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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.
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.