, to a PAC. As a member, the group the NRA most resembles is actually the AARP. They promote a specific group of individuals, and offer massive benefits that far outweigh the cost of membership.

      People like to pretend the NRA represents manufacturers, militaries, nuts... (I call them strawmanning psychotic liberals) -- but as a member, they really are very close to the AARP in function (and with a similarly aging member base).

      Now... re: cogdiss.

      Let us recognize that there are lots of... factors here and it's a complex issue. I may favor the 'more guns in the right hands' approach. But we have to be really candid -- former navy seals and other "special forces" types have done tactical analysis of the Aurora situation. Their conclusion was that even in their prime, unless they were in one or two seats -- it would have been an exceptionally difficult and risky shot to make.

      That stated -- they might have still chosen to take the shot (even in a dark, crowded theater). Sadly at the point where 10 and 15 people were wounded, the risk to "just two or three" might have been substantially less than the...imminent threat.

      That is a situation I hope to never find myself in and a decision I would never want to have to make.

      I would hope though, that you recognize the unique circumstance of aircraft. I can't flee an aircraft (I guess strictly speaking I can -- but it's to certain death...). Nobody can flee an aircraft. While a hole in the fusilage is not likely to cause the aircraft to plummet to the ground, it /is/ nearly always an exceptionally crowded environment where you're virtually guaranteed to hit someone else should you miss or overpenetrate (unless maybe you pressed your target up against the wall -- in which case they're pinned and it's hard to justify firing...).

      I can't speak to arming people on an aircraft. I will say -- if you commit a crime on an aircraft, you are virtually guaranteed to be brought to justice. You can't just run away before the police arrive, or hide somewhere and hope they miss you in a sweep.

      You cannot say the same thing about a crime in other locations.

      As for your analysis of a citizens group affecting change. You're just being full of statist shit. I don't have to prove it --- the existence is already so throughly proven. Time and time and time again throughout history.

      American revolution (that's different, it's muskets)
      Civil war (changed policy, two groups)
      Korea, Vietname, Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya....

      Look, three, ten, or a hundred people don't stand a chance in the limit.

      Millions change policy. Hopefully democratically.

      Also, as an NRA member, let me give you a bit more history. We tried compromise for nearly 80 years. All it got was more rights taken away over time. You'll find that since 95-2005 a more hardline approach is becoming common. It's regained a few rights -- but only in the most legal sense.

      It used to be impossible to legally get most common firearms into the NE US (there was no lawful way to transport them through new york, which holds all continental connections) to new england. That is still practically the case, but at least legally, you can drive them through if they are locked in

    13. Re:TL;DR by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      Has anyone thought that perhaps, just perhaps, the implementation of the 3rd Amendment and similar legal preventions made in other nations. May have actually STOPPED that process.

      We laugh and say that was done for a time. But maybe it was more akin to the polio vaccine. Sure, the idea of soldiers entering your house, taking your bedrooms and eating your food seems ludicrous today. But perhaps it was the implementation of that Amendment that in part led to the cessation of the practice.

    14. Re:TL;DR by jklovanc · · Score: 1

      The only way a citizens group would ever have a chance at affecting change in government with guns would be by assassinating a politician--you have no chance against the military or police, sorry.

      I guess you have forgotten about the American revolution, French Revolution, Libyan Revolution, Russian Revolution, etc. They all were well armed civilians rising up against the military and police. The main reason behind the second amendment is that, in the case of a despotic government taking over the United States, another revolution could occur.

    15. Re:TL;DR by ducomputergeek · · Score: 1

      The Undetectable Firearms Act was passed in 1988. We hadn't yet seen the slippery slope that lead to almost total confiscation of firearms in other countries like the UK and Australia yet.

      That's primarily the biggest change between then and now. Those of us who are standing up and drawing "the line in the sand" against further gun regulations are doing so because of what we saw happen in those countries, and a lesser extend up north in Canada, during the 1990's and are bound and determined not to let it happen here.

      As far as no chance against the military & police go, well that is a matter of numbers I'm afraid. Total number of US military and law enforcement personnel at all levels: about 8 Million. If 5% of the american population decided, for whatever reason, that it was necessary to take up arms they'd outnumber the total US military & law enforcement about 2 to 1. Couple with the fact that most of the "local" level law enforcement are likely abandon their posts or even be in that 5% taking up arms...

      Truth be told that's an unlikely. Once you get populations that large, usually you can affect real change without the resort to mass violence.

      I own an AR and have for a few years as well as a couple pistols for CCW. Why do I own an AR? First off, easy and fun to shoot. Secondly in case of a Korea Town like situation where there is a temporary breakdown in law and order. For those who don't know what happened in Korea Town, here is the short version: During the LA Riots the cops were ordered to abandon Korea Town and they did. The rioters then proceeded to burn, pillage many Korean owned businesses. Except for a few businesses where armed civilians, owners and volunteers, defended those businesses with firearms. If suddenly there were no cops on the streets tomorrow, what would you do? What would happen to you? Is it likely to happen? Not usually, but it can and it does. And when it does it tends to be quick and unexpected.

      Call me paranoid or whatever, but I have a generator, water purifier, a couple guns with enough ammo to load all the mags I own once, and keep about 20 gallons of fuel on hand. I also keep enough non-perishable food for about two weeks on hand. That's enough supplies that in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency I can decide to wait it out or vacate the area.

      --
      "The problem with socialism is eventually you run out of other people's money" - Thatcher.
    16. Re:TL;DR by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Guns on planes = explosive decompression. Come on aren't you engineer types supposed to know that? Or are you too busy urinating on MBA's and looking down on gun owners and others who you think are just dimwitted "proles"?

    17. Re:TL;DR by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Funny, the people that I know got polite knocks at the door by policemen in Boston asking if they had seen the wanted bomber and none of them had forced searches of their homes but nice try. That community actually pulled together to try and find the guy. Also, it wasn't some sort of an enforced lockdown. I know people who ignored it and went to work, they weren't harassed or forced to go home. You should consider your sources for this crap and perhaps ignore those who just want to stir shit like a few bloggers out there who reported this crap.

    18. Re:TL;DR by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      I could never understand why people have no problem with a law that categorically bans ALL guns that are made from non-ferrous materials, and/or that do not look like a gun by X-Ray, but run around like crazy people talking about armed citizens overthrowing the government over limitations on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines--or f***ing background checks.

      Because, in short, nobody seriously expects to use a completely plastic gun for any legal purpose (putting ethical and moral issues aside for the moment, sorry) and so this is not a problem in practice for basically anybody. Guns have barrels and firing pins, and as such they will show up in a metal detection test and they will "look like" a gun by X-Ray to anyone qualified to make such a distinction, which is to say not most of the useless uniform fillers hired by the TSA. In practice, no gun anyone will own any time soon for any legal purpose will have anything other than a steel barrel; the only question is whether that steel will or won't be stainless. Indeed, it will be an extremely long time before any weapon for which assault-weapon-like characteristics (as they have been defined in law) are an issue has anything other than a sizable steel barrel. Nobody is even using Titanium except as a coating.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    19. Re:TL;DR by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      I just don't see it as a problem that weapons designed to be undetectable are illegal. At the point where you're using such a weapon, you're already engaged in an illegal act. Otherwise, why would you need an undetectable weapon? I'm not talking concealed, I'm talking undetectable. If you're permitted a firearm at each end of an airplane trip, you can take it to the airport and ship it ahead...

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    20. Re:TL;DR by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      Nor do I know of anyone who specifically wants air marshals armed with automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines (or who even goes into that level of detail.)

      Note that "automatic pistol" is a euphemism for "self-loading pistol".

      Which is NOT synonymous with "automatic weapon", which is a euphemism for "fully automatic weapon".

      It should also be noted that that sight of an "assault weapon" (self-loading rifle) doesn't bother me at all. I'm much more concerned about police officers with "assault rifles" (selective fire) shooting up random cars....

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    21. Re:TL;DR by cyber-vandal · · Score: 1

      The Libyan resistance had guns and were getting their arses handed to them by Gaddafi until NATO stepped in. The Syrian rebels have so far failed to win despite having guns. The Afghans failed to remove the Taliban despite being armed. The Iraqis failed to remove Saddam despite being armed.

    22. Re:TL;DR by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      Most of the same people I know who are adamantly defending the 2nd amendment also seem to be of a mind that the guy responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing should be tortured, forced to testify against himself, and not allowed a lawyer. Also they don't seem at all worried about the cops forcing their way into innocent peoples' houses without warrants when they were looking for the guy.

      Funny, I would say the same thing about the opposing camp. I guess that proves the old adage, "the plural of 'anecdote' is not 'fact'"

      So you're right, they defend "their" liberties -- but they are completely irresponsible toward the rest of the liberties that don't currently apply to their situation.

      That's a two-way street, you know. For example, just try pointing out the fact that automobiles take far more lives than guns, and watch as the gun-grabbers call you every name in the book in order to avoid discussing a limitation that might actually affect them.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    23. Re:TL;DR by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      The entire constitution, along with all criminal, civil, and tax law, needs to be tossed out and new ones drafted for the modern age. There is so much bullshit on the books that you can not venture outside your home without breaking some law and frankly may have already broken some laws before leaving your home.

      Ah... you do realize that those overbearing laws that you "may have already broken some laws before leaving your home" are not only "modern age" laws, but most of them are in direct violation of the Constitution you are so ready to abandon? Apparently not.

      Congratulations, you've unwittingly pointed out how you, yourself, are part of the fucking problem.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    24. Re:TL;DR by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I just don't see it as a problem that weapons designed to be undetectable are illegal. At the point where you're using such a weapon, you're already engaged in an illegal act. Otherwise, why would you need an undetectable weapon? I'm not talking concealed, I'm talking undetectable. If you're permitted a firearm at each end of an airplane trip, you can take it to the airport and ship it ahead...

      Not everything you don't want people to know about is illegal.

      W/R/T guns, it's hard to come up with a non-violent example, but it's perfectly conceivable I could carry, say, a ceramic-and-plastic undetectable pocketknife for the endless legal utility it offers (pencil-sharpening, teeth-picking, etc.) while going someplace where metal detectors are installed. But even violence is not always illegal -- if I carry a hypothetical undetectable gun for self-defense, that's a perfectly legal use, even on property whose owner is attempting to keep guns out with a metal detector. (Of course, they can then ask me to leave, and refusing to leave is illegal (trespassing). But demanding I submit to a search, which I then pass, doesn't make it trespassing, no matter what signs they put up.)

    25. Re:TL;DR by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If those laws are truly "in direct violation of the Constitution" as you claim, then what the fuck use is that Constitution?

      Your defense of the Constitution explicitly admits that it does not work. Might want to congratulate yourself there chap.

    26. Re:TL;DR by rohan972 · · Score: 1

      How does arming allied forces with cheap handguns in the 1940's have anything to do with the modern military/police?

      It indicates that the 1940's military did not believe that populations with inferior small arms are incapable of resistance. This is not changed because of new weapons technology since civilians also have newer tech than they did in the 1940's.

      In the case of resisting police and the military it is not a game where you win by scoring more points (kills) than the opposition. Politics comes into play. Any government has the potential to be oppressive but western democratic governments are not going to wholesale slaughter their populations with everybody looking. The population outnumbers the military by far and asymmetry in civilian and military deaths is a given in a civil war but not necessarily the deciding factor.

      Hell, if you want to talk about the 40's, look at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

      What about them? Nobody is saying small arms defend against nuclear weapons. Do you seriously believe the US government would nuke a US city if the citizens took up arms? Nonsense. Check out the Eureka Stockade as an Australian example of when poorly armed citizens fought the government, lost the battle but won the political point.

    27. Re:TL;DR by rohan972 · · Score: 1

      The fact that not everyone resists government oppression successfully is no reason to disarm people and make sure no one can. Perhaps the Libyan resistance wouldn't have survived until NATO stepped in if they were unarmed. They could have been quietly killed at Qaddafi's leisure. Instead of arguing with me though, why don't you make contact with some Libyan resistance and ask them if they would have been better off disarmed. Be sure to get back to me with their answer.

    28. Re:TL;DR by rohan972 · · Score: 1

      We hadn't yet seen the slippery slope that lead to almost total confiscation of firearms in other countries like the UK and Australia yet.

      I'm an Australian and don't like our gun laws much but it is a myth that we have almost total confiscation. We didn't have right to carry previously anyway, most semi-auto's are gone but they've been replaced with other firearms. We have just as many as before but not the same type and not the free access we used to. Nevertheless, despite my dislike for our laws I will say this: they were brought in legally and do not violate our constitution. If I were an American I would find many US gun laws intolerable because of the constitutional violation. If we had the 2nd amendment I would have hidden my guns.

    29. Re:TL;DR by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      But even violence is not always illegal -- if I carry a hypothetical undetectable gun for self-defense, that's a perfectly legal use, even on property whose owner is attempting to keep guns out with a metal detector. (Of course, they can then ask me to leave, and refusing to leave is illegal (trespassing). But demanding I submit to a search, which I then pass, doesn't make it trespassing, no matter what signs they put up.)

      I don't know about that. I suspect it depends on state, since trespassing laws vary from state to state. I suspect strongly that in some states, if someone puts up a "no firearms" sign and you see it and then enter their property with one anyway, you are trespassing. In California, all signs you put up are meaningless (while it is illegal even to avoid a state/municipality's sign in California, let alone disobey one) and no one is trespassing until they have received a verbal notice. The situation is lumpy.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    30. Re:TL;DR by tehcyder · · Score: 1
      I think the primary explanation is that fully automatic assault rifles are sexy, in the eyes of gun-nuts. They want their big toys to play with. They are never realistically going to stage an armed revolution, never mind assassinate a politician, it's just more fun running around a forest shooting an AK47 or AR15 than a handgun.

      It's like asking a car-nut why a Ferrari's better than a Ford, when both will get you to the shops and back the same.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    31. Re:TL;DR by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      There is more cognitive dissonance with the "guns are bad" people on this issue, since they love seeing men with "military grade" assault weapons at airports, and enthusiastically support air marshals armed with "automatic pistols" with "high-capacity" magazines

      It is not "cognitive dissonance" to admire a chef finely chopping vegetables with a large razor sharp kitchen knife, but to be fearful when you see one in the hands of a maniac running naked down the street.

      Guns are tools. They belong in the hands of people who have a use for them, not perpetually adolescent man-boys who think an AR15 with laser sights and a bipod makes their dick bigger.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  33. Obvious Troll, but by foma84 · · Score: 1

    You're an obvious troll, but I'll take the occasion to state a point here:
    Freedom means nothing without stating what ehtical priciples are inspiring it. That's not how anarchy (the movements) work.

    It really pisses me off that some random guy can develop printing guns for the sake of "freedom", calling himselp "anarchist", and people accounting him on that.

  34. but can you print bullets? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    guns are useless without ammo

    1. Re:but can you print bullets? by WillAdams · · Score: 1

      Ammunition is quite easy:

        - bullets can be cast from lead http://www.amazon.com/Cast-Bullets-E-H-Harrison/dp/B0007ASOHO
        - primer can be strike anywhere matches carefully ground up, or fashioned from chemicals http://cryptome.info/0001/tm-31-210.htm
        - gunpowder is simple chemistry http://www.amazon.com/Do-Yourself-Gunpowder-Cookbook/dp/0873646754
        - cases can be turned on a lathe (granted they're not as malleable as those which are formed, but they'll last for a couple of firings) http://www.janellestudio.com/metal/turning_brass.txt

      and of course, doing a muzzle loader eliminates the need for that, just need a patch

      William

      --
      Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
  35. Basically a Zip gun by sl4shd0rk · · Score: 2

    These things have been around forever (image google it). The predecessors usually lasted for more than one or two shots however. But they have been fashioned from every imaginable material. The only reason this is going to gain any legislation traction will be due to A) frenzied knee-jerk reactionaries running amok screaming "Think of the children!" B) Politicians proxying legislation from corporations with an agenda in one direction or the other. It's stupid to give this thing much more attention than slapping a "21 only" label on it. Anything else will be a waste of time, money and energy.

    --
    Join the Slashcott! Feb 10 thru Feb 17!
    1. Re:Basically a Zip gun by EdgePenguin · · Score: 1

      Agreed. These gun-nut clowns are going to ruin 3D printing before it gets properly started, by giving corporations and their government puppets the perfect excuse to demonise the entire concept and launch a crackdown on distribution of the plans.

      Worst of all despite their rhetoric haven't produced a decent firearm. I strongly suspect that the barrel of this gun is so short, and the cartridge small, because otherwise the thing would likely blow off your fingers. Material that is good for low power, home 3D printing (low melting point and/or soft) inherently makes a crappy material to make a gun barrel out of.

    2. Re:Basically a Zip gun by Slashdot+Parent · · Score: 1

      The only reason this is going to gain any legislation traction will be due to A) frenzied knee-jerk reactionaries running amok screaming "Think of the children!" B) Politicians proxying legislation from corporations with an agenda in one direction or the other.

      This is different from Zip guns in the following way: most people who would be outraged by Zip guns can't make one themselves, so they assume that since they are so smart and couldn't make one, that this can't be a real problem. Indeed, I probably don't have the skills to make a Zip gun, so it just doesn't seem real to me.

      A 3-D printed gun, on the other hand, requires zero metalworking or woodworking skills. All you need to be able to do is to buy a 3-D printer and download plans from the Internet. That just seems way more real to your average clueless person like me. Sort of an "I'm an idiot, and if I could make one of these, then it's too goddamn easy" kind of reaction.

      --
      They don't grade fathers, but if your daughter's a stripper, you fucked up. --Chris Rock
    3. Re:Basically a Zip gun by RobinH · · Score: 1

      As someone who has a 3D printer, you glossed over the part on how to actually get it to work nicely for you, which is a pain in the butt and takes a long time, with lots and lots of frustrating trial and error. But since it's called "printing" it must just be as simple as clicking a mouse, right?

      --
      "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain
    4. Re:Basically a Zip gun by Slashdot+Parent · · Score: 1

      As someone who has a 3D printer, you glossed over the part on how to actually get it to work nicely for you, which is a pain in the butt and takes a long time, with lots and lots of frustrating trial and error. But since it's called "printing" it must just be as simple as clicking a mouse, right?

      3-D printing technology is in its infancy. Remember how difficult it was to burn a CD in the late 90s? It would work correctly about 25% of the time, and the other 75% you'd end up with $10 coasters? It didn't take long before the tech became much more reliable (buffer underrun protection, etc.) and the media to become much less expensive.

      You're an early adopter, so you get the pleasure of dealing with the tech while it's still a pain in the ass. Please be assured that your ass pain is a temporary situation, and the tech will improve by leaps and bounds over the coming years. It may not currently be as simple as bringing your new printer home from OfficeDepot, plugging it in, and printing a gun, but in 10 years, it will be.

      --
      They don't grade fathers, but if your daughter's a stripper, you fucked up. --Chris Rock
    5. Re:Basically a Zip gun by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      Agreed. These gun-nut clowns are going to ruin 3D printing before it gets properly started, by giving corporations and their government puppets the perfect excuse to demonise the entire concept and launch a crackdown on distribution of the plans.

      Interesting you use the word "agreed," considering that your rationale is pretty much the complete opposite of his.

      FWIW, OP was pointing out that it will be the idiot reactionaries and self-serving politicians who will try and "ruin 3D printing," not the innovators as you've implied.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    6. Re:Basically a Zip gun by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      This is different from Zip guns in the following way: most people who would be outraged by Zip guns can't make one themselves, so they assume that since they are so smart and couldn't make one, that this can't be a real problem.

      Those are probably the same people who believe what the government or media tells them without ever questioning it; You know, simple folk.

      The reality is, zip guns are ridiculously easy to make if you have a basic understanding of physics and know how to get to your local hardware store. Hell, the US Army publishes a manual, TM 31-210: the Improvised Munitions Handbook, that includes explicit instructions on how to build several different types. All with typical off-the-shelf hardware, most of which can be obtained for less than fifty bucks.

      Indeed, I probably don't have the skills to make a Zip gun, so it just doesn't seem real to me

      Again I'll point out, "not having the skills to make a zip gun" means not having a basic understanding of general physics. Don't be so hard on yourself.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    7. Re:Basically a Zip gun by Slashdot+Parent · · Score: 1

      Again I'll point out, "not having the skills to make a zip gun" means not having a basic understanding of general physics. Don't be so hard on yourself.

      Not believing that I could make a zip gun is functionally the same as not actually being able to make one. Even if I went to the trouble to look up plans on the Internet, I wouldn't trust myself to make a contraption that would be safe to fire.

      A 3-D print file that has been made thousands of times and doesn't require any of my lack of carpentry/metalworking skills seems a little safer to me. Once the tech improves a bit, of course.

      --
      They don't grade fathers, but if your daughter's a stripper, you fucked up. --Chris Rock
  36. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I agree. You have just lost the freedom to vote, as you agree only harm will come from such a freedom.

  37. I know this is a very controversal issue by Karmashock · · Score: 3, Insightful

    But I think I just need to say... I'm for it.

    I know the anti gun people aren't going stop. That's fine. Neither will we stop.

    I am not a violent person. I don't believe in using violence as anything but a means of defense. Truly.

    That said, I few my right to own a gun as the same thing as my right to vote. Literally the same. And I feel the same way about both.

    Imagine if someone came to take away your right to vote? Would it matter what reasons they came up for it... what excuses? Unlikely. That is where I am on the issue. And I'm not alone for what that is worth. I don't think most of us are violent or desire violence. We simply believe we're entitled to be dangerous. I'm free. I'm a citizen. You should fear me. Not because I'm crazy. But because the free are powerful.

    This gun... this technology... It made me cry the first time I saw it. To me, its beautiful. And I will protect it. This is a flame that will not go out.

    I regret if this offends anyone. That is not my desire. I see in this a weapon that might one day free the world. Naive? Perhaps... but possibly this is the beginning of something glorious.

    --
    I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
    1. Re:I know this is a very controversal issue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your vote is worthless. Regardless of what color you choose, you get the same results. Oil / gas wars, less freedom than 10 years ago, and a huge amount of bending of laws and restrictions in favor of which ever corporation makes a large enough "donation".

      It won't be long until the first death from this plastic gun. Politicians are going to go nuts, fueled by companies concerned people will be able to download plans for all kinds of other doodads and make their own. Expect a lot of "IP" infringement / theft to follow, accelerating as these printers come down in price.

      My main question is whether there's any kind of check made when you buy ammo, or do they assume you have a licence already?

    2. Re:I know this is a very controversal issue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That said, I few my right to own a gun as the same thing as my right to vote. Literally the same

      I have register to vote. I have to vote in special places at special times. If I move I have to update my voter registration. Convicted felons aren't allowed to vote.

      Have my rights been taken away ?

      You should fear me. Not because I'm crazy. But because the free are powerful.

      I don't fear you. I fear the guy who can get released from jail\mental institute and buy a gun on the same day, no questions asked, because of the personal sales loophole.

    3. Re:I know this is a very controversal issue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Right to own a gun != right to own, carry and use any type of gun without restrictions.
      And increased gun control != ban all guns.

      Here's the thing: virtually every other comparable country to the US does guns better. Canada, the UK and the rest of western Europe, Australia, Japan... they all have different ways of dealing with guns, but they all have far lower firearm murder rates, and much lower murder rates overall than the US. And it pretty hard to see how these people are any less "free" than Americans. Well, I guess they're less "free" to be shot by their fellow citizens...

      "More guns, less crime" is a monumental pile of bull___. It didn't work in the wild west, and it isn't going to work today. That so many people buy into such nonsense is, in some sense, more worrisome than the guns themselves.

    4. Re:I know this is a very controversal issue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can get your vote 'taken away' if you're a convicted felon.

    5. Re:I know this is a very controversal issue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My main question is whether there's any kind of check made when you buy ammo, or do they assume you have a licence already?

      There's no such thing as a gun license in the US as far as I know. My state does not even have a gun registration system in place. On purpose. And we like it that way.

      The only reason you show ID to buy ammo is so they can make sure you're 18 or 21 depending on the firearm type.

      When I was 21 I bought a 7.62x25mm handgun that would punch holes through 1/4" steel at 30 feet from a pawn shop and it took all of 20 minutes to walk in and out with a gun. They ran a quick background check to make sure I wasn't a felon and I was on my way after I handed them the $200. Finding the 7.62x25 ammo was tougher as it's a little rare. And I'm perfectly ok with this and don't feel myself or my children are any less safe as a result.

      I think a plastic zip gun is neat, but I have no reason to print one yet. If they try ever try to take my real guns you can bet your ass I will print them en masse however. As well as working on a design for one with a metal barrel and chamber and a hi-capacity mag. Think of a modern semi-auto Borz. And if they come for those, I'm sure someone will cross the line into printing full-auto versions.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borz

    6. Re:I know this is a very controversal issue by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      People get too worked up here. The government is not taking away your guns any more than they are taking away your vote.
      Look at it this way, why are the very same people who want to make sure you have a valid state issued ID before you an vote are also the ones opposed to expanding background checks on gun purchases?

      It's about fear and gut reactions. They fear immigrants gaining political power so they want restrictions on voting; they fear a government geting big so they pretend there's going to be another armed rebellion.

      Meanwhile the gun makers are getting rich. Tell people that there might be more restrictions so come buy guns now while they're on sale. Ever notice how gun sales go up when these things are debated in congress?

    7. Re:I know this is a very controversal issue by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      That said, I few my right to own a gun as the same thing as my right to vote. Literally the same. And I feel the same way about both.

      Bad comparison - first, the right to vote is not in the Bill of Rights, it came later. Second, voting is, sadly, considered more of a tertiary right by most Americans these days. Third, you can't really argue technical limitations when it comes to voting (you'll see what I mean).

      Better to compare the Right to Bear Arms with another BoR right - the Right to Freedom of Expression. They are far more equivalent, and you can pose the same arguments against each; for example, when a gun-grabber tries to argue, "there were no assault weapons when the 2nd was written, so they shouldn't be protected," you can turn the argument back on them by asking if speech communicated across the internet or telephone shouldn't be protected, since such technologies didn't exist then either.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    8. Re:I know this is a very controversal issue by Karmashock · · Score: 1

      I don't care if you see things otherwise.

      I am saying that my right to my vote and my right to a gun are intertwined.

      You try to make me powerless and its the same thing as trying to silence me. Its oppression. It is a violation of my rights. And I associate it with the right to vote because it is the most similar right.

      A child can speak and it has no civic significance. An armed citizen has relevance. A vote has relevance.

      You take my vote over my dead body. You take my gun over my dead body.

      No compromise.

      --
      I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
    9. Re:I know this is a very controversal issue by Karmashock · · Score: 1

      We're not against background checks.

      To the contrary the NRA was all for expanded background checks so long as they weren't a shadow ploy to disenfranchise gun owners or expose them to harassment or liability despite committing no criminal acts.

      See, the anti gun crowd is not dealing honestly here. They say they just want to have better documentation. But that's not really true. They want to prohibit gun ownership entirely. And while they don't think they can ban them outright, they think they can make it so impractical to own them that its about as good as banning them.

      And that is largely what this most recent push by them was about.

      So grasp this... we have no problem with having records so we can tell legal from illegal gun owners. However we are not stupid. If you make an effort to ban gun ownership by proxy we will interpret it as an attempt to ban guns directly since it will work out to the same thing. And we will oppose it with everything.

      --
      I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
    10. Re:I know this is a very controversal issue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Now you're putting motivations into others while protesting having motivations assigned to you. Maybe they just wanted to expand background checks to gun shows? No one will ever prohibit gun ownership entirely in the US, they don't even do that in the europe (which some people claim is the ultimate in liberal nannyness).

      Also, why are records not kept computerized? They're kept, but in boxes at the original gun dealers only. Only reason is to satisfy the people who think the government wants to track down all gun owners for the big day when they're all confiscated.

    11. Re:I know this is a very controversal issue by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      You take my vote over my dead body. You take my gun over my dead body.

      No compromise.

      I think you've missed my point - I was implying that, when arguing your points with a gun-grabber, you'd be better off citing the First Amendment in comparison to the second than you would referring to any of the voting amendments. 1 & 2 are far more closely related than any amendment after #10.

      And for the record, I'm glad you feel that way; not enough people do, which is a major setback for liberty.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    12. Re:I know this is a very controversal issue by Karmashock · · Score: 1

      I understand your point but disagree because I don't want to argue the point so they understand. I want to argue the point so I'm honest about my position.

      For example, it is common for the "gun grabbers" to argue for higher documentation or background checks of legal gun owners. That is their version of your argument about the first amendment. The problem is that its dishonest. They don't actually care about background checks because their problem is not that the occasional criminal gets a gun or that there isn't enough training for people that have them. Its that civilians in general are able to get the guns. THAT is their issue. Everything else is merely a pretext to make the guns less accessible or raise the cost of ownership.

      Likewise, for me, the association between a gun and my rights is more applicable to my right to vote. It is something citizens have a right to have. Now the right to freedom of speech is not something we restrict to citizens. A foreign national can speak their own mind in the US and likely cite the first amendment to protect himself. But he can't own a gun or vote.

      Thus if I'm honest... that is the rational association.

      I could argue otherwise but it would be dishonest.

      That isn't to say that I feel such people are entitled to my honest opinion. After all, they hold my rights in contempt and seek to turn me into a peasant. Not only for myself but my family and all generations to come. Against such a mentality, there is no requirement for civility or honesty beyond what is expedient and prudent for my own ends.

      --
      I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
    13. Re:I know this is a very controversal issue by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      I understand your point but disagree because I don't want to argue the point so they understand. I want to argue the point so I'm honest about my position.

      Fair enough; don't suppose it would be right to argue against honesty.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  38. More a problem outside the USA by anyaristow · · Score: 1

    It's more a problem in places where getting a gun is more difficult than it is in the USA.

  39. Interesting side effects by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I can see the NRA howling that the gun manufacturers (its real constituency) would be losing money on this and that it ought to be taxed, with the money going to a fund .... ;-)

    1. Re:Interesting side effects by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      If you think gun manufacturers are NRA's primary constitutuents, you are seriously mistaken.

  40. Re:3D printing of guns can be done better by geirlk · · Score: 1

    Personally, I'd be just as worried, if not more so, firing a cast iron gun than a 3D printed gun. Both are potential pipe bombs. So are all firearms, but most have been tested to a fault many times over to see what they can take, so you fire it within a known tolerance.

  41. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by krygny · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Tyranny is a small price for safety. But we still have a long way to go to eradicate all the things that bad people can use to hurt and kill good people. I mean, they haven't even collected all the guns and pressure cookers. It's will be a long time before they get around to all the sharp and jagged rocks.

    --
    Research shows that 67% of those who use the term "research shows", are just making shit up.
  42. Atom Bomb by puddingebola · · Score: 1

    Is the 3D printed atom bomb far behind? Big limiting factor in that is the radioative material, I know, but I'm just speculating. What other potentially dangerous objects can you manufacture with a 3D printer?

  43. Another win for Americans and the 2nd amendment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Once this becomes public knowledge (if it isn't already) then everyone can adequately defend themselves. Kudos to these guys for protecting our freedoms.

  44. Re:Dusk of the Dead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When you say something that is actually insightful and not drooling, I'll stop vomiting.

  45. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by amiga3D · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Think about it. Our greatest right is the right to vote. If you can't trust people with a gun how in hell can you trust them to vote? This might explain everything.

  46. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by amiga3D · · Score: 2

    Don't forget the need to put cameras in everyone's houses so we can watch and make sure they aren't up to anything that might hurt someone. Saftey first!

  47. It could be nicer by empty_other · · Score: 1, Troll

    I would rather get killed by something i had a chance of defending myself against than something killing me instantly. So, yes, it is comforting knowing that punks in dark alleys are not carrying guns.

    1. Re:It could be nicer by cold+fjord · · Score: 1, Informative

      I would rather get killed by something i had a chance of defending myself against than something killing me instantly.

      Two points -

      1. Most people shot by pistols recover if given medical care.

      2. Your comment comes to the heart of the difference on this issue: You would rather get killed than have a weapon to defend yourself.

      So, yes, it is comforting knowing that punks in dark alleys are not carrying guns.

      When you are old and infirm, they will still be there with clubs and knives, and you will be unarmed and at their "mercy." You won't have the chance that these people do, as things stand, and neither will your friends and loved ones. All the advantages accrue to the thugs. What a cruel thing.

      80-year-old Flint man fires shots at five robbery suspects
      Elderly Woman Shoots at Intruder

      And this is probably why: Self-Defense: An Endangered Right

      --
      much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
    2. Re:It could be nicer by BLKMGK · · Score: 1

      Wouldn't having a gun yourself be a rather effective defense? Would said punk be as comfortable approaching you if the chances of you shooting back be much higher?

      --
      Build it, Drive it, Improve it! Hybridz.org
    3. Re:It could be nicer by empty_other · · Score: 1

      There is no defense against guns. Well, except bulletproof shields or heavy armor. Or maybe just avoid the alleyways all together. An example: You could give a toddler a gun and he could kill you instantly. Give the same toddler a knife, and ..at the very worst.. he would accidently slash your arterial and you would slowly bleed to death.

      Besides, if these thugs in the dark alleys would kill me either way, what sounds cooler? That i fought to my last in a kick-ass knife duel or that i died instantly from gun wound? Where did my knife came from, you might ask? Well, i never claimed i would rather get killed than have a weapon to defend myself. I just prefer that both parties in this conflict is carrying weapons which can be used defensively, so that the combat isn't instantly won by the first one to draw.

      The next comment would probably, at this point, tell me that a knife in the back would kill me just as suddenly as a gun. True that. Or if i was old and defenseless they could probably just walk up and stab me from the front. True. I still think it would be more difficult for a person to walk up to me and stab me than to pull a trigger and watch me die.

    4. Re:It could be nicer by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      the only problem i see is your laughable thoughts of giving a todler a weapon. a todler should never have access to a weapon, a knife or a gun. but you wouldnt know that, because you fear the boogieman rather than get a simple gun education on proper gun management.

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    5. Re:It could be nicer by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      You are way more likely to die from a knife wound than a bullet wound.

      In fact, most law enforcement officers I've met say that they're far far more concerned about being stabbed than shot.

    6. Re:It could be nicer by empty_other · · Score: 1

      Did not know that. Always heard that since we are 80% water, a bullet make a mess out of every muscle fiber, while a knife wound is usually an easily fixed cut.

    7. Re:It could be nicer by empty_other · · Score: 1

      This is all you got out of that? Of course no one in their right mind would give a toddler a gun. But someone insists on giving guns to punks in dark alleys, as they would rather prefer dying quicker. I would personally prefer being given a fighting chance. Or at least a running headstart.

    8. Re:It could be nicer by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      no one is saying that giving punks in a dark ally is a good idea either! Who are these people you are listening to??? stop listening to them because they are simply retarded.

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    9. Re:It could be nicer by empty_other · · Score: 1

      Okay. Dont give guns to toddlers and punks in dark alleys. And dont take gun suggestions from retarded people. Then we should be safe. We should probably give out a questionaire to future gun-owners.. "What sort of places are you hanging out? Are you a toddler? How retarded are you from a scale from..." Huh, i would think someone already did that.. :)

    10. Re:It could be nicer by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      Did not know that. Always heard that since we are 80% water, a bullet make a mess out of every muscle fiber, while a knife wound is usually an easily fixed cut.

      Depends on the bullet, the wound location, and the knife. Sometimes bullets (especially low caliber, high velocity ones) will pass straight through a body with minimal damage.

      Similarly, a clean knife wound, like the cut from a careful surgeon's scalpel, is easily fixed and tend not to bleed much.

      However, a cut from the chipped, rusty blade of a crazed, AIDS & Hepatitis infected meth-head is not only far more likely to be jagged and difficult to suture, it also carries a far greater chance of giving the officer a deadly infection.

      With bullets, it's not really an issue; a non-lethal injury is just that, without the risk of infection you would get from a knife wound.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    11. Re:It could be nicer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, this is the fallicy. Said punk is intent on committing crime. Said punk is armed. Said punk thinks you might be armed. Said punk shoots you before you know you are in danger. That is why the USA is more violent than Western Europe.

    12. Re:It could be nicer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The reason is that when an attacker shoots someone, they typically run off after that one shot. With a stabbing, the victim is usually stabbed more than once.

    13. Re:It could be nicer by tehcyder · · Score: 1
      While you have violent criminals, those of us with no particular horse in the gun race would prefer that they were unarmed.

      The thing I don't understand is why, if I were a criminal in a society where everyone was armed, I wouldn't just ambush people with a group of friends and shoot them dead before they even know they're in danger, never mind giving them a chance to draw their weapon.. Oh, that's right, I probably already do.

      I doubt that drug dealers who shoot each other play by the Queensberry rules, nor by the Wild West duelling mythology beloved of movies.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  48. Understandings are not hard by Errol+backfiring · · Score: 2

    There is not that much to know about a catapult. And with an arm-piece and a trigger they can be made quite accurate, and (armed with an M24 nut) more destructive than your basic pistol.

    --
    Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
    1. Re:Understandings are not hard by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Catapults don't really have the convenience and they certainly don't have the fear-inducing capacity of a gun.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  49. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by Salgak1 · · Score: 1, Insightful

    In many ways, owning and USING a gun is the ultimate vote. After all, the Second Amendment speaks of maintaining a free state, not hunting. . .

  50. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Think about it. Our greatest right is the right to vote. If you can't trust people with a gun how in hell can you trust them to vote? This might explain everything.

    Serious question - what kind of weapon would you not trust people with, and what would be the principle reason to draw the line exactly there? Heavy machine guns/gatling guns? Autocannons? Bazookas? etc.

  51. Freedom Freaks People Out by n2hightech · · Score: 1

    Being able to make a gun simply and cheaply in your own home is nothing new. You can make a zip gun from stuff you buy at Home Depot for less than $10. That gun has just as much killing power as the plastic printed gun. These have been around for 50 years. Bad guys can buy or steal a high performance gun so easy none of them will spend the time or money to get a 3d printer to print one. This gun can only fire a single shot. Takes several seconds to load another round. Would not be accurate (no rifling) for more than a few feet. Break after a few rounds. The fact that it can pass through metal detectors does pose some risk for use as an assassins weapon, However better plastic parts can be machined and cast just as easy as it is to 3D print them. A 3D printed part is not nearly as strong as a molded part of the same material. People have this false sense of security and when someone points out the risks associated with living in a free society they freak out. Will someone eventually do something bad with 3D printed stuff in the future. Yes someone will. Will it make life more risky? No more risky than all our other high tech stuff that can be misused does.

  52. Simple math by JustOK · · Score: 3, Insightful

    1st ammendment + 2nd ammendment = right to print arms

    --
    rewriting history since 2109
    1. Re:Simple math by Nyder · · Score: 1

      1st ammendment + 2nd ammendment = right to print arms

      You get a A in math, and a D- in Spelling.

      --
      Be seeing you...
    2. Re:Simple math by JustOK · · Score: 1

      that's the american spelling

      --
      rewriting history since 2109
  53. The great thing about these guns by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    is that it's just as likely that the people firing these will be killed or maimed by them as the people not holding them.

    1. Re:The great thing about these guns by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      Why are anti-gunners so violent and always wishing for death of gun owners.

      Hmm....

      I bet you most murderers who kill folks with a gun are anti-gunners themselves. (Just like how most of those legislators who pass gun control, actually own or are protected by guns.)

      It's a weird inverted relationship...

    2. Re:The great thing about these guns by Overzeetop · · Score: 1

      To quote Tom Lehrer, "We'd rather kill them off by peaceful means."

      --
      Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  54. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by ArcadeMan · · Score: 2

    BFG's.

  55. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by BrokenHalo · · Score: 2

    Our greatest right is the right to vote.

    Hmmm. Not if you're an Australian citizen. Here, it's compulsory to vote - if you don't, then you get fined. But the (major) political parties have indistinguishable policies, and their representatives are liars or creeps (or, in the case of the current opposition leader, both).

    If you can't trust people with a gun how in hell can you trust them to vote?

    WTF? If that's how you reason, then you are incapable of reasoning at all. However, I guess it might just be appropriate to deal with all of our politicians, one bullet at a time.

  56. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state , the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

    It's a short amendment, but if you quote the whole thing then you can't cherrypick and change it's meaning. The second amendment is not about keeping the state at an arbitrarily defined level of "free", it is about keeping the state safe from foreign conquerors.

    While it does not speak of hunting, it does speak of "a well regulated militia", a point that is always overlooked and twisted by pro-gunners that are so quick to cling to the hunting defense.

    The "R" in NRA is for rifle. The NRA is a sportsmen's organization that advocates for the rights of hunters. Historically the NRA has been for gun control, having helped draft the ban on fully automatic weapons in the 1980's. All this posturing to present themselves as patriots has exposed the gun lobby for what it is, an efficient scheme to separate fools from their money and make super wealthy people even richer.

    Ammunition has tripled in price, most guns have doubled in value, and the gun-rights groups eat it up as signs to keep buying. They buy so much they create shortages which in turn fuel their paranoia causing them to feel compelled to buy even more as soon as it comes available. They did this when Obama was elected and they did it again when he won reelection. Guess what, the buying trend will happen again in 2016 when another Democrat wins the Whitehouse after Texas goes blue thanks to the Latino vote.

    The worst part about it is that most of those guns will end up stolen and on the streets at some point in the very near future.

  57. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by drakaan · · Score: 1

    ...so as long as it's a state-sanctioned group of people that have guns, you're fine with it? Most of those guns will end up stolen and on the street?

    You're scaring the shit out of me, I'll admit, but not in the way you probably intended.

    --
    "Murphy was an optimist" - O'Toole's commentary on Murphy's Law
  58. stupid law by slashmydots · · Score: 0

    So they mention that the gun had to have a steel bar in it to comply with the stupid metal detector laws about all firearms. Um, wouldn't it detect the stack of bullets? It might not detect one I suppose but a couple would set the typical one off.

  59. It's not the gun they're scared of by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It is that it was made with new technology. Seriously this strikes me as more technophobia than anything. These are the kind of people who fear computers because they don't understand them and the world is changing on them.

  60. Effectiveness by Guspaz · · Score: 1

    The government trying to ban 3D printed guns by legislation will be about as effective as hollywood trying to prevent MP3 downloads by suing people. It won't work.

    The lawmakers are saying things like "a terrorist could 3D print a gun and take it past airport security". Well, how exactly will banning 3D-printed guns prevent a terrorist from doing it? Short of regulating the sale and use of 3D printers, the law will be unenforceable.

  61. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by BLKMGK · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You're right, I don't own a gun and I support our rights to own guns. I see the minority, those that want to remove the 2nd Amendment, trying to shout and scream things like "think of the children" in order to do this. Thankfully the minority has yet to manage it.

    Stronger background checks? Go for it. Assault weapons ban? Get a clue, no way. When the cosmetics are what's used to make decisions common sense has left the auditorium. Magazine limits? Seriously? Our reps don't even realize that magazines themselves can be reloaded let alone that it's possible to swap magazines and continue firing. Printable magazines are also available BTW although I'm told that this is actually a difficult thing to do correctly, something to do with the spring. More people are killed by automobiles in this country and yet we focus on guns. That's okay though as our cars are already so fat it's disgusting as they strive to swaddle us ever more in protective devices. I'm betting more than one person in Boston is a new gun owner after the fallout from the Marathon bombings and I don't blame them. If a manhunt in an urban neighborhood wasn't a wake up call I don't know what is.

    BTW, unless you've got some sort of special machine that detects "wrong people" guns will always end up being wielded by them, checks cannot screen them all out. Any competent machine shop can build a damned gun and plans to do so aren't hard to find. The problem is so many people are freaked out by the news and screaming Chicken Little's that it's the "right people" who're going to end up being restricted. It's common sense that if someone is going to break the law that "yet another damned gun law" isn't going to even slow them down. Guns are so easy to get that the Boston bomber twits had a whole arsenal! Oh wait no they didn't...

    What will you aim to ban next? Knives? Screwdrivers? Sticks? Baseball bats? Fireworks? Tree stump remover? Model rocket engines? Lithium batteries? Fertilizer? Dry ice? Perfect safety is NOT achievable no matter how many rights you decide to give up...

    --
    Build it, Drive it, Improve it! Hybridz.org
  62. Homemade firearms by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They've been around since the invention of the firearm, and the practice is legal, as far as I'm aware, pretty much universally. Is the "big deal" here simply that it's now easier than it used to be?

  63. Really now... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sadly I really think that the politicians should just not worry about 3d printed guns as given time and beer the problem will sort itself out nicely.

    One in four exploded? That's not a gun, that is an "emergency room visit enabler"!

  64. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by Mike+Frett · · Score: 2

    I apologize to you and Pecisk. Both of you have been Mod down in error by people who don't know how to use the points given them. Comments aren't to be marked down based on the Mods opinion. Time should be spend with focus on marking good comments up and adjusting comments modded in error. It's a sad state of affairs they had to mod based on their hurt feelings.

    To be honest I wouldn't have modded either one of you up, but Troll and Flamebait shows the intentions of said Mod. I apologize for not having Mod points to correctly place the both of you at 0. People, when you're given Mod points, it doesn't mean you're suppose to rate based on your opinions. Remember that. I am a strong Linux supporter but rarely do I find myself rating up comments simply because I might agree with them. Usually there is a link at the very bottom of all comments entitled "Moderator Help", you should read that please. Thank you.

    To be on Topic I will say, this was bound to happen, we all know that 3D Printing will lead to the Printing of things that some people may find undesirable. But make no mistake about it, it's a Firearm that wasn't bought. The legality of this will be brought up if it gets out of control. I know it's not all Plastic, but someone will find a way to do it, and rest assured, some criminal mind will find a way to commit a Murder in hopes of avoiding capture.

  65. Hmmm What about Accuracy by Wild_dog! · · Score: 1

    I have heard a lot about printing up this or that in relation to guns. I have yet to here if they are even minimally accurate.
    Usually the meticulous machining of a heavy barrel is what will lead to accurate shots.
    Not sure plastic guns fall into the same level of refinement.

  66. They've already taken your right to vote by tekrat · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Dude; have you not been following the last 30 years of elections? When was the last time *anyone* running for an office actually represented *you*?

    Campaigns now cost millions of dollars, even for local elections. The only people that can run are people with "connections" to money, meaning they are already friends of the elite, and therefore, represent the elite. They are not interested in, nor do they represent the common people.

    And never mind big, federal elections, We're talking hundreds of millions of dollars needed. The bar has been raised so high that no common man can ever run for a Congressional Office.

    So really, what's your "vote" doing for you? You can vote for representative (D), who represents the elite, or representative (R), who represents the elite. Neither choice is for you. So your vote has already been taken away -- they just didn't take it away in a form you recognize!!

    I'm sorry to say that the real world isn't like the movies. It doesn't take a stormtrooper in a black uniform to take away your rights, it can be done in a much more subtle way, in a way you'll end up going along with, and NOT rebelling against.

    And in fact, you'll end up working *for* the oppression of other people's rights. And all the time, your guns will sit idle, because you trust your government while they continue to screw you.

    --
    If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
    1. Re:They've already taken your right to vote by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The voting system failure you describe is the end result of any plurality voting system; it's a bug that has gone unfixed since the founding of the USA.

      When was the last time *anyone* running for an office actually represented *you*?

      2012. There were plenty of good candidates, but they got ~1.6% of the popular vote combined. ANY ONE of the candidates in the Free & Equal debate would have been better than either major party candidate. All that says is that ~98.4% of Americans don't mind leaving the elites in charge, or are too stupid to realize that they're trading permanent freedom for temporary safety.

      Instead of whining about how bad things are, do something about it. Tell people to vote for a candidate who supports clone independent voting systems like Approval, IRV, and Condorcet. It would oust the incumbents, which earns voting reform the scorn of incumbent parties and those who have settled for them.

    2. Re:They've already taken your right to vote by Karmashock · · Score: 1

      there are 300 million people in the US. National elections costing millions isn't a big deal. It is somewhat worrying that they're costing as much as they are...

      I look at it this way... if the 100 million voters each gives 100 dollars you should get something like 10 billion political contributions. How much are we spending on these national elections?... All sides considered? Probably a good deal more then that. But the first ten billion or so isn't unreasonable.

      As to the rest, I'm not a fatalist. I don't give up my rights because there are problems. I label them as obstacles to my power and do what I can to protect what rights and power I have left.

      This technology does not diminish my power.

      --
      I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
    3. Re:They've already taken your right to vote by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'll see your "hundreds of millions of dollars" and raise you one Alvin Greene
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_Greene

  67. Might be about time... by doug141 · · Score: 1

    to finally pass some legislation improving mental health care.

  68. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by oKtosiTe · · Score: 1

    Think about it. Our greatest right is the right to vote. If you can't trust people with a gun how in hell can you trust them to vote? This might explain everything.

    One person with bad voting sense is a fraction of a percentage point—hardly of interest. One person with bad shooting sense is a classroom full of dead teenagers—kind of a big deal. Does that make more sense to you now?

  69. the anarchist and radical libertarian by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ie: colossal douchebag.

  70. Four Winds Shotgun by Rideak · · Score: 1

    http://static5.infoimages.net/resources/originals/41a32a7f101271bc9729ab421de3d97e070938dd

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juTfsdL7M8g (haha)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rh0SXBtT_lA (a more tacticool version)

    personally I think these shotguns are a hell of a lot more dangerous and readily available than anything made with a crazy expensive 3d printer.

  71. *sigh* by Greyfox · · Score: 1

    Admit it, you posted that entire story just for the pun. Didn't you?

    --

    I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

  72. I can't wait by dskoll · · Score: 1

    Until the anarchists also upload CAD drawings for cartoon characters, flowers and fluffy bunnies to decorate the guns so that more 5-year-olds can kill their 2-year-old siblings. Way to improve society, guys.

    1. Re:I can't wait by Nyder · · Score: 1

      Until the anarchists also upload CAD drawings for cartoon characters, flowers and fluffy bunnies to decorate the guns so that more 5-year-olds can kill their 2-year-old siblings. Way to improve society, guys.

      That will take a talented 5 year old to not only print out the 3D gun, but to source some bullets for it also.

      Of course, you do realize that BB guns (legal guns, for kids) can kill? Recent a 13 year old killed his 10 years old brother. Didn't print it out, didn't even get the gun illegally.

      Siblings have been killing siblings since the beginning of time (according to the bible), don't need a 3D gun to do it.

      --
      Be seeing you...
  73. To hell with them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The people who helped create this evil will be responsible for the horrors that are committed with it. May they burn in hell.

  74. Re:3D printing of guns can be done better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Easy solution: don't use cast iron. Use some flavor of brass or bronze instead. Won't have the same wear life, but much less prone to blow up.

  75. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by jamstar7 · · Score: 1

    Better yet, outlaw curtains and make all new housing construction out of clear acrylics. Then outlaw clothes and mandate full body scanners to prevent anybody from carrying a concealed weapon.

    --
    Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
  76. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by PortHaven · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You are so so far off it's not even funny.

    The 2nd Amendment was for the protection of society. That meant from foreign, domestic and criminal. But if you study the documents and statements at the time, it is clear that the authors felt the number one threat the potential threat of one's own government. Considering they had just suffered greatly at the hands of their own government.

    Actually, the NRA was not about hunters. It was due to the fact that after the Civil War, it was noted that northerners were far less adept marksman than southerners. Largely due to the fact that hunting in much of the north had diminished with the advent of industry. Where as it was still common in the south.

    The NRA was established to help ensure that Americans were well equipped skill wise to be able to respond to a call for defense if neded.

    "a well regulated militia",

    Did NOT mean regulations like today. It meant disciplined and capable.

    "They buy so much they create shortages which in turn fuel their paranoia"
    And DHS placing an order for 1.5 billion rounds over 5 years isn't fueling it either? That's about 3x the rounds per person the military is using. And our military is in an active state of war. Just something to consider.

    "The worst part about it is that most of those guns will end up stolen and on the streets at some point in the very near future."

    And this statement is based on zero proof of evidence.

  77. Here come the end of unmonitored 3D printing by Catbeller · · Score: 1

    Copyright and patent infringement, combined with people finally realizing that at-home manufacturing can build anything, eventually, will result in Kindle-like DRM - you can put your own e-books on a Kindle, but you have to upload those first to Amazon for conversion to their format, before Amazon lets it display on your Kindle. And then they know what illegal books you might have on your Kindle. No hassle now, but the option to hassle is indefinitely retained.

    So it goes with 3D printing, although it will happen much faster than it did with e-books. 3D printer manufacturers will be given de facto ultimatums to install DRM backdoors on all printers, at least, to enable a looksee by whomever to monitor what is being printed. I imagine the next step will be IP examination and of course seeing if you are being naughty and printing something like a gun or a suspicious casing for a bomb or whatever else they would like to stop.

    "I can't do that, Dave.", your printer will say. And you get a copyright warning in the mail, or sometimes a visit from men in a black official car who want to take you somewhere while others borrow your hard drives.

    Yup, you easily can build your own printer. Which, eventually, will be a crime. How fast did Bittorrent become criminal? And yes, it is considered criminal in most minds now. Ten years. Less. How fast you think they will make printing your own Glock illegal? Or the machine that can.

  78. Red and Blue Herring by PortHaven · · Score: 1

    Firearm deaths are irrelevant. Total homocides are what matters. If you ban guns but more people are killed with knives. It doesn't matter if your firearm deaths went down.

    Second, we have a gang problem fueld by a misguided drug war.

    Third, we have a very different legal system, one that has a habit of re-releasing violent criminals time and again. 85% of crime is done by the same criminals....

    1. Re:Red and Blue Herring by fearofcarpet · · Score: 1

      Firearm deaths are irrelevant. Total homocides are what matters.

      I completely agree. And the homicide rate is still higher in the US by a factor of four than Northern, Southern, and Western Europe. All those "Europe is super-violent" statistics include Eastern Europe. If we lump Central America in with the US, the homicide rates jumps to five times that of all of Europe combined.

      If you ban guns but more people are killed with knives. It doesn't matter if your firearm deaths went down.

      The US also has a much larger homicide rate by guns than almost the enture rest of the world. Are you arguing that if guns were regulated rationally in the US that all of the gun homicides would be replaced by non-gun homicides? Or that they would somehow increase? (No one is arguing for total prohibition here--just sensible regulations.)

      Second, we have a gang problem fueld by a misguided drug war.

      Misguided is putting it mildly.

      Third, we have a very different legal system, one that has a habit of re-releasing violent criminals time and again. 85% of crime is done by the same criminals....

      Recidivism is a problem the world over. However, the high statistic in the US is largely an artifact of the ridiculous drug laws; i.e., someone gets busted for possession, serves jail time, and then later robs a 7/11, poof--recidivism. (Thus wonderful policies like the California Three Strikes Law that lead to the Supreme Court ruling their prisons cruel and unusual punishment.)

      --
      Actually, I wrote my thesis on life experience.
    2. Re:Red and Blue Herring by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Second, we have a gang problem fueld by a misguided drug war.

      Most of the Western world is involved in the War Against Drugs. It's not specifically a US thing. Nor are gangs.

      At the risk of sounding like a liberal, what is unique about America is the contrast between wealth and poverty, and the fact that poor people in the US think they have a right to be rich, somehow. The problem lies in using the cash nexus as the primary method of social interaction.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  79. How do you confiscate all the guns? Seriously? by Catbeller · · Score: 1

    Prohibition 1: Liquor. Failed, created criminal sydicates.
    Prohibition 2: "Drugs". Failed, etc.
    Prohibition 3: "Piracy". Failed, made most people criminals.
    Prohibition 4: Guns. But it can't happen, not even massive background checks can't work. There are far more guns than people in the country. How are we going to take them away from the people, now criminal, who own them? Background checks, house checks, trackers, whatever - a massive, guaranteed-to-fail undertaking which will manufacture a lot more criminals.

    We can't keep trying to fix everything we don't like by making it illegal. It just won't work.

    Guns are bad, yes, because they are designed to kill. Societies like ours like to use them to settle scores, here and abroad. But what possible scenario can one envision that makes them go away? Think! Cure worse than disease. And a lot of gun owners aren't going to cooperate.

  80. Farenheit 451 by gmuslera · · Score: 1

    Lets ban all books because some of them could have questionable views on sexual orientation (or incite violence, or whatever is in your agenda). Basically that is the approach demonizing 3d printers because they can be used to print anything in plastic, including guns.

    Unless they bring totally new to the table (i.e. no conventional bomb can do what an atomic bomb do, so is ok to restrict what can be used for energy or medicine just because that potential), is something with too much good potential to limit it. And no, printing guns to pass thru airport scans while letting people to pass a lot of potentially dangerous materials (at the very least, to buy inflammable drinks and matches at the very airport) is not bringing something radically new into the table.

  81. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The spring situation has been resolved.

    PLA and ABS were not the right printing materials to use.

  82. You can't get a plastic gun through airpor securit by PortHaven · · Score: 1

    You can't get a plastic gun through airpor security....

    As the detectors and x-ray machines sense density and hardness. Not just metal. So this would still show up.

  83. Re:You can't get a plastic gun through airpor secu by PortHaven · · Score: 1

    Heck, and do you know how many "real guns" have accidentally made it through security. Hundreds....

  84. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by Shompol · · Score: 1

    A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state , the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

    It's a short amendment ... you can't cherrypick and change it's meaning.

    Sounds good

    The second amendment is ... about keeping the state safe from foreign conquerors.

    Hold on a sec..."foreign"? What happened to "can't change it's meaning"???

    Do you think the British were "foreign"? Just distribute guns to draftees when anything "foreign" shows up, no need for militia for that.

  85. how was the aim / was it on target? by darkeye · · Score: 1

    other then the slug exited the barrel, I wonder if they could aim this thing over any usable distance, and hit the target with it?

    1. Re:how was the aim / was it on target? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd hope it's at least accurate to within 10800 MOA.

      To all you gun-impaired folks, that's 180 degrees.
      Or "I hope it shoots in a generally-forwards direction".

  86. Re:3D printing of guns can be done better by geirlk · · Score: 1

    Or in my case: Don't =)

    Around these here parts of the woods (Norway) it's against the law. I am actually fine with that.

  87. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by Shompol · · Score: 1
    All of the above and none at the same time.

    1. A bazooka can do a lot of damage, but hardly more than any of the mass shootings in the history of US (and abroad), most of which were done with regular semi-automatic guns.

    2. At the same time I would not trust a stranger with a single-shot musket. There are some pretty strange wierdos out there, and some of them get their hands on guns now and then.

    It says something about "well-regulated militia" in the comstitution, something that is being omitted and forgotten most of the time. By "militia" I understand "a group of volunteers, well trained and instructed on safety, who gather twice a year for a weapons drill.", hopefully with some system to filter out dimwits who give guns to children as birthday presents

  88. The right to defend and protect... by PortHaven · · Score: 1

    The right to defend and protect myself and my family is the most fundamental of all rights.

    The right of a government to be armed is far more questionable.

  89. Re:3D printing of guns can be done better by roman_mir · · Score: 0

    Yeah, it's against the law to protect yourself against fucking psychos, so you pretend they don't exist, ha, Breivik?

  90. Re:Ridiculous legislation attempts & funny rep by BLKMGK · · Score: 1

    When was it ever legal to bring guns into the passenger compartment of a commercial aircraft? Citation please...

    --
    Build it, Drive it, Improve it! Hybridz.org
  91. That's great... by PortHaven · · Score: 1

    MOD UP...

  92. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by Zak3056 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The NRA is a sportsmen's organization that advocates for the rights of hunters. Historically the NRA has been for gun control, having helped draft the ban on fully automatic weapons in the 1980's.

    I will be charitable, and assume you are misinformed. Otherwise, you're either talking out of your ass, or just plain knowingly lying.

    The NRA was incorporated after the end of the Civil War by former Union general officers to improve the general level of marksmanship among the population--because, as Ambrose Burnside put it, "Out of ten soldiers who are perfect in drill and the manual of arms, only one knows the purpose of the sights on his gun or can hit the broad side of a barn." It's mission is TRAINING the same and effective use of firearms. Hunting had exactly nothing to do with the purpose of the organization--though, of course, the NRA DOES support hunting, since it is one of the shooting sports.

    As for your comment about the 1986 ban on machine guns, the NRA most certainly did NOT help draft that legislation. The ban was attached to legislation that the NRA DID help draft, the Firearms Owners Protection Act, which undid some of the worst parts of the Gun Control Act of 1968. After the amendment was adopted, the thinking was that the ban on machine guns, while not desirable, was worth getting the rest of the bill enacted into law.

    --
    What part of "shall not be infringed" is so hard to understand?
  93. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by Nugoo · · Score: 1

    If you're American, aren't your felons disallowed from voting? It would be consistent, then, to disallow them from owning guns, via background checks at gun shows.

    --
    I explicitly release the above into the public domain.
  94. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 3, Informative

    You should check out DC v. Heller where the Supreme Court found that the right to bear arms for self-defense was Constitutionally protected by the 2nd Amendment. And McDonald v. Chicago where the Surpreme Court found the 2nd Amendment is incorporated to the people - meaning States cannot infringe on the right. The right to keep and bear arms is for individuals, and also covers their own personal self-defense uses.

    --
    Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
  95. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

    One person with a container and some fertilizer can kill many as well... I guess we should be careful and regulate pressure cookers and fertilizer sales...

    --
    Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
  96. your facts are incorrect by Chirs · · Score: 1

    smokers and the obese are actually *cheaper* in the long run, because they die earlier and thus save money in health care in their declining years.

    Old people are expensive due to chronic issues.

    1. Re:your facts are incorrect by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      [citation needed]

    2. Re:your facts are incorrect by Dare+nMc · · Score: 2

      first google result for smokers:
      http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-04-08-fda-tobacco-costs_N.htm

      Vanderbilt University economist Kip Viscusi studied the net costs of smoking-related spending and savings and found that for every pack of cigarettes smoked, the country reaps a net cost savings of 32 cents.

      A Dutch study published last year in the Public Library of Science Medicine journal said that health care costs for smokers were about $326,000 from age 20 on, compared to about $417,000 for thin and healthy people.

    3. Re:your facts are incorrect by spitzak · · Score: 1

      This has been perverted into the false claim that their health insurance should be less expensive for smokers. This is false.

      The cost per year of a smoker is higher and thus their health insurance should be more. They will die sooner and thus stop paying for health insurance, resulting in them paying less in the long run, which matches the result that they also consume less health services in the long run.

    4. Re:your facts are incorrect by Dare+nMc · · Score: 1

      Your statement is only true for insurers who are going to push their clients to medicare when they reach 65, and thus they will pay equally to health insurance, but the government picks up more of the tab for the healthy. The numbers quoted from the above source show non smokers live 15% longer and cost 22% more in helathcare costs. What isn't is how much smoking/obesity cut down on productivity and thus taxes paid...

  97. Speaking of capitulation. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Where in the 2nd Amendment does it state that people who have been convicted of crimes or determined to be mentally ill are not included in "the people"? These designations are made by the State. It seems to me a rather glaring loophole to allow the State to blacklist citizens from 2nd Amendment privileges, if one buys the argument that the 2nd Amendment's purpose is to allow citizens to arm themselves against State tyranny.

  98. Its really that bans are 0% effective ... by drnb · · Score: 1

    Its not that the assault weapon ban was not 100% effective, its that it was 0% effective. When a ban is based on purely cosmetic features then firearms that are 100% functionally identical, but lack the cosmetic feature, will be perfect replacements. There are legit hunting and sporting rifles that are 100% functionally identical replacements for firearms like the civilian AR-15.

    We saw this happen in the California and Federal assault weapon bans of the 90s. Unless you ban all semiautomatic firearms with a detachable magazine the bans will not meet the stated goals of the proponents. They will merely be a placebo that makes some feel better, ignorance is bliss. And of course politicians will get a bunch of free press, which is why otherwise intelligent people vote for legislation they know will not work.

    That said, I agree there should be no buying loopholes. Every sale should go through a dealer and a background check. Personally I would be in favor of a buyer having gone through safety instruction at some point before making their first purchase. Something like a hunter's safety course would go a long way to preventing accidents.

  99. And police in the UK wear stab proof vests ... by drnb · · Score: 1

    Firearms related deaths is a bit of a red herring, misdirection. It includes suicides and justifiable self defense. It also fails to consider that criminals merely use different lethal weapons. Hence the need for police in the UK to weak stab proof vests. Things are far more complicated than you suggest.

    Plus one could just as easily cherry pick a different comparison. Switzerland where that are over a million of what in the US would be considered "assault weapons" in private hands according to wiki, and there is no threat to society. What is different between the US and Switzerland? The Swiss have proper background checks, proper safety training and proper storage. Its not mere availability of rifles that is the problem. It the deficiencies we have in the US related to background checks, safety training and storage according to you logic of comparing countries.

    1. Re:And police in the UK wear stab proof vests ... by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      Switzerland where that are over a million of what in the US would be considered "assault weapons" in private hands according to wiki, and there is no threat to society. What is different between the US and Switzerland? The Swiss have proper background checks, proper safety training and proper storage.

      ... and a much smaller population, and far less racially-charged rhetoric on the public stage, and a culture of 'every citizen is responsible for their own safety and freedom,' a significant lack of biased, partisan propaganda designed to divide the population against each other, as well as a host of other notable differences...

      Not to say there aren't things we could learn and incorporate for our own good; the idea of mandatory firearms training for all citizens, beginning at an early age, would likely cut the accidental death rate by a significant percentage and therefore should be in consideration... But that wouldn't be acceptable to the gun-grabbers, who claim they care for the lives of children but really only care about their own sense of safety.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    2. Re:And police in the UK wear stab proof vests ... by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      Switzerland where that are over a million of what in the US would be considered "assault weapons" in private hands according to wiki

      Ummm, no.

      Those rifles in Switzerland you're thinking of are NOT "assault weapons". They are selective-fire Assault Rifles.

      In other words, REAL military weapons, rather than something that looks like a military weapon but shoots like a hunting rifle....

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    3. Re:And police in the UK wear stab proof vests ... by drnb · · Score: 1

      Switzerland where that are over a million of what in the US would be considered "assault weapons" in private hands according to wiki

      Ummm, no.

      Those rifles in Switzerland you're thinking of are NOT "assault weapons". They are selective-fire Assault Rifles.

      In other words, REAL military weapons, rather than something that looks like a military weapon but shoots like a hunting rifle....

      No. According to wiki the 1+ million includes assault rifles, plus former assault rifles that have been de-militarized and are semi auto only, plus what in the US would be called "assault weapons", plus the conventional looking but functionally identical semi autos with detachable magazines in "military" calibers.

      The real assault rifles only number in the 200,000 to 300,000 range IIRC and they are still government property. One may not be as free to take them to the range for informal practice and other sporting activities as one would be able to do with the others mentioned.

    4. Re:And police in the UK wear stab proof vests ... by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      No. According to wiki the 1+ million includes assault rifles, plus former assault rifles that have been de-militarized and are semi auto only, plus what in the US would be called "assault weapons", plus the conventional looking but functionally identical semi autos with detachable magazines in "military" calibers.

      Be aware that an "assault rifle" in the USA is NOT considered an "assault weapon".

      Likewise, a conventional looking rifle with detachable magazines in "military" calibers is NOT considered an "assault weapon".

      As to the freedom to take those government-issued assault rifles to the range, I have read that this is one of those national hobbies - yes, you're allowed, and many people do so.

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    5. Re:And police in the UK wear stab proof vests ... by drnb · · Score: 1

      Likewise, a conventional looking rifle with detachable magazines in "military" calibers is NOT considered an "assault weapon".

      No. To some politicians they are. And since the definition of "assault weapon" is a political definition, they are. Look at California, there is currently a bill that bans all semi autos with detachable magazines.

  100. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by kwiqsilver · · Score: 4, Insightful

    How the hell did this pile of garbage get modded as "informative"? Let's examine the bullshit, shall we?

    The guys who wrote the Second Amendment were very clear in their other writings that it was about letting communities (not states, and certainly not the feds) organize their own militias. In 1789, there were no national guard units. Regardless of the introductory phrase, the second part is pretty clear that no government, at any level, can restrict the rights of the people to own or carry firearms. No taxes, no bans, no magazine restrictions, nothing. Additionally, since the main body of the Constitution explicitly defines the finite powers that the states and people grant to the federal government, and none of those powers mention the ability to restrict firearms ownership, there is no such power to begin with.

    The NRA is not a sportsmen's association. A handful of Union Civil War veterans founded the NRA, because they realized that the Union soldiers were horrible shots compared to their Confederate counterparts. They founded the NRA to improve the general firearms skills of the population, in preparation for defensive readiness.

    I've purchased three firearms so far this year. They were all about the same price as a year ago. Ammo is definitely up though. Part of this is civilians buying up civilian production, but a bigger piece is the government buying up hundreds of millions of rounds. Additionally, commodity prices are up. Ammunition is mostly processed metals, so when the metal gets expensive, so does the ammo. Also, given the depression that is now finally kicking in (notice the world-wide drop in commodities last month, and the increasing number of bank panics) will probably not be over in 2016, because government idiots will try to legislate it away, which will only worsen it, I doubt a democrat will get elected in 2016. That would be almost as bad as electing a Republican.

    Now I'm sure you have a source for your claim that over 50% of these firearms will end up stolen (perhaps your ass?), but the number of stolen firearms in the US is actually pretty low. As is our crime rate, including our gun crime rate. Yes other countries have an even lower rate, but if you take out the drug smuggling related crimes, our murder rate is pretty low.

  101. Political Ignorance and Bias in TFA by kwiqsilver · · Score: 1

    The article quotes a politician from Queens (making me very glad I live on the good coast, with the smart people, who aren't completely clueless about guns) who is worried that if the untraceable firearms act expires, terrorists will start smuggling guns on planes. Am I the only one who realizes that a criminal with a 3D printer building a gun for criminal purposes probably won't worry about the untraceable firearms act?

    It would be far easier just to smuggle a standard gun through the TSA checkpoint, given that the TSA has failed every single security audit they have ever had, and has failed to detect knives and guns, until the owners were stupid enough to go back and inform the TSA agents.

    Also, I noticed that they tried to imply in the article that Cody was building semi-auto AR-15 rifles out of plastic, by intermixing text about the plastic gun and his work with AR-15 parts. The printed gun is a single shot .380ACP, lethal to about 10 feet, if you aim well. Way to go media neutrality.

  102. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by Cinder6 · · Score: 2

    "Security" isn't limited to foreign conquerors; it applies to anything that would threaten the state, foreign or domestic. This includes one's own government, should it become necessary. The Declaration of Independence and the American War of Independence should be all the proof you need that the founders thought it was important to be able to cast off an oppressive government.

    The worst part about it is that most of those guns will end up stolen and on the streets at some point in the very near future.

    Based on...?

    --
    If you can't convince them, convict them.
  103. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by Cinder6 · · Score: 1

    Out of curiosity, is it possible to vote for none of the candidates? I've always felt that not voting is a vote against the system itself, and thus, a type of vote.

    --
    If you can't convince them, convict them.
  104. 3D printed level of entry is higher than zip gun by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    the 3D printed version is likely easier to make

    Not at all.

    Never mind just being able ot figure out how to download and print 3D models, there's also assembling the pieces...

    All more complex than even a complex ZIpgun

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  105. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by amiga3D · · Score: 1

    I know you don't see it. I pity you.

  106. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by amiga3D · · Score: 1

    It's coming. In fact go buy 2 tons of fertilizer and see what happens. I bet some people come ask you why you bought it if you don't have a farm.

  107. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by amiga3D · · Score: 1

    It's already the case. Here in Georgia you have to have a background check before you can buy a weapon.

  108. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

    The worst part about it is that most of those guns will end up stolen and on the streets at some point in the very near future.

    Hmm, 300+ million guns owned by Americans. Do you REALLY believe that "most of those guns" have been stolen?

    Because there's not really a good reason to suppose that the guns bought this year are any more likely to be stolen than the guns bought last year, the year before, the year before that, etc.

    --

    "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
  109. Undetectable Firearms Act by Rich0 · · Score: 1

    I love the bit in the Fox News article about needing to renew the undetectable firearms act so that people won't bring plastic guns on planes.

    Would-be hijacker: "Here it is - a plastic gun that will enable us to take over a plane and crash it into a building."
    Partner: "Whoa, buddy! I'm fine with burning myself up in an enormous explosion, but that gun could get me 5 years in prison for carrying an undetectable firearm. We should use real guns instead so that we get caught at the security checkpoint."

  110. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by idunham · · Score: 1

    Better yet, outlaw curtains and make all new housing construction out of clear acrylics. Then outlaw clothes and mandate full body scanners to prevent anybody from carrying a concealed weapon.

    Hey! Banning clothes is restricting my religious freedom!

    (Yes, the line should be drawn a lot sooner than that.)

  111. Barriers to entry by Overzeetop · · Score: 1

    You get a wild hair, you pick up a 3d Print-o-matic at Staples, and two days later you're out on the town playing Zombie Refuge. That's the fear/problem. To make a gun requires skill and machinery which is both expensive and - more importantly - time consuming. You don't get a wild hair and then spend the next two years learning all the operations and machinery skills necessary to make a working firearm. Well, you could, but the intersection of bat-shit crazy and patient enough to learn gunsmithing skills is pretty small.

    --
    Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  112. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 2

    If you're American, aren't your felons disallowed from voting? It would be consistent, then, to disallow them from owning guns, via background checks at gun shows.

    Fortunately, we passed a law requiring that about 20 years ago.

    Yep, gun dealers are required to do background checks at Gun Shows, just like in their own shops. And have been for nearly 20 years.

    Note that what the proposed "background checks at gunshows" law would have done is require YOU to do a background check if you took a gun to a show and sold it.

    And it would have had no legal force across the street, so if you really didn't want to bother (yes, the cost of the background check is non-zero, since you actually can't do one on your own - you have to pay a gun dealer to do it for you) you can just walk out the door, down to the next block and complete your sale PERFECTLY LEGALLY.

    --

    "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
  113. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by drinkypoo · · Score: 0

    Any competent machine shop can build a damned gun and plans to do so aren't hard to find.

    Plans are easy, competent machine shops are hard. Training machinists runs contrary to selling us a new whatchamajigger every four years or so.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  114. Know what's scarier than printed guns? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Right now, I think I'm more worried about people printing their own (potentially very sub-standard) car parts in order to save money on repairs.

  115. Disruptive Technologies by Kiralan · · Score: 1

    Guns may be the hot button, but it got the conversation started. These printers have been around for a while. The bigger picture is that anyone can get and use a 3-d printer, cost permitting (which will drop eventually), and 'print' pretty much anything that can be made from these types of plastics. In the future, will the 'copyright/trademark police' come after you for printing copies for profit, rather than pay the manufacturers prices, or 'making available' the files to do so?

    --
    V for Vendetta: People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.
  116. Re:Ridiculous legislation attempts & funny rep by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

    When was it ever legal to bring guns into the passenger compartment of a commercial aircraft? Citation please...

    Prior to the late 1960's, there were no metal detectors or security checkpoints in American airports, meaning that passengers could bring pretty much whatever the hell they wanted onto a plane.

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  117. Re:Ridiculous legislation attempts & funny rep by BLKMGK · · Score: 1

    I'm pretty sure that just because they weren't checking for it didn't make it "legal". If someone had waved one around I wouldn't have been surprised if there were objections raised to having it in a pressurized aircraft. Things might have been a bit more "free" but people certainly weren't stupid.

    --
    Build it, Drive it, Improve it! Hybridz.org
  118. No, just the usual moral hazard by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why is this marked insightful? Moral hazard (which is what the OP is complaining about) is endemic to all forms of insurance, public and private. It's got nothing to do with how you vote. Unless you opt out of health insurance completely you are always going to be paying higher premiums than you would have to in a perfect world where no one ever did anything self-destructive or otherwise stupid.

  119. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by BLKMGK · · Score: 2

    You say this but meanwhile in other countries teens are being shaken down by cops to make sure they aren't carrying screwdrivers and people talk about making kitchen knives that cannot be used to stab someone and do it with a straight face.

    http://www.dailybulldog.com/db/features/man-arrested-following-screwdriver-stabbing/
    http://www.insight-security.com/facts-knife-crime-stats.htm
    http://allamericanblogger.com/13474/in-london-its-illegal-to-carry-a-screwdriver-without-a-good-reason-by-the-way-knife-crime-is-skyrocketing/

    http://frontpagemag.com/2012/dgreenfield/british-doctors-call-for-ban-on-long-kitchen-knives-to-end-stabbings/

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1192969/Pointless-The-new-kitchen-knife-chops-wont-stab.html

    What's next, bats that can't be used to clobber someone? You call US nuts?! If people want to hurt one another they will find a way....

    P.S. OMG they actually made such a knife! Sure hope no one decides to slash someone with it - then what?

    --
    Build it, Drive it, Improve it! Hybridz.org
  120. Re:Ridiculous legislation attempts & funny rep by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

    I'm pretty sure that just because they weren't checking for it didn't make it "legal".

    No, the fact that there was not a specific statute making the possession of firearms on an aircraft a crime, is what made it legal.

    To be quite honest... I can't seem to find any law prior to 2001 that makes it a crime to carry a firearm onto an airplane...

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  121. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by BeaverCleaver · · Score: 1

    Yes, of course you can. It's compulsory to show up on election day (or to postal-vote) but that's all. If you so choose, you can childishly scrawl a big penis on the paper and submit that. Or eat the ballot paper. Or stuff it up your nose.

    Or, you could vote for a third-party. In 15 years of being a voter in .au, I've never seen a ballot paper with only two choices on it.

    Or, of you think you've got a great idea and people will agree with you and vote for you, start your own party. You know that if you want to register a party you can actually get funding _from the government_ if you can recruit enough members?

    I'll be the first the agree that there are a lot of shitty things about politics in Australia. But the Australian Electoral Commission is not one of them. Truly independent and pretty good at ensuring fair elections (eg, no shenanigans like not having polling booths in dissenting neighbourhoods)

  122. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by Chrontius · · Score: 1

    Fuckit. I'll deal with the karma loss.

    My line is after machine guns and before explosive charges. Why? Control over collateral damage. Flying grenade fuzes and other large chunks have been documented to kill people over 1.5 miles away; they were most certainly not the device's intended target. While one can use a machine gun indiscriminately, it's also possible to use it judiciously and without causing unintended harm. By the same standard, you might expect I'd be unhappy with shotguns - but, fun fact, the spread of shotgun pellets tends to be limited to only a few inches rather than the two-meter-wide cone of most video games. The More You Know!

    I'd even be willing to reconsider small explosives if the effective radius can actually be limited; in practice, I don't think that'd ever happen. Also, it's not unusual for "stun grenades" or flashbangs to cause immediate and permanent deafness; larger charges will also have this problem; until it's solved - and it may never be - even the smallest grenades aren't bystander-safe.

    Also, I must emphasize, can != should; what's legal may not always be responsible.

  123. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by BeaverCleaver · · Score: 1

    Sorry, that last paragraph should have read "first TO agree..."

  124. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

    But you don't need 2 tons - just a 50 lb bag will do nicely, for a small scale boom. And you can get that at Home Depot, Ace Hardware, even Safeway...

    --
    Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
  125. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Whoops, mod undone.

  126. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

    You should check out DC v. Heller where the Supreme Court found that the right to bear arms for self-defense was Constitutionally protected by the 2nd Amendment. And McDonald v. Chicago where the Surpreme Court found the 2nd Amendment is incorporated to the people - meaning States cannot infringe on the right. The right to keep and bear arms is for individuals, and also covers their own personal self-defense uses.

    And where do you draw the line on what kind of weapons people can have, and what is the principle 2nd Amendment reason for having the line exactly there? Some call it an infringement on the rights to limit semi-auto rifles w/large magazines, but why isn't it then an infringement to limit machine guns, and if it is, where do you draw the line and why? (you can escalate forever, up to nuclear/biological/etc)

    Pretty much anything the military can have, the citizens should be able to have. Does that include nuclear weapons? Well - if you can scrounge up the $100 billion or so needed to make one, why not? Fully automatic weapons should be allowed; banning them is an infringement - especially if you want to talk about that first part (militia important to a free State). Citizens should be free to own anything the Government owns - why would that not be the default case, and you need to argue why the People should NOT be able to freely purchase whatever the Government purchases?

    If I wanted to kill a lot of people, there are MUCH better ways to do it than with a fully automatic weapon (or even a crew-served weapon, or even a tank). I think we learned that back in the 90s, where a single van with a lot of fertilizer took down an entire building and killed hundreds. Paranoia over some "whacko" gunning down dozens isn't a reason to infringe the rights of all, is it?

    Restricting liberty and freedom in one area of our Constitutionally recognized rights (not granted - recognized - we already had them) simply leads to restrictions in others. Today firearms. Tomorrow, the 5th and 4th Amendment (already heavily pressured). How about the 3rd, or the 1st? Hey, a little less free speech never hurt anyone, did it?

    --
    Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
  127. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why? Control over collateral damage.

    But, it this your personal subjective opinion, or directly based on the 2nd amendment? I'm struggling to understand when gun support views are based on the 2nd amendment, and when they are just personal opinions. Especially given how polarized the debate is. If you want to limit semi-automatic rifles with large magazines you are a socialist tyrant that is taking away the crucial freedom of the 2nd amendment from the American people, but if you are ok with setting a limit just a little bit higher in type of weapons you are the complete opposite.

  128. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You should check out DC v. Heller where the Supreme Court found that the right to bear arms for self-defense was Constitutionally protected by the 2nd Amendment. And McDonald v. Chicago where the Surpreme Court found the 2nd Amendment is incorporated to the people - meaning States cannot infringe on the right. The right to keep and bear arms is for individuals, and also covers their own personal self-defense uses.

    And where do you draw the line on what kind of weapons people can have, and what is the principle 2nd Amendment reason for having the line exactly there? Some call it an infringement on the rights to limit semi-auto rifles w/large magazines, but why isn't it then an infringement to limit machine guns, and if it is, where do you draw the line and why? (you can escalate forever, up to nuclear/biological/etc)

    Pretty much anything the military can have, the citizens should be able to have. Does that include nuclear weapons? Well - if you can scrounge up the $100 billion or so needed to make one, why not? Fully automatic weapons should be allowed; banning them is an infringement - especially if you want to talk about that first part (militia important to a free State). Citizens should be free to own anything the Government owns - why would that not be the default case, and you need to argue why the People should NOT be able to freely purchase whatever the Government purchases?

    If I wanted to kill a lot of people, there are MUCH better ways to do it than with a fully automatic weapon (or even a crew-served weapon, or even a tank). I think we learned that back in the 90s, where a single van with a lot of fertilizer took down an entire building and killed hundreds. Paranoia over some "whacko" gunning down dozens isn't a reason to infringe the rights of all, is it?

    Restricting liberty and freedom in one area of our Constitutionally recognized rights (not granted - recognized - we already had them) simply leads to restrictions in others. Today firearms. Tomorrow, the 5th and 4th Amendment (already heavily pressured). How about the 3rd, or the 1st? Hey, a little less free speech never hurt anyone, did it?

    Thanks. This is at least consistent. Scary :) but principle consistent. And in line with how I understand the 2nd amendment being about an effective militia. For that you need really serious weapons, far more than handguns.

    On the cost of nuclear weapons as a barrier, outside a number of very wealthy people that could also be absorbed by private weapon manufacturers once it became a legal weapon. And, bio and chemical weapons don't necessarily need to cost much.

  129. Re:3D printing of guns can be done better by geirlk · · Score: 1

    Gun crime is so low in Norway, I in no way feel intimidated by that.

    I know a madman can obtain weapons illegally. But using Breivik as an example in this setting is borderline stupid, as he obtained his weapons legally. Except the magazines, which he bought legally _in_the_US_ and smuggled to Norway (30 shot 5.56 STANAG mags + 30 shot hi-cap 9mm Glock magazines). He specifically chose the Ruger Mini-14 because of it's capacity to use 5.56 STANAG magazines.

    This is one of the reasons the Mini-14 has been used specifically in the gun debate here at home before Breivik ever got into the picture, as the law only permits semi auto hunting rifles with a 2+1 capacity. The magazines you buy in Norway are blocked with those laws in mind, as according to the Berne treaty http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_the_Conservation_of_European_Wildlife_and_Natural_Habitats
    Even though the Mini-14 can be used for hunting, it is not designed with that in mind. There are better hunting rifles out there.

    And before you write me off as an "Anti-gun-nut", as is so common in these debates, consider the following:
    1 ) I know more about weapons than the average gun nut.
    2 ) I've been an active pistol shooter.
    3 ) I had applied for gun smith school, to get a career out of mending guns. Didn't get in unfortunately, as there is way to many applying for those classes. (it's a three year college equivalent).
    4) I learned to disassemble and assemble an H&K G3 (Norwegian military model name: AG3) 7 years old.

    But here is where the biggest difference between Norway and the US comes in: Most Norwegians doesn't approve of using guns for self defence. Most consider it a gross over reaction, and also makes you a liability.
    Also, precedence in Norwegian courts states that the responce to a threat/unlawful activity can not be bigger than the threat in the first place. That means if you shoot and kill an unarmed burglar _within_your_own_home_, you will still be charged with murder. You might get off those charges, but that is up to the court to decide.

    Also, the Norwegian police is unarmed. They do have weapons in their patrol cars, but do not carry.

    You see, not all of the world is as blood thirsty as the US.

  130. Guns don't kill people. by Hypotensive · · Score: 1

    Bullets do.

    Ammunition is what needs to be controlled. And there is not currently any plan for 3D printable ammunition.

  131. Looks like my mod troll is still pathetic by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    It seems I still have a mod troll following me around. Lucky for me, I am a better slashdotter than they are, and I have more karma than they have modpoints.

    Ontopic: It is a fact that trained machinists are becoming difficult to locate. This is not open to debate; there are many less machinists in the USA than there were 20 years ago. Whether it is due to the ongoing trend of expecting us to rebuy everything every few years is up for debate, but I'd stake my life on it.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    1. Re:Looks like my mod troll is still pathetic by BLKMGK · · Score: 1

      I'll agree that this is happening but I'd also point out that there are now more hobbyist machinists and that CNC is coming on strong. All sorts of car guys are getting into it and you can find all sorts of custom machined stuff out there even flashlights. I have some hope that this will come back but before it does kids have to see it as "cool" and not something only fat sweaty guys do. Having computers involved, 3D printing, and other cool computer things should help. If I had the time and access to a little training, plus perhaps a reason to do it, I'd learn for sure! I had a lathe willed to me but an Uncle threw it away, he's lucky I didn't beat him for doing so too :-(

      --
      Build it, Drive it, Improve it! Hybridz.org
    2. Re:Looks like my mod troll is still pathetic by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      I had a lathe willed to me but an Uncle threw it away, he's lucky I didn't beat him for doing so too :-(

      I'd fucking sue. I have no particular attachments to my family, though. But even if I did, I don't want any attachments to anyone who would do that to me.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    3. Re:Looks like my mod troll is still pathetic by BLKMGK · · Score: 1

      I got screwed in a few different ways but in the end I'll have the last laugh and no I have pretty much zero contact with the loser. My father warned me and he was proven right :-(

      --
      Build it, Drive it, Improve it! Hybridz.org
  132. Re:Ridiculous legislation attempts & funny rep by ogdenk · · Score: 1

    It wasn't. You could have them in your checked-in luggage however. Carry-on in passenger compartment has never really been legal. Holes in cabin at 35,000 feet would not go well for anyone onboard.

  133. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by tehcyder · · Score: 1

    In many ways, owning and USING a gun is the ultimate vote

    It's certainly a lot easier than all that pesky democracy stuff, if you're a few rounds short of a full clip in the brains department.

    --
    To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  134. Who cares? by w1z4rd · · Score: 1
    Mr I-hate-mr-bad-evil-government libertarian can build a shitty plastic gun. Wow... that rocks my world! Not. Dude, they got instructions on how to build powerful devastating weapons of mass destruction already on the internet. In a world where the instructions on how to make crystal meths through to how nuclear bomb works... I dont under stand why anyone give a fk about a plastic gun.

    This is just libertarian attention whoring.

  135. Printed Gun new Bitcoin - news that matters by Tim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    News that matters by Timothy.

  136. Re:Ridiculous legislation attempts & funny rep by BLKMGK · · Score: 1

    That makes more sense to me. I believe you can still carry them in checked luggage but they must be declared, locked, and they search them. I also believe that ammo cannot go along for the ride. This is what I'm told anyway by owners, I own no firearms myself

    --
    Build it, Drive it, Improve it! Hybridz.org
  137. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Then the laws regulating knife length some states have are unconstitutional? (Serious question - I do not understand these laws, and the constitutionality of them. In America, hollow point bullets are legal, although I believe hollow points are illegal under certain treaties during war that the U.S. has signed. Knives above a certain length are illegal, although individual military personnel are issued such weapons (bayonets). Armor piercing ammo I believe has been restricted. The rules are not very consistent).

  138. Amazing stuff by ebvwfbw · · Score: 1

    If they can print something that will withstand the temperatures and pressures of a 38 special, that's some tough stuff! Now we can make parts for motorcycles, cars, bicycles, etc. Shouldn't break. Bad stuff is people without a clue or enough of a clue to print something could make stuff and not make it right. Even I probably fit into that category.

    Sounds more and more every day like we're living in an incredible time. For as long as we can have it before they take it away from us for our own good. It's coming I bet.

  139. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by Cinder6 · · Score: 1

    Interesting to know; thanks!

    --
    If you can't convince them, convict them.
  140. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...Additionally, since the main body of the Constitution explicitly defines the finite powers that the states and people grant to the federal government, and none of those powers mention the ability to restrict firearms ownership, there is no such power to begin with.

    I don't believe the constitution defines a finite power to prohibit people from owning binary nerve gas munitions. There are several broad grants of power in the constitution.

    Some of them, many people feel are being misused. There's a comedian who does a great routine demanding to know how preventing people from shooting Republicans promotes the general welfare.

  141. Re: Ultimately we do need more government interven by Occams · · Score: 1

    Australians are not compelled to vote. They are compelled to attend their voting station. Then they can tear up their ballot paper or write insults on it: "no suitable candidates; resubmit".

    --
    Heavy is the head that wears the tinfoil hat.
  142. Re:You can't get a plastic gun through airpor secu by tehcyder · · Score: 1

    Heck, and do you know how many "real guns" have accidentally made it through security. Hundreds....

    Hundreds out of how million journeys? We know the probability must be really low or else there would have been more plane hijackings since 9/11 if terrorists had a reasonable chance of getting a gun through.

    Once you've got an armed terrorist gang on a plane, I don't care how strong the cockpit door is, the terrorists will get their publicity one way or another when the plane has to land.

    --
    To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  143. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by Fjandr · · Score: 1

    Not to mention, the private sales at gun shows account for a nearly non-existent percentage of total gun show sales. It's pretty rare to have someone selling privately at a show who is not a collector (usually of rather expensive arms).

  144. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by Fjandr · · Score: 1

    When parsing the Constitution, it's routinely held by the SCOTUS that dependent clauses do nothing to limit the language of the independent clause to which they are attached.

  145. Re:Ridiculous legislation attempts & funny rep by Fjandr · · Score: 1

    Pub. L. 103-272, Sec. 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1234.
    As codified in 49 USC 46303.

    Prior to July 5th, 1994, or the date of enactment set in Public Law 103-272 if it were later, carrying a firearm in the passenger compartment of an airplane was legal. I cannot find an earlier law prohibiting carry, though I may have missed one. There are those who claim it was outlawed in 1968, but I have been unable to verify if that was the case.

  146. This is Not about $$$ or Saving Lives or Media by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is all about disarming the American Masses, so the US Government can affect Martial Law when it chooses & it is coming soon.
    This from an Australian that is has never been Pro_Gun. But the information we are getting indicates that the USA is in serious trouble.
    The underlying message is the US economy will collapse and there will be a great depression & with that comes anarchy.
    Your Government knows this & is preparing for if, Just look at all the Camps that are being built, who do you think they are for. !

  147. Re:Ultimately we do need more government intervent by CodeBuster · · Score: 1

    BTW, unless you've got some sort of special machine that detects "wrong people" guns

    As far as the gun control lefties are concerned, every gun in private ownership is a "wrong people" gun. Like you said, they're idiots.

    What will you aim to ban next? Knives? Screwdrivers? Sticks? Baseball bats? Fireworks? Tree stump remover? Model rocket engines? Lithium batteries? Fertilizer? Dry ice?

    You forgot board with rusty nail

    Perfect safety is NOT achievable no matter how many rights you decide to give up

    Yes, but liberals believe that it is or at least they see no problem in eliminating all of your rights to try because in their minds it was worthwhile if even one life was saved (which it probably wasn't).