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California Lawmaker Wants 3-D Printers To Be Regulated

New submitter phrackthat writes with news that California State Senator Leland Yee (D-S.F.) says he wants regulations to track who owns and uses 3-D printers. Yee's comments come in response to the recent news of Defense Distributed's successful test-firing of a 3-D printed gun. "He's concerned that just about anyone with access to those cutting-edge printers can arm themselves. 'Terrorists can make these guns and do some horrible things to an individual and then walk away scott-free, and that is something that is really dangerous,' said Yee. He said while this new technology is impressive, it must be regulated when it comes to making guns. He says background checks, requiring serial numbers and even registering them could be part of new legislation that he says will protect the public. Yee added, 'This particular gun has no trace whatsoever.'"

856 comments

  1. Gun control however... by El_Muerte_TDS · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'll bet you get a free gun when you buy one of those 3-D printers in some states.

    1. Re:Gun control however... by hairyfeet · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Lets just clear something up right now, gun bans have NEVER worked and will NEVER work because of one simple flaw in the logic. you see criminals? DON'T FOLLOW LAWS which is why they are called criminals, fucking duh!

      Take Mexico, a country with a 100% ban on guns, you can't even one a 22 in that country...are the criminals throwing rocks at each other? Nope they do like all the other criminals with connections and buy from the former USSR where you can buy a crate of RPGs for the cost of a used BMW and where you can get a case of AK47s thrown in with every purchase over $50k.

      This is as fucking retarded as trying to regulate or ban copper pipes because somebody might make a zip gun. I mean have you SEEN this "gun"? You are gonna be lucky if it fires even a single clip before being just trashed, in fact I've seen zip guns that make better weapons than this thing, and it took a $50,000 3D printer to make a gun that had less quality than what you can make in any machine shop for less than $200!

      I'm sorry but this entire thing is just fucking retarded, every major city like Chicago where they have made it practically impossible for a law abiding citizen to own a gun has become a criminal paradise and why not? Don't have to worry about prey fighting back when even the cops in these areas tell you "don't resist, just beg real nice after they are done raping and looting and maybe they won't kill you". Its fucking disgusting is what it is, we should be teaching people how to defend themselves from these fucking scum and instead we are creating a nation of prey, that is ALL they are, they are prey and the wolves will feed and feed well.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    2. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Funny how the Australian experience says you are full of shit.

    3. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If this passes then criminals in California will have to resort to 3D printed knives instead.

    4. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      There is a difference between laws designed to regulate availability of material goods and laws designed to punish human beings.

    5. Re:Gun control however... by BoRegardless · · Score: 4, Insightful

      3D guns are ludicrous to anyone who has ever used 3D printers and knows anything about the tolerances, surface finish and strengths needed for a gun.

      Any criminal can by a top quality gun for far less than the software and printer needed to make a 3D printed toy plastic so-called gun.

      Politicians have no clue as to the real world.

    6. Re:Gun control however... by Spiked_Three · · Score: 2

      It is retarded.

      You can never regulate it - as you point out, it will not in any way stop criminals.

      There are ALREADY laws against owning undetectable guns. We do not need stupid regulations adding nothing.

      The republicans are in a pickle. If they support 3D gun printing, they hurt gun manufacturers, which is what they really are supporting ($$$$).

      The democrats are in a pickle. If they support banning 3D printing, they are making the case that they are indeed the big government control all party.

      How this plays out will be, at worst, hilarious to watch, all the while knowing that nothing can ever really happen, just like DRM.

      --
      slashdot troll = you make a compelling argument I do not like the implications of.
    7. Re:Gun control however... by zedtwitz · · Score: 1

      You, sir, put a lot of effort into that. I applaud you, and may God have mercy on Yee's soul.

    8. Re:Gun control however... by ScentCone · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Why do we have laws at all then? Why do we say don't have sex with children when criminals are just going to do it anyway?

      Really bad analogy. Your implication is that we could stop people from having sex with children by banning children.

      The analogy you're looking for is that just like we have laws that carry penalties for abusing kids, we have penalties for killing people. Using rifles, or using blunt instruments like pipes and bats (which are used far more often than rifles to murder people, says the FBI).

      So yes: we have laws that "ban" murder, by making it really suck to be a murderer that's been caught having murdered someone. Just like it sucks to be someone that's been caught having abused a kid.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    9. Re:Gun control however... by GrpA · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The parent should be moderated "insightful" not "funny"...

      If Michael Moore hasn't made a documentary about the dangers of 3D printers, but politicians are screaming like it's a TEOTWAWKI level event, it kind of puts things in perspective.

      But you know, I can't really blame politicians for being unusually stupid in this situation. I've seen more uninformed posts on Slashdot, that anywhere else on this topic. Building and shooting a gun with a 3D printer is on about the same level as sticking a bullet in a short piece of metal pipe and hitting it with a hammer. Sure, it's possible, but it's not particularly smart and isn't going to be very effective either.

      Much of the below discussion has little to do with rational fears. 3D printed gun control has become the latest straw man for the greater agenda of anyone who has a firearm phobia.

      As someone who does actually build controlled munitions-list items using 3D printers ( legitimately, with appropriate permits and documentation on export ) I know that there aren't really any threats posed to society caused by 3D printing. Yet, the international restrictions that already exist around what I do with 3D printing on a weekly basis adversely affect amateur participation in scientific fields such as astronomy. These is an area in which 3D printing could significantly benefit society that is significantly affected by ITAR, as low-light equipment is controlled. The same laws that affect me caused DEFCAD's files to be taken offline - not that that wasn't easy to see coming. I'm sure they'll find a way to get most of their stuff back online though if they choose to.

      So why is there so little debate on why people should be able to print anything they like? Why aren't people arguing that defence related materials that are 3D printed have little and limited military use? Why are so few people defending DEFCAD's work, when most of what they are doing breaks no laws? At least not what's contained within the US?

      In many ways, their video makes a lot of sense. And it should have particular relevance to those who hold high the ideals of open source.

      Slashdot used to be a place where the more informed minds came to discuss worthy topics of contemporary news. Lately I'm starting to realize though just how much this is no longer the case.

      GrpA

      --
      Enjoy science fiction? "Turing Evolved" - AI, Mecha, Androids and rail-gun battles. What more could you want?
    10. Re:Gun control however... by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Why do we have laws at all then? Why do we say don't have sex with children when criminals are just going to do it anyway?

      If I sell you a gun, you and I both consent to the transaction. Doesn't matter whether it's legal or not, neither of us will call the cops.

      If you sexually assault someone, that person is not consenting, and will call the cops (or their parents will).

      You cannot effectively enforce a law against a transaction where all parties involved consent, and even trying to do so inevitably involved measures corrosive to liberty.

      --
      Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
      You cannot wash away blood with blood
    11. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The point he was trying to make is that it's stupid to outlaw an object that criminals will have access to anyway. Of course you have laws, but you outlaw the actions that have been proven to be a detriment to society or infringe on another's rights. To use the beat-to-death car example, we don't outlaw cars despite the number of fatalities they cause each year, what we do is outlaw vehicular homicide and even have laws and punishments for accidently squishing somebody with one (negligent homicide). The car analogy does break down in several key areas of course, for example, cars aren't protected by a constitutional amendment, but nothing is black and white. Nothing is all one way or all the other, and that is exactly what your post would have people believe, that if we can't have one law, we should, for some reason do away with all others.

      If you seriously can't understand the difference between not outlawing guns and not outlawing sex with children then you need to have your brain checked. I'm dead serious, this is one of the most idiotic and illogical arguments I've ever seen on the internet, and I've seen a lot of them. You are either a troll, or lack the mental capacity, understanding, or thought structure to comment on the situation. I try not to revert to name calling in an argument, which is why I made my counterargument first, but if you show no semblance of rational thinking in your post, this is what you are going to get.

    12. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      All your machining tolerances are nice, but just to create something that throws lead down range, they really are not all that important. If you want quality, long lasting sure its important, but if you are reduced to printing your weaponry out of need ( not just because you want to ), those factors are the least of your concerns.

    13. Re:Gun control however... by neonKow · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Senator Yee is dumb and doesn't know what he's talking about.

      But, you are dumber, and don't understand the basic concept of laws and enforcement. There are plenty of place with stricter bans on guns than the US that are not Mexico. The difference is obviously an effective enforcement system and corrupt government and enforment officials OWNED BY THE DRUG CARTELS .

      Stop trying to fit reality into your world view. You don't know jack shit about gang-related crimes. The people living in Chicago that have to deal with shootings are hardly living in a "criminal paradise," and arming the non-violent citizens of the city would not help the crime situation. There are all kinds of exisiting issues including poverty, segregation due to social-economic status, and existing problems of gun violence that each new generation of young, poor men is dragged into. I assure you that Chicago is not a "criminal paradise," and that relaxing gun laws there or in any other city would make the situation worse, not better.

      Somehow, you got it into your dumb head that not only is more violence the solution to the current violence problem, but that everyone else thinks the same way you do and would go and arm themselves with guns to shoot other human beings to "protect themselves" if only the government would get out of their way and let them own guns. And that if the government had laws against buying guns, that they would go out and print their own guns, if only there were those damn laws against 3-D printers.

    14. Re:Gun control however... by causality · · Score: 4, Insightful

      There is a difference between laws designed to regulate availability of material goods and laws designed to punish human beings.

      Exactly. Politicians just love that former category, precisely because it never works. It never works and never solves the problem, so there is always a menacing problem they can promise to do something about the next time they campaign. It also has the side-effect of requiring a police state to have even a slight hope of enforcement, which again is great from the perspective of most politicians.

      Politicians know the War on Drugs doesn't stop people from acquiring drugs. They know that mass shootings overwhelmingly tend to happen in "gun free" zones. They know even an outright ban on guns doesn't stop criminals from acquiring them. They know someone not afraid of a murder charge isn't going to be deterred by a weapons violation. They probably know that the USA has one of the highest murder rates of the industralized world ... unless you exclude Chicago and a few other cities where it is practically impossible to legally own a firearm; then the USA has one of the lowest. They understand all of this.

      They are interested in perpetuating the problems. It's what wins elections. It's what makes people increasingly feel they need government intervention. It's fun to think of them as a bunch of morons who couldn't find their ass in the dark, but this is called allowing sentiment to interfere with judgment.

      --
      It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
    15. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He does have a point, we need to start banning children.

    16. Re:Gun control however... by neonKow · · Score: 2

      To throw lead downrange, you need ammunition, which is not easy to get either.

      Pretty sure "terrorists" in TFA are not going to be stopped or "get away scott-free" because they weren't able to print some damn plastic guns. Apparently, it's more likely these days that they would buy a pressure cooker.

    17. Re:Gun control however... by Si · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If the only thing keeping you from having sex with children is a law stating so, then you're beyond all help as it is. Laws aren't made for the righteous, they're made so that *when a transgressor is caught* there's a system in place to apply punishment.

      --


      Why is it that many people who claim to support standards have such atrocious spelling and grammar?
    18. Re:Gun control however... by kbg · · Score: 2

      Mexico is a bad example, it is obvious the ban isn't enforced at all because all the criminals have weapons, and the reason is of course that the government and police are massively corrupt and are part of the criminal gangs themselves.

    19. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It depends a lot on culture and government as well. Nothing exists in a vaccume. What works for Australia and Britain won't work for the US. What works in Russia won't work in Mexico. China is different than Chile. All of these are pretty much "no duh" statements when you think about them, but most people try to bottle one statistic inside a glass jar as though the size of the country, population, cultural norms, etc have no effect on the outcome of a law. His point, while you can poke holes in bits and pieces all day long, is essentially correct.

      Criminals don't follow laws, and especially in the case of the US, the population is way to large and already well armed enough that it would be impossible to police and secure guns. The better option is to place reasonable limits on them (such as the ones that are already in place and have been in place for decades), punish people who use guns for evil purposes (killing, robbery), and let law abiding citizens protect themselves (gun ownership and carry permits). Basically, what has been going on. Instead politicians decide they can win votes by trying to either

      a) Invent a big scary imaginary monster, oh no, it'll eat you. Nevermind the fact that this gun is impractical for any realistic purpose, all of which have already been gone over elsewhere or
      b) Convince people that someone in an office somewhere, writing something in a book, will somehow protect them. Nevermind the fact that guns that can't be detected by metal detectors have been outlawed for nearly 30 years (if I remember the date right). Nevermind the fact that people can already make more practical firearms at home. Basically nevermind the fact that this breaks no new ground at all anyway.

      I call them feel-good laws. They make lawmakers feel like they've done something, they make people ignorant of what laws are already on the books, or the true capabilities of guns feel safer, but they basically do nothing except try to restrict law abiding citizens. There's no point to them at all and they have no real impact on criminals or crime.

      Anyway, I'm off the topic, and if your an Aussie and disagree, then feel free to pass all the gun laws you want. I mean that, in a non-sarcastic way, because that's what your country wants and what your culture wants. As an American, I don't want more (or less really) gun laws, I think things are fairly well balanced as they are, the media just likes to blow things out of proportion. All statistics aside, those are cultural differences.

      Way off topic from the original point I was making, but there you go.

    20. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Which group of countries would you rather associate USA with: well developed countries with a functional governments where gun control works, or developing countries with dysfunctional governments where gun control does not work? Oh wait, lets not let any evidence or relevant comparisons be mixed up into the discussion..

    21. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      The Australian experience of an increase in forcible rape after guns were banned.

    22. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey: Can I use your printer? I have a rush job.

    23. Re:Gun control however... by girlintraining · · Score: 0

      Lets just clear something up right now, gun bans have NEVER worked and will NEVER work because of one simple flaw in the logic. you see criminals? DON'T FOLLOW LAWS which is why they are called criminals, fucking duh!

      I guess we'd better just give up on making laws in the first place because they don't work. Your logic is so failed it's not even funny. We have regulations covering toxic waste disposal, food processing -- most aspects of your daily life has some level of government regulation, and it's better because of it. Businesses don't routinely dump tons of toxic chemicals on your head, pour it into your drinking water... food isn't sold to you rotting and putrid... all of this is because of government regulation. Your car has airbags, seat belts, and other life-saving features because of regulation.

      I keep hearing over and over again from gun advocates that "laws don't work". Well, let me give you an example of a gun regulation-- it's regarding silencers. You have to fill out a form in order to buy one. This regulation has been so "ineffective" that very few people own silencers. Regulating guns in Australia has resulted in them having no mass shootings. Anywhere in the country. For about three years running now.

      This "but criminals don't follow laws" argument is stupid; There's millions of people in jail right now. They may not have followed the law, but the law followed them.

      Now I personally think people should be allowed to own a gun if they want. But if I'm going to construct an argument to support that, it's not going to be a bunch of blithering nonsense about how we need them because otherwise only criminals will have them. Gimme a break. Japan has very few shootings due to their gun control laws. Many countries have successfully instituted gun regulation.

      So "gun regulation doesn't work" is a painfully stupid thing to say. It does work. This isn't up for discussion. Now, if you want to talk about why not to regulate, okay then... but "it doesn't work" isn't on the menu. Sorry.

      --
      #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
    24. Re:Gun control however... by rtb61 · · Score: 0

      Gun control laws make it far easier to lock up criminals upon ancillary charges that allow a search. So you do reduce crimes buy enabling the the earlier capture and detention of those people likely to use firearms in a criminal act. Sorry but gun nut's who use the firearm for a penis substitute are just retarded. The more you reduce the presence of fire arms the less they are used in crime. The greater the penalties for offenders when caught with firearms the more you keep them off the street. The more readily you prosecute people fore fire arms offences the more readily you can get them and their weapons off the street.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    25. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Please tell me how gun bans have never worked? I'm an Australian and seem to live in a fantasy land according to you.

    26. Re:Gun control however... by Sulphur · · Score: 3, Funny

      You, sir, put a lot of effort into that. I applaud you, and may God have mercy on Yee's soul.

      s/'s soul//

    27. Re:Gun control however... by spasm · · Score: 4, Informative

      Err.. a) Mexico doesn't have a total ban on guns (gun ownership is a constitutionally protected right), it's just been limted to purchasing from a single army-run shop in Mexico City; b) Mexico happens to have this large nation to the immediate north with relatively limited small arms gun control, and the border heading south is only marginally guarded; so unsurprisingly c) The US Justice Department estimates 70% of guns recovered from Mexican cartels were legally purchased in the US. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5guv1zxttoSAF-NOJzZkAJV2R93mg

      I wouldn't be shocked to hear cartels are also buying abroad, but why bother when you can get most of what you need immediately to the north?

    28. Re:Gun control however... by Grave · · Score: 5, Informative

      One of those rare times I wish I had mod points... gun violence went down after the ban, as did the murder rate (2-3%, as I recall). The rate of violent crimes went up, though. Does a reduction in murder justify an increase in rapes, assaults, and robberies?

    29. Re:Gun control however... by reboot246 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Banning children is easier said than done. I child-proofed my house, but they still get in.

    30. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Some politicians are indeed interested in perpetuating the problems. But there are many more that understand that these types of laws operate on a very specific calculus. Intended effect of law - problems from law > law not existing. The primary issue with something like the War on Drugs is this equation is never re-evaluated. For something like marijuana, it's pretty obvious that this calculus does not hold up and it should be legalized. And lo-and-behold, some states are (slowly). On the other hand, for something like heroin, it more or less balances out correctly.

      Back to guns: licensing, training, and regulation of the functionality of cars seem to work just fine for reducing the amount of traffic fatalities. There's not a lot of people who would try to argue that civilized society would be better off if anyone could drive anything they want, whenever they want, however they want, and we only punish those who end up harming others with their car. I'm sure there are a lot of Libertarians who probably do think this way, but they can go live on an Island if that's how they want their society to work. The one we currently live in is for people who don't.

    31. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's because their next door neighbor is operating the worlds largest weapons bazaar.

      And you're guns are gonna keep you really safe, until you take away your 13 year old kid's copy of Call of Duty and he decides to kill you.

      Yep Good thing she had a gun in her house to protect her.

    32. Re:Gun control however... by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 4, Informative

      The Australian experience of an increase in forcible rape after guns were banned.

      False. There was no appreciable increase in the three years after the ban came into effect. There has been an increase since, however that follows a trend line that started before the gun ban, so there is no correlation between the ban and the incidence of rape.

      --
      Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
    33. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So your position is that gun ban had absolutely no effect and therefore is good law because there was no correlation with incidence of rape?

    34. Re:Gun control however... by anagama · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Compared with 1993, the peak of U.S. gun homicides, the firearm homicide rate was 49% lower in 2010, and there were fewer deaths, even though the nation's population grew. The victimization rate for other violent crimes with a firearm -- assaults, robberies and sex crimes -- was 75% lower in 2011 than in 1993. Violent non-fatal crime victimization overall (with or without a firearm) also is down markedly (72%) over two decades.

      http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/05/07/gun-homicide-rate-down-49-since-1993-peak-public-unaware/

      And yet, every day when I look at google news, there is another story about some kind of gun violence/accident in some place thousands of miles from me. It's like a constant drumbeat in the media to get people to think things are so bad, something must be done. And politicians of course, are never hesitant to restrict people's rights or acquire yet ever more power. America's problem with guns is a media conspiracy that makes politicians cum in their pants.

      --
      What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
    35. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bans reduced crime in Australia. Sometimes rights have costs. That doesn't mean the right should be abolished but it also doesn't mean we should ignore the deadly cost for that right. Mexico has an ineffective government and using them as an example is laughable.

    36. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Australia, as many of the other first world nations that totally banned guns have seen a drop in shootings, and an increase in pretty much every other form of violent crime. So if your aim in banning guns is to lower shootings, then yes, it's effective. If you're aim is to lower violent crime however, than it's demonstrably ineffective.

      Let us not forget where the British parliament, in an attempt to curb muggings and stabbings proposed a ban on knives. And it had to be pointed out that such legislation would make criminals of all chefs.

    37. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The main reason is that the wackos up North, have a zillion guns, and these guns are smuggled into Mexico. I used to drive down into Mexico a lot. One trip, I had a bunch of camping stuff in the back of my truck, and must have matched a gun smuggler profile. I was stopped to check for weapons smuggling 4 times in fewer than 200 miles.

    38. Re:Gun control however... by mattb47 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "The republicans are in a pickle. If they support 3D gun printing, they hurt gun manufacturers, which is what they really are supporting ($$$$)."

      Not really. 3d guns (at least fully printed guns) aren't (at least for the near future, and probably longer) going to be nearly as reliable as commercially manufactured guns.

      And you need a $1000-$5000 3d printer. And the knowledge of how to use it. And obtain the gun schematic files.

      That restricts 3d printed guns to a bunch of libertarian or anarchist geeks who like firearms and who could almost certainly afford to buy the real things.

      3d printing will make gun parts (and car parts and electronics parts, etc.) easily. And help drive prices down. Which is good for everyone.

      (OK, the printers are also good for making 30-round magazines and getting around stupid and at least semi-unconstitutional laws restricting magazine sizes.)

      But there won't be mass arsenals of 3d printed guns anytime soon. They're still at the expensive toy / proof of concept stage.

    39. Re:Gun control however... by MarkvW · · Score: 0

      Your logic is pretty lame. You're arguing that you can't regulate criminals because they are criminals.

    40. Re:Gun control however... by Khyber · · Score: 3, Insightful

      " I assure you that Chicago is not a "criminal paradise," and that relaxing gun laws there or in any other city would make the situation worse, not better."

      Please take a look at several EU countries where gun ownership is mandated - lowest crime rates on the fucking planet. Why? Because anyone and everyone can make you have a bad fucking day.

      You're absolutely retarded.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    41. Re:Gun control however... by anagama · · Score: 3, Insightful

      And the US government is massively corrupt, not at the level of Mexico but there's one for that: "yet"

      It may be worth adding "inevitable" as well, because power is always corrupting. That's sort of the point of our (largely ignored) Constitution -- it was designed to shackle government because the greatest threat anyone ever faces, is their own government grown too fat and too powerful.

      --
      What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
    42. Re:Gun control however... by amiga3D · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Guns are equalizers. A 9mm pistol makes a 5 foot tall 100 pound woman the equal of a 6 foot 2 inch 190 pound man. This assumes of course that she is competent with it. He may kill her but trying to rape her is a dicey proposition. Given the banning of guns in the US I have no doubt that violence will explode. Crime in the US is different than Australia. I've heard conflicting things about crime in Australia since the ban although it is certain that gun deaths have decreased. I guess getting stabbed gives you a higher chance of survival than being shot. I admit that guns are more efficient.

    43. Re:Gun control however... by wadexyz9774 · · Score: 1, Funny

      I didn't realize Glenn Beck is on slashdot, cooL.

    44. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gun control doesn't work - if you're a gun owner and you don't want daddy to take away your big boy toys. If, however, you're the kind of person that doesn't find shooting other humans acceptable, gun control works fine.

    45. Re:Gun control however... by amiga3D · · Score: 2

      Don't forget that the "right" people will still be able to own weapons. One famous "anti-gun" columnist who frequently wrote about the need to ban guns shot a teenager who was swimming in his pool. He thought no one should own guns except of course for elite liberals such as himself. A common attitude.

      http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19880615&id=Bz4sAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cc4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6879,6595637

    46. Re:Gun control however... by amiga3D · · Score: 3, Informative

      I finally figured out what was causing it after the second one. The good thing is that eventually, if you don't kill your children in a fit of rage, you might get grand children. I find that Grand Children are much better than children. When they aren't fun anymore you can take them back to their parents. I like to fill them up on candy first right before I take them back.

    47. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The lathe is a far more efficient gun making tool than a 3D printer, and you could buy a used lathe and watch enough youtube videos to know how to use it to make a weapon for far less that 50K, Or you could cast the gun and all you need is a furnace and sand. People made guns before the US revolutionary war, before the automobile, before the agricultural revolution, before modernization. Its not that hard. You can't get rid of guns. The only effective counter is to arm yourself as well to make it a fair fight.

    48. Re:Gun control however... by JuicyBrain · · Score: 1

      Would you prefer to be raped or dead ?

    49. Re:Gun control however... by geoffrobinson · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves, but Sam Colt made them equal."

      --
      Except for ending slavery, the Nazis, communism, & securing American independence, war has never solved anything.
    50. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Screaming that there should be background checks and maditory registration of 3D printers.
      While there are even louder voices screaming that background checks and registration of fire-arms is wrong...

      wow... thank god I don't live in the US.

      I'd better get back to work doing my masters degree... on a Ti capable SLM 3D printer :D thank god for German Engineering.

    51. Re:Gun control however... by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

      Once you create a black market, though poorly crafted bans on an easily transported good, you empower criminals and plant the seeds for organized crime. We saw this with Prohibition. We see it with the War on Drugs. And some countries have seen it with bans on guns.

      I challenge the assumption that the US is most like the UK and Australia. What if the US is culturally more like Latin America, or Ukaraine.
      What if we're like Greece? They have 3000 legally registered private gun owners in the entire nation, but an esimated 2.5 million guns. And this discrepency is from a country that has a relatively low rate of private firearm ownership (about 25 in 100) compared to the US.

      Firearms in the US is a much bigger problem than firearms in Australia. And I mean bigger in terms of scale. I'm not ready to accept a solution to a problem that worked on a small scale on the hunch that it will work on a large scale or that the US is even culturally or politically similar to countries that have successfully implemented bans on guns.

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    52. Re:Gun control however... by gandhi_2 · · Score: 1, Insightful

      I prefer to be free.

      You prefer to be safe.

      Luckily, my country wasn't created to be the land of the safe. Unfortunately, a free society creates more liberals over time who try continually to redefine their country because freedom is so web 1.0.

    53. Re:Gun control however... by ultranova · · Score: 2

      Laws aren't made for the righteous, they're made so that *when a transgressor is caught* there's a system in place to apply punishment.

      The righteous still need to know how much taxes to pay and which side of the road to drive on.

      Anyway, I've been waiting for a while for the first attack against 3D printing - we can't have the peons not depend on large companies for everything, now can we? So is this it, or merely stupidity?

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

    54. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Well Staples will sell 3D printers for around $1500 later this month. The prices will continue to go down. And the kinds of things you can print with them will only improve. I hope one day to be able to print custom servo heads that are strong enough to fly r/c planes, and I suspect that is only a few years away.

      I think the worry is that homemade firearms are (nearly) untracable. And if someone required my off-the-shelf 3D printer to include some micro-tags containing serial numbers, then why wouldn't I just print a new 3D printer and then use that one to make untracable guns?

      The problems science fiction authors predicted for a nanotech age society have hit us early. I don't think there is a solution that doesn't involve stunting technological development.

      There are some things that could be controlled, such as powder for ammunition. That's very difficult to manufacture at home. Used powder is not currently tracable, but we have to technology to make it tracable. So that an individual doing handloadings could be traced, if we so desired. Nobody is suggesting we do that, but it is probably a better answer than creating totally ineffective regulations on 3D printers. (which are primarily used for perfectly legal hobbies)

    55. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yee's afraid someone will print a dildo cannon and gape his browneye. But it is an honest firearm for hunting goatse.

    56. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "government and police are massively corrupt" .. Mexico and the US have more in common than I thought!

    57. Re:Gun control however... by gd2shoe · · Score: 1

      If the only thing keeping you from having sex with children is a law stating so, then you're beyond all help as it is.

      That's only true to a degree. There are some pathetic monsters who will rape children regardless of the law. On the other hand, there are other countries in the world where child rape is not as rare as it is in the "civilized" world (girls or boys, depending on the local custom).

      This isn't a matter of genetics. Had those rapists been born in another country, with different norms and laws, most of them would never have offended. It is a matter of culture, and laws both reflect that and help to shape it. (Something illegal gradually gains an extra stigma, in this case deservedly so; something legal gradually loses it, to a degree.)

      Put the other way around, children in countries with laws against child rape are generally safer than children who aren't. (depending on the nation and culture in question)

      --
      I won't join Slashcott. OTOH, If Beta goes live, I just won't be back until it's fixed. Sorry Dice.
    58. Re:Gun control however... by gd2shoe · · Score: 1

      I don't believe you are in Australia, AC.

      You're just using fodder from The Daily Show to troll Slashdot.

      --
      I won't join Slashcott. OTOH, If Beta goes live, I just won't be back until it's fixed. Sorry Dice.
    59. Re:Gun control however... by c · · Score: 1

      Banning children is easier said than done. I child-proofed my house, but they still get in.

      I used to have that problem too, but then I got myself a 3D printer...

      Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got another set of ABS meathooks to clean up.

      --
      Log in or piss off.
    60. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      by = next to
      buy = purchase

    61. Re:Gun control however... by tibit · · Score: 1

      I think you can buy ammo in most Walmarts, as soon as you leave a big city at least.

      --
      A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
    62. Re:Gun control however... by flyneye · · Score: 1

      It's more retarded than trying to regulate machine shop tools.
      That's the FIRST place I'd go to experiment with building a gun.
      What's he going to do? Regulate every piece off a mill, lathe, cnc? Ban a duplicator because you might carve a .38 out of maple? Ban gun shaped cake pans? Ban schedule 40 sewer pipe so no one will pitch a spud through his window.Hey, it's a plastic gun that must be fabricated and you could smuggle it through a metal detector in Kirstie Alleys butt. Maybe if we gave California to Mexico, we'd quit hearing from their hippy-nanny politicians.

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
    63. Re:Gun control however... by BetterSense · · Score: 5, Informative

      Mark Twain: "If you don't read the newspapers, you are uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you are misinformed."

      Gun crime has plunged, but Americans think it's up, says study

      http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-gun-crimes-pew-report-20130507,0,3022693.story

      Are laws passed on actual data? No, they are passed based on popular support. Obtaining and maintaining popular opinion is what the media do.

    64. Re:Gun control however... by myowntrueself · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If you sexually assault someone, that person is not consenting, and will call the cops (or their parents will).

      This depends very much on where this happens or in what cultural/religious context.

      In SOME parts of the world, if a woman calls the cops after being raped she can expect to be arrested, thrown in jail and raped some more.

      In SOME parts of the world, if a woman tells her parents she has been raped THEY will kill her.

      --
      In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
    65. Re:Gun control however... by vux984 · · Score: 1

      Lets just clear something up right now, gun bans have NEVER worked and will NEVER work because of one simple flaw in the logic. you see criminals? DON'T FOLLOW LAWS which is why they are called criminals, fucking duh!

      Same logic dictates that all regulation is ineffective because the people who would ignore them... would ignore them. And yet regulation is demonstrably effective in many many cases. We have bans on drinking and driving, and it's made a difference. Drunk drivers still drive drunk, but that's hardly a rationale for repealing the law.

      A ban on guns would be similarly effective because the "criminals with the guns" could be arrested and dealt with when they are caught with a banned gun. The police don't have to wait until you rob a liquor store and start shooting at people. They can arrest you walking into the liquor store with your banned gun before you've done anything else. A witness can call it in, it can be caught at various checkpoints at airports etc. People could be arrested dealing the banned guns, transporting them, etc.

      To pretend otherwise is just willful blindness to reality.

      Whether a given gun ban is appropriate in the united states especially given the unique constitutional provision there is a separate and legitimate debate, but pretending a ban on guns can't have any positive effect is counter productive to any real conversation.

      And to address the the article itself, I don't think regulating 3D printers makes any sense at all. We are a generation away from them being as ubiquitous as microwaves and laser printers. Future kindergarteners will be printing their parents mothers day projects instead of baking clay.

    66. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      America's problem with guns is a media conspiracy that makes politicians cum in their pants.

      Doesn't help that all the politicians are in on it.

      I saw fox news had a segment on this a few minutes ago ("why isn't anyone covering this!") I think it came right after a segment on how video games were turning everyone into mindless murder machines.

    67. Re:Gun control however... by Pav · · Score: 2

      Carrying a concealed firearm has ALWAYS been banned in Australia. The ban in question was ONLY for semi-automatic longarms. Any forcible rape connection is utter nonsense unless you think Australian women were packing assault rifles in their handbags up until the ban.

    68. Re:Gun control however... by Totenglocke · · Score: 2

      The republicans are in a pickle. If they support 3D gun printing, they hurt gun manufacturers, which is what they really are supporting ($$$$). Gun manufacturers rarely donate money and what they do is peanuts compared to what non-gun related businesses throw around.

      --
      "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
    69. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OOC - if you sell me Heroin, and I consent to the sale ergo - it can't possibly be illegal? Legal or illegal has nothing to do with "consent" in the case of gun sales, drugs or any other regulated product. It does make a difference in cases of sexual misconduct to put it nicely. Even in those cases consent is not always enough - say in the case of minors...

    70. Re:Gun control however... by Hentes · · Score: 2, Informative

      I live in Europe where we don't have school shootings or kids blowing themselves up with their father's gun. So yes, gun control works.

    71. Re:Gun control however... by Starteck81 · · Score: 1

      Banning children is easier said than done. I child-proofed my house, but they still get in.

      Then it's not really child-proof... only child-resistant.

      --
      "There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order." -Ed H
    72. Re:Gun control however... by KGIII · · Score: 2

      I can't really pin point exactly when it happened but, at some point, things changed. When the Constitution was authored it was a list of enumerated powers - it was a list of things that the government had the power to do. It has become, in practice, a list of things the government can't do (meaning that they think they can do anything not specifically prohibited). The differences between those two are vast and important.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    73. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      c) The US Justice Department estimates 70% of guns recovered from Mexican cartels were legally purchased in the US

      That number has been debunked repeatedly, it was 70% of the guns the Mexican authorities asked the US authorities about. Amazingly enough, the Mexican police generally don't ask the US about a gun if they don't think it's from the US.

      By the way, this is the same DOJ that ordered Fast and Furious, an operation in which US firearms dealers were ordered to sell guns to Mexican cartels. The DOJ didn't ask Mexico for permission* and didn't take any measures to track the firearms*. The end result was a hundreds of dead Mexican civilians* and police*, and two dead US border agents*. We still have very few details on how this operation was approved*, and the DOJ has been stonewalling* a congressional investigation* ever since.

      And if you want to bring up Operation Wide Receiver, none of the starred items happened in that operation.

    74. Re:Gun control however... by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 1

      You cannot effectively enforce a law against a transaction where all parties involved consent, and even trying to do so inevitably involved measures corrosive to liberty.

      So. legalized prostitution, then?

    75. Re:Gun control however... by harrkev · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Nice way to twist the facts.

      Fact: Gun control is argued as being about making people safer.

      Fact: It failed (for whatever reason).

      Fact: Violent crime went UP by 40% since the great gun grab in Australia.

      I ran the numbers myself a couple of months ago. I have a spreadsheet with my finding HERE. This spreadsheet has links to the sources for all data. It includes homicide (down a little), robbery (down a little), assault (way up), and sexual assault (way up). To put it another way, for every single person NOT murdered, an additional 671 people were assaulted. Those are the FACTS. My spreadsheet lays it all out, with data from the Australian Government.

      I invite you to inspect the data sources and my formulas. It is all open-source, so to speak. You can look for traces of deception yourself. Once you are done, you can grab a nice steaming helping of crow.

      DISCLOSURE: I used data from 1995 (just before the grab) and 2007 (latest data I found).

      --
      "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
    76. Re:Gun control however... by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 1

      You can never regulate it - as you point out, it will not in any way stop criminals.

      Depends on how dedicated the criminal is, as well as the person selling the gun. Put some of the people selling guns to criminals in jail and they might decide that isn't a business they want to be in.

    77. Re:Gun control however... by Stirling+Newberry · · Score: 0

      To the religious zealot the holy text is truth, and reality is frequently in accurate. This is true regardless of which religion they follow. LIbertarianism is a religion in the same way that Marxism is.

    78. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If the only thing keeping you from having sex with children is a law stating so, then you're beyond all help as it is.

      If the only "help" that person needed was a law, how can you say they're beyond all help? That seems to be a fairly trivial amount of help.

      How can you toss out vast swaths of society as "helpless" because they're not perfectly self-regulating?

    79. Re:Gun control however... by sg_oneill · · Score: 2

      The Australian experience of an increase in forcible rape after guns were banned.

      And also before. In fact the gun ban was so devestating, that it actually went and caused rapes to increase at an even faster rate before the gun ban then after, using TIME TRAVEL.

      Not only that, but HIV cases went up, and even pirate attacks in somalia.

      Oh sure none of this has anything to do with a gun ban here, because we've never actually allowed the ownership of guns for self defense (nor needed it, we had a low murder rate before the ban and an even lower one after it) but hey lets throw out some random statistics to confuse and baffle people.

      --
      Excuse the Unicode crap in my posts. That's an apostrophe, and slashdot is busted.
    80. Re:Gun control however... by Stirling+Newberry · · Score: 1

      http://www.aifs.gov.au/acssa/statistics.html That statement is simply not true.

    81. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You cannot effectively enforce a law against a transaction where all parties involved consent, and even trying to do so inevitably involved measures corrosive to liberty.

      We do this in several places. We prohibit the sale of stolen goods, or fencing. We prohibit statutory rape. We prohibit the sale of certain regulated goods. We prohibit the disposal of certain types of waste in certain areas, even if the dumper and the land owner both want it. This isn't new or novel.

    82. Re:Gun control however... by harrkev · · Score: 1

      The republicans are in a pickle. If they support 3D gun printing, they hurt gun manufacturers, which is what they really are supporting ($$$$).

      Got any facts, or just making things up as you go along? If you are referring to the NRA, I should like to point out that the NRA has more than five million members. Since I am pretty sure that there are not five million gun manufacturers, you can be pretty sure that a lot of those are ordinary citizens. In this case, the Republicans are defending freedom and the Constitution.

      --
      "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
    83. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      By your logic, all laws are useless because criminals won't follow them. Laws against murder, stealing, bank fraud, rape, etc... And also by your logic, why should I bother with passwords and encryption and the like? A determined enough attacker will be able to get by all that no matter what I do, so I may as well just post my social security number and credit cards on facebook, twitter, google plus, and whatever it is the kids are using these days. And America might as well start handing out nukes to everyone, because other people are bound to figure it out eventually, and how can you fight bad guys with nukes except by having good guys with nukes?

    84. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sound's like you should pissed off at Cody Wilson for being a douchbag that acts without thinking, singlehandedly turning an innocent, innocuous, flowering new technology into something that is now going to require annoying red tape. But apparently you're not for some reason. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that you think guns are... just the coolest, neatest things ever.

    85. Re:Gun control however... by l0ungeb0y · · Score: 1

      We are creating a nation of prey that is ALL they are, they are prey and the wolves will feed and feed well.

      Yes, you are quite correct THE US AND MOST COUNTRIES ARE NATIONS OF PREY.
      But not prey for the criminals. But prey for the MASTERS.

      Do you ever wonder why the raise of gun bans and the weight gains throughout the global population seem to be running hand in hand over the last couple decades?

      The Masters want a world populated with fat, harmless cows ready for eating.

    86. Re:Gun control however... by maliqua · · Score: 1

      dead

    87. Re:Gun control however... by Gerzel · · Score: 1

      That's right. Murder and theft laws too have never worked and WILL never work because criminals don't obey the law! In fact all laws are pointless because criminals will just ignore them and they only restrict those who are law abiding.

      See any flaws in this logic?

    88. Re:Gun control however... by Gerzel · · Score: 1

      Though yes. The product shouldn't be banned just because it has the potential to be used to make a gun. The second part of your argument is valid, but please cut the "Criminals won't do it" argument. It is just a tired poorly rendered talking point.

    89. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Their reduction in murders was less over the same period of time as the US even though we had no gun law changes.

    90. Re:Gun control however... by harrkev · · Score: 2

      I will state it again: "gun regulation doesn't work."

      I have posted this previously, but it fits here. Australia banned almost all guns around 1996 or so (too lazy to look it up right now). Here is a spreadsheet that shows the real effect. Murder went down a little, but for every life saved, there were almost 700 additional assaults and sexual assaults. Violent crime went up by 40% overall. Those are the FACTS. The spreadsheet has links to the hard numbers from the Australian government.

      Medical studies have to account for all variables (weight, exercise level, smoking, etc). However, in the gun debate, you cannot control for all variables. You simply cannot directly compare country X to country Y, because of different media, culture, language, family structure, social programs, etc. You, however CAN compare one country to itself before and after banning almost all guns. That is what I have done, and the picture is not pretty. I understand that a similar argument could be made for the UK, but I have not crunched those numbers personally, so I will leave that discussion to others who have.

      --
      "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
    91. Re:Gun control however... by harrkev · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The more you reduce the presence of firearms by honest citizens, the less they are used to prevent crime.

      Some numbers for you:

      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 gun-control laws are trying to stop the 0.008% of gun owners that do
      bad things. To put it another way, for every single murderer, there are 12,630 honest gun owners. Wow! Clearly, guns are indeed a problem.

      --
      "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
    92. Re:Gun control however... by adrn01 · · Score: 1

      ...Take Mexico, a country with a 100% ban on guns, you can't even one a 22 in that country...are the criminals throwing rocks at each other? Nope they...

      Nope, they buy their guns HERE IN THE USA and smuggle them across the border. What do you think that 'Fast & Furious' sting operation was trying to do???

    93. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is one of the lamest arguments against gun control. Yes, criminals do not follow the law. But they also don't break every law all of the time--every broken law is another chance that they will be apprehended. Under a strict gun control system, owning a gun and ammunition would require breaking the law several times. This increases the chance of being apprehended, increases penalties, and ultimately might make the difference between a criminal obtaining a gun or not.

      In other words, gun control makes owning a gun more costly to criminals. It also might be able to interrupt planned mass shootings by arresting criminals as they attempt to stockpile weapons.

    94. Re:Gun control however... by sg_oneill · · Score: 2

      And the US with one of the highest crime rates in the world has one of the highest gun ownership rates.

      Whats your point here?

      --
      Excuse the Unicode crap in my posts. That's an apostrophe, and slashdot is busted.
    95. Re:Gun control however... by the_raptor · · Score: 4, Informative

      I am Australian, and our criminals have guns. Banning guns won't stop criminals or terrorists getting or making them. A full automatic sub-machine gun can be made in any basic machine shop.

      Banning guns will massively reduce their use in domestic disputes and suicide, but it won't stop criminals.

      --

      ========
      CINC, 4th Penguin Legion
    96. Re:Gun control however... by NeutronCowboy · · Score: 1

      DON'T FOLLOW LAWS which is why they are called criminals, fucking duh!

      Soooo.... why do we have any laws at all? I mean, criminals by definition don't follow laws, so bother with any? Oh, right, that's because that line of argument is clueless of the ACTUAL purpose of laws: to publicly indicate the rules which a community has decided to abide by and the punishments for violating them.

      What worries me the most about the current political discourse in the US is that so often, at least one side is utterly ignorant of the actual facts being discussed. Not only that, but they just make shit up in the face of ignorance, and paper over their ignorance by shouting.

      Yeah. I'm sure this will go somewhere REALLY interesting.

      --
      Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
    97. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are already laws that say "don't murder". The better analogy for comparing your specified domain to the "regulate 3d printers" law would be a "regulate everyone's procreation" law (because X% of pedos are target their own children, therefore everyone must undergo rigorous psych evals before becoming a parent). 3D printers can be used to create many things. Even in the cases where they happen to make weaponry, that weaponry might be perfectly legal (depending on the state) and it might never be used to commit a crime.

    98. Re:Gun control however... by Deathlizard · · Score: 1

      While I agree that the Printed gun is nowhere near the quality of a real gun and that regulating 3D printers is putting the cart way before the horse, To Play Devil's advocate I can see a use for it in the criminal world.

      Organized crime could easily afford a $50,000 printer, and if that printer can produce hundreds of short range assassination weapons that can be thrown into a fire afterwards leaving no weapon trail to trace short of the bullet cartridge (which could be easily taken out of the gun and destroyed by other means) and a nail, it might be worth it.

    99. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Funny how the Australian experience says you are full of shit.

      Funny how cherry pickers are always quick to assert others are full of shit.

      First off anyone who restricts their statistical assessment based on the bullshit media critera of "gun murders" vs actual murders are being foolish in the extreme. It is not about the number of people being killed by guns it is about the number of people being killed period. If everyone who would have killed someone with a gun decides to use a baseball bat then taking away guns solved nothing.

      When you compare apples to apples the US shows more dramatic downward crime statistics in virtually all categories including murder while concurrently owning upwards of half the firearms on the planet for all of its measly single digit percentage contribution to world population.

      It is nice to make assumptions with data especially when they support your presuppositions. In the real world it is rarely the case a politian or pundent makes a causal linkage that is actually true or supported by careful observation of evidence.

    100. Re:Gun control however... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      a) Mexico doesn't have a total ban on guns (gun ownership is a constitutionally protected right), it's just been limted to purchasing from a single army-run shop in Mexico City;

      ...from which you are not permitted to actually make purchases. And any gun not purchased there is grounds not just for seizure but for imprisonment. That counts for boats cruising through (or really, near Mexican waters, et cetera.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    101. Re:Gun control however... by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Would you prefer to be raped or dead ?

      I'd prefer my would-be rapist be dead, which is much more likely if I'm armed.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    102. Re:Gun control however... by SuperKendall · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Your logic is pretty lame. You're arguing that you can't regulate criminals because they are criminals.

      Well now it's up to you to prove that you are not a moron, person who claims lawful regulations affect criminal behavior which is defined literally as "not following the law".

      It's not lame; it's called "common sense".

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    103. Re:Gun control however... by Gerzel · · Score: 0

      Nor was it created to be the land of the free. At least for a large minority of its population. Remember the second amendment includes the words "well regulated" even our founding fathers thought there should be regulation. Individual rights must be balanced against the rights of others, and that is no easy task.

    104. Re:Gun control however... by SuperKendall · · Score: 1, Interesting

      I live in Europe where we don't have school shootings

      Oh really?

      Too bad your high horse just threw you and then trampled you right in the argument. Ouch!

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    105. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Heh. Come to Canada where there are reasonable gun laws. Tell me the same story. I'll laugh at you.

    106. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lets just clear something up right now, gun bans have NEVER worked and will NEVER work

      Funny, the NRA backed 1986 full-auto gun ban in the USA seems to work out just fine at keeping full-auto guns out of the hands of virtually all US criminals. In America people simply do not get shot by full-auto weapons, and it is all thanks to the fact that they are banned here. Collectors and enthusiasts can get permits to own old machine guns, but you can not buy or own a modern machine gun in the USA and as such criminals do not have access to them here.

      You can not say gun bans never work because frankly they work quite well. The '86 ban is factual demonstrable proof of it.

      we should be teaching people how to defend themselves

      Absolutely we should. Gun advocates are generally the first to claim people banned from guns just resort to alternative weapons like, "if guns are banned people will just kill each other with knives". Since gun advocates so quickly admit that guns and knives are equally deadly, why not train our citizenry in the art of using cutlery in self defense? In a home invasion a gun is of little use anyways since you are in close quarter combat. You can shoot a guy 5 times as he closes a 15 foot gap and stabs you to death before falling dead himself.

    107. Re:Gun control however... by DragonTHC · · Score: 2

      I'm wondering why no one has called out Yee's claims that one can walk away "scott-free" after doing "horrible things".

      Did our laws suddenly change regarding firearms? I hadn't heard.

      I think we should also regulate CNC mills. Because someone could make something bad with one.

      Yee is a muppet.

      --
      They're using their grammar skills there.
    108. Re:Gun control however... by rtb61 · · Score: 0

      Do nothing and continue to count the dead, you win schmuck, at least I don't live there with your fools statistics.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    109. Re:Gun control however... by jelizondo · · Score: 1

      Sorry hairyfeet, we get guns from you guys. No need to go halfway around the world.

      Perhaps one of the most ironic twists in the war on drugs is that the Mexican police gets arms from the U.S. and the drug dealers too! One from the government, the other from convenience stores in Arizona.

      --
      Be very, very careful what you put into that head, because you will never, ever get it out. - Cardinal Wolsey
    110. Re:Gun control however... by davester666 · · Score: 1

      Yes, it's true, gun control, by itself, can't work. It only works if the entire society is working is a reasonable way.

      In Mexico, and many other countries, society itself has broken down, where a significant proportion of society has nothing to gain/live for. They can't get jobs and don't get any respect without using the pointy end of a gun. And with it, they can get some respect, and some money for their families, even when they know it won't be for a long time.

      The US has the same problem, only not quite as bad. Part of it is we have a more effective policing system, part is a more effective welfare system, but it's getting worse because society is becoming increasingly disparate, where there is a very small group of ultra-wealthy people, a larger but slowly shrinking group of middle-class people, then the vast majority of low-wage and/or unemployable people who can't get ahead.

      Sure, there are some individuals of that group that can get ahead and jump into the middle class, or even the wealthy, but they all can't. Or even most of them, no matter how hard they work, or try. And using the pointy end of a gun get's them ahead in the near term, even when it shortens their lifespan.

      The only really effective form of gun control is to make it so fewer and fewer people need guns to get ahead. And nobody seems to want to bother with that side of the equation.

      Just like the drug war, where the real problem is entirely the demand side, where so many people see drugs as the only relief from their dreary lives, and if their lives didn't suck so bad, the vast majority wouldn't touch the stuff. But no, all our effort is spent on fighting the supply.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    111. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ever wonder why gunners only show the gun-homicide rates? It's because they're 50% suicides and easy to point at and say "look, only X-many people a year die from actual gun violence" while completely ignoring all the people injured and maimed by guns that managed to not die from the gunshot itself but live the rest of their lives crippled and disfigured because some knucklehead wanted to fire off a dozen rounds in the air on New Years Eve without considering the effect of those rounds raining down on a pool party a few blocks away.

      Guns don't kill people, people kill people. Guns just maim and injure people in the mean time.

    112. Re:Gun control however... by The0retical · · Score: 4, Insightful

      A couple of years ago if I looked at the news I'd have thought sharks grew legs, walked up on land, and started eating children out of playgrounds.

      Never underestimate the medias ability to over report and hyper sensationalize the fixation of the moment.

    113. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fact: Gun control is argued as being about making people safer FROM GUN VIOLENCE.

      Fact: It SUCCEEDED

      Fact: Violent crime was going UP by 40% WITH OR WITHOUT the great gun grab in Australia.

      FTFY.

    114. Re:Gun control however... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      and the reason is of course that the government and police are massively corrupt and are part of the criminal gangs themselves.

      So, just like the USA then? I mean, that doesn't strictly describe the situation here. The police aren't part of the gangs, the police are gangs.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    115. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why do we have laws at all then? Why do we say don't have sex with children when criminals are just going to do it anyway?

      Guns are to murder as dicks are to rape. The equivalent course of action seems to be confiscation of dicks to cut down on rapes.

      As we've seen with prohibition there are practical limits to government legitimacy and capacity to enforce law. Exceeding these limits in the persuit of "good intentions" is often detremental to society.

      When you ban drugs and hookers and enough people demand them anyway it just creates an underground market, unecessary violence and challenge to state legitimacy.

      You *must* carefully choose your battles on merits of each law within the context of objective reality. There is nothing more corrosive to the legitimacy of the state than unenforcable laws.

      Enough people think murder, assault, robbery..etc are wrong there is normally not any serious challenge that makes it not worth beating down outliers unless your society is going to hell anyway (e.g. too many people unemployed and pillaging to survive..or everyones gone bathsaltshit crazy)

      The same unfortunatly is not true of alcahol, tabaco, hooking and firearms. There are too many people willing to disregard laws banning these things the only constructive response possible is to regulate it and tax it. I hope this answers your question.

    116. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      FACT: there have been no mass murders involing guns since the ban on guns was enacted.

    117. Re:Gun control however... by jelizondo · · Score: 1

      Sorry davester666, don't generalize.

      Yes, there are some people involved in drugs and other illicit business, but a significant proportion is way out.

      I don't have numbers to give you, but consider that we are a country with 120 million people, a significant number would be millions of people.

      Yes, certain areas, like Ciudad Juarez (Chihuahua) and other border towns might have many people working on drug-related jobs, but not overall.

      Unenployment is sitting at 4.9%, a much better number than in the U.S. and Europe. People get involved in drug activities because of easy money, not lack of jobs.

      --
      Be very, very careful what you put into that head, because you will never, ever get it out. - Cardinal Wolsey
    118. Re:Gun control however... by HighlySpammable · · Score: 1

      I'm an Australian. You're wrong. We haven't had a mass shooting since our gun ban and we had like 12 in the 15 years leading up to it. Don't tell me these things aren't related.

    119. Re:Gun control however... by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 2

      The only part of that I actually wrote was

      no correlation with incidence of rape

      The rest you made up.

      --
      Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
    120. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The "Great Australian Gun Grab" was not targeted at guns that would prevent assault, sexual or otherwise, unless you plan on carrying around a rifle or similar weapon as an effective means to do so. The gun buy back and legislation did not target hand guns or the type that you keep in your purse, etc.

      So while there appears to be a correlation between gun control and an increase in assaults, correlation does not equal causation.

    121. Re:Gun control however... by bondsbw · · Score: 1

      And your counter-argument is... ?

      --
      All my liberal friends think I'm a conservative, all my conservative friends think I'm a liberal.
    122. Re:Gun control however... by He+Who+Has+No+Name · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Words change over time. Regulated in that era meant "well trained and equipped".

      The "well regulated means well bureaucratically controlled" meme died with the Heller decision. Try to catch up from 2008.

    123. Re:Gun control however... by bondsbw · · Score: 1

      I wouldn't be shocked to hear cartels are also buying abroad, but why bother when you can get most of what you need immediately to the north?

      Obama knows all about that. Funny that he doesn't want law-abiding citizens to buy or sell guns, but doesn't mind distributing guns to Mexican cartels.

      --
      All my liberal friends think I'm a conservative, all my conservative friends think I'm a liberal.
    124. Re:Gun control however... by Gerzel · · Score: 2

      So you're in favor of having your firearms inspected and having to report to regular training and drills by the Federal Government for owning a firearm?

    125. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fact: Gun control is argued as being about making people safer FROM GUN VIOLENCE.

      speculation: It SUCCEEDED

      Fact: Violent crime was going UP by 40% WITH OR WITHOUT the great gun grab in Australia.

      FTFY.

    126. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...just like how a few years back there was an "epidemic of shark attacks".

    127. Re:Gun control however... by Garridan · · Score: 1

      The lesson that I learn from this is that I should fire up my CNC mill, make a gun out of HDPE, and tell the world about it. Ban CNC mills! Then, I'll carve pieces out of wax, and cast them. Ban wax! Ban casting sand! BAN ALL THE METALS!!!

    128. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      FACT: Mass murders involving guns are statistically insignificant.

    129. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Nice way to twist the facts.

      Fact: Gun control is argued as being about making people safer.

      Fact: It failed (for whatever reason).

      Fact: Violent crime went UP by 40% since the great gun grab in Australia.

      I ran the numbers myself a couple of months ago. I have a spreadsheet with my finding HERE. This spreadsheet has links to the sources for all data. It includes homicide (down a little), robbery (down a little), assault (way up), and sexual assault (way up). To put it another way, for every single person NOT murdered, an additional 671 people were assaulted. Those are the FACTS. My spreadsheet lays it all out, with data from the Australian Government.

      I invite you to inspect the data sources and my formulas. It is all open-source, so to speak. You can look for traces of deception yourself. Once you are done, you can grab a nice steaming helping of crow.

      DISCLOSURE: I used data from 1995 (just before the grab) and 2007 (latest data I found).

      Nice way to twist the facts.

      Also, you throw around the word "fact" a lot. I don't think that word means what you think it means.

      Some may argue gun control reduces violent crime, but the far more common argument is gun control reduces gun violence, which, by the way, it fucking does.

      How many mass-murders by knife do you hear about?

    130. Re:Gun control however... by mumblestheclown · · Score: 0

      Honestly, how is this crap even slightly insightful when he starts with an absolute statement that is trivially disprovable with any number of european and antipodean examples?

      Note that his claim isn't a nuanced on that gun bans don't work everywhere.. it's some a rant claim that they work precisely nowhere, which is self-evidently false.

      "fucking retarded?" fucking retarded is making a claim that " gun bans have NEVER worked and will NEVER work" that is self-evidently false and acting like a blowhard in your cock-sure wrongness.

      of course, i'm sure you'll now play games with what your definition of "work" is, but it doesn't matter. reasonable people know you're full of it.

    131. Re:Gun control however... by hairyfeet · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Thanks for the link but you'd think common fricking sense would tell you its not gonna work. does it work in the UK? Sure it does and in Australia too because they are islands and its really not that hard with today's tech to police an island.

      Now compare this to North and South America, which you would have to look at as one entity since the massive borders and literally millions of fast boats (coke boats) and light aircraft means that the borders between countries on this land mass mean jack and squat, and you can see just by using common fricking sense why this shit ain't gonna work. How many fucking years has America had a "war on drugs" going now? 80+ years isn't it? yet I can walk out my door even in BF AR and score any drug i want in less than 2 hours, less than 1 hour if you exclude driving time...you think guns will ever be ANY different? think Mr Dope Dealer would have ANY problem selling me an AK if draconian gun laws mean he can make several hundred percent profit on each gun?

      The sad part is this has become a left/right issue and its not, its a common sense issue. 1.- Criminals don't obey laws, 2.- you have a border that leaks so bad that you can buy everything from smack to slaves because its so damned easy to smuggle across so 3.-Gun bans will ONLY affect those that OBEY the law which guess what? is the ones you WANT to be able to defend themselves against the criminals!

      I'll get hate for saying this but fuck it, i always say how I feel and don't pull punches, to me it comes down to what I call "NYC cowardice rules". its that complete horseshit that the ones in power sell in NYC, that "Don't resist, do as your told,you are weak and the criminal is strong, don't fight back" which is a bunch of fucking bullshit, because time and time again we have seen criminals slaughter everybody just for the fuck of it. Maybe the Wichita massacre would have turned out differently if those in the home had a gun, how many think the outcome of the flight (93 i think) that crashed in PA on 9/11 would have been positive if they had followed the NYC cowardice rule?

      At the end of the day you can NOT count on the cops or anybody else BUT YOURSELF to protect you and your loved ones. Either you stand or you get on your knees and beg like prey. Well fuck the NYC cowardice crap, i'm nobody's god damned prey. that criminal may kill me but I can guaran-damn-tee you that you won't have any problem catching the criminal later, just follow the trail of blood coming from the scumbag to his door.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    132. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We aren't Australians, and we have the second amendment and they don't. If they want to bend over and take it from the government that is their right. Again, we're not Australia, we recognize the value of guns and freedom and how they're intertwined, too bad the Australians don't realize it.

    133. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

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

      The United States isn't even close to one of the highest rates in he world.

    134. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      All the liberals seem to ignore the fact that gun crimes have been decreasing over the past couple of decades. That doesn't fit their paranoia, so they seek out singular events to get emotional votes rather than facts based ones.

    135. Re:Gun control however... by mhajicek · · Score: 1

      That's a part of it. Another is that prohibition simply doesn't work. Whether it's alchahol, drugs, weapons, or anything else.

    136. Re:Gun control however... by hairyfeet · · Score: 5, Informative

      Why did he get modded down? look at the history of gun laws in this country and like poll taxes a LOT of them were designed to keep them "uppity niggers" from having guns. Look at how the media has demonized the so called "Saturday Night Special"...wanna guess which minority favored those for home protection in the 40s-70s?

      I can't remember which black leader said it, i think the head of the rainbow coalition, that "No matter how you feel about gun laws if you look at them, trace them back to their roots, you'll find a lot of them can be summed up as "fear of an armed negro" because an armed negro can fight back, its a lot more risky to try to lynch an armed negro than a defenseless one" and sadly he is right, look up who wrote the gun laws of the 30s-70s and its the same ones that were supporting Jim Crow and separate but equal. No matter how you feel about the gun laws i urge you to read more about it, what you find will probably shock you.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    137. Re:Gun control however... by SpaghettiPattern · · Score: 1

      Lets just clear something up right now, gun bans have NEVER worked and will NEVER work because of one simple flaw in the logic. you see criminals? DON'T FOLLOW LAWS which is why they are called criminals, fucking duh!

      Dude, get out of your basement and take a trip to western Europe. Experience gun bans with less crime than in the US before being a naysayer.

      --

      I hadn't the slightest objection to his spending his time planning massacres for the bourgeoisie... (P.G. Wodehouse)
    138. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I disagree with much of gun control, but your argument is fucking retarded. The guns on the black market didn't start out that way. People buy them legally and they're either stolen, pawned or otherwise make their way to the black market. If you limit legal sales, the supply on the illegal side will decrease as well.

    139. Re:Gun control however... by mhajicek · · Score: 1

      Reducing guns does reduce gun crime, but it tends to increase violent crime in general. I've never heard a gun control advocate use violent crime numbers, only gun crime numbers. Do some research on that and you'll answer your own questions. Also, knowing that my attacker is likely to go to prison after killing me would be a small comfort. Which brings me to the subject of the police. While they will usually protect the innocent if they have the chance, they cannot and will not be everywhere at all times. They cannot protect you from a home invasion or a back alley mugging unless you have the means to defend yourself for at least five minutes.

    140. Re:Gun control however... by hairyfeet · · Score: 2

      But all of that misses the even bigger point, regulating 3D printers would be like arresting someone at the airport for having nail clippers while ignoring the guy walking in with the RPG.

      The simple fact is in any machine shop, of which there have to be thousands if not tens of thousands in the USA, you can make something MUCH more deadly and accurate than the best a 3D printer can make, and while a printer that can process high stress plastic costs a minimum of $5k (and that price is unlikely to go down because it simply costs more to manufacture) whereas $300 worth of metal, hell even $5 worth of scrap metal from any salvage yard, could make a weapon superior in every possible metric to this 3D printer gun.

      So not only are the crazy hoop gun laws stupid just on GP but this law is thumb up your ass retarded since its ignoring that ANY criminal could make something MUCH better without any stupid blueprints with nothing but scrap tubing and a few tools...we gonna regulate pipes next?

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    141. Re:Gun control however... by davester666 · · Score: 1

      unemployment ONLY considers those people known to the gov't to be actively looking for a job

      and I guess it's not a problem for you that Mexico's 2012 intentional homicide rate is 22.7/100,000 vs 4.8/100,000 in the US vs 1.6/100,000 in Canada

      and just like the US, where control of various ghetto's have been ceded to criminals to control, there are not-small parts of outlying regions of Mexico which have been ceded to criminals, where the army makes largely ineffective efforts to clear them out

      just because you don't see 1 in 10 people carrying around a gun doesn't mean that the portion of Mexican's carrying around/using guns isn't significant.

      many people get involved in drugs [particularly the "footsoldiers"] because it's the only realistic way for them to get respect from the people around them [not necessarily in a postive way] and to be able to not work all day for not quite/just barely enough to live.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    142. Re:Gun control however... by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

      The only weapon you'd make with the Staples printer would be a suicide machine as the first trigger pull and it would explode, you can NOT use an ordinary 3D printer, it has to be industrial grade that can handle processing high stress plastics. And as far as untraceable...how are you gonna trace a zip gun? Hell how are you gonna trace a gun i buy from some dope dealer who traded a few kilos for a shipment from bumfuckistan?

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    143. Re:Gun control however... by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

      Thank you. I mean for the love of Christ does anybody think the rapist murdering scum that did the Wichita massacre would have said "ya know, i really want to rob that house, repeatedly rape the women, and kill them all, but the law says i can't have a gun so i guess i'll go play bingo".

      It just shows George Carlin was right, the meaning of words is of extreme importance, when people are gonna honestly sit here and argue laws are gonna be obeyed by criminals without even considering what the word criminal means. All the laws have EVER done is punish AFTER the fact, its not gonna make the criminal think twice before he does a crime because after all, if I'm looking at multiple counts of rape, murder, robbery, drugs, etc do you REALLY think i'm gonna give a rat fuck if you add a weapons beef? that would be like saying that slaver in Ohio is in trouble now, he had unsafe living conditions so he's screwed!

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    144. Re:Gun control however... by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

      Bullshit they buy from bumfuckistan by a pretty large margin which is why AG Holder committed numerous crimes and should be in a holding cell looking at a death penalty case over Fast & Furious. But you keep right on chugging the koolaid friend, i'm sure the government would NEVER lie to you.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    145. Re:Gun control however... by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Let me turn that question around: how many people would you like to have raped for every person you save from death? By my rough calculation (and that's assuming that both homicide decline and rape increase are causally related to the ban in equal proportions), it amounted to something like 40 rapes for each prevented death in Australia.

    146. Re: Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In short : yes

    147. Re:Gun control however... by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      False. There was no appreciable increase in the three years after the ban came into effect. There has been an increase since, however that follows a trend line that started before the gun ban, so there is no correlation between the ban and the incidence of rape.

      It should also be noted that the same holds for homicide rates - yes, they went down, but the rate at which they have been going down didn't change in any notable way post-ban (it's pretty easy to spot if you take the graph dating back to a couple more decades and average out the spikes).

      So, the conclusion of the Australian experience is that gun bans don't do anything, neither useful or harmful.

    148. Re:Gun control however... by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 4, Insightful

      To make your study meaningful, you should also take a few more data points both before and after the ban. This is so that you can identify any trends that were in place throughout the ban and were not really affected by it. To the best of my knowledge, both the decrease in homicide and the increase in assaults were in that category.

    149. Re:Gun control however... by vux984 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'd prefer my would-be rapist be dead

      Sure we all would.

      which is much more likely if I'm armed.

      It increases the odds of a lot of things.

      It increases the odds he's also carrying a gun. It increases the odds he's had plenty of practice with it, since its legal for him to carry it around.

      It increases the odds of a shootout. It increases the odds you get shot. (Maybe he's a better shot than you. Maybe he approaches you with it drawn while yours is still holstered. Not much of an edge for you.

      It increases the odds an innocent bystander gets short. It increases the odds of an accidental discharge. It increases the odds someone irresponsible ends up with a gun in their hands. It increases the odds someone irresponsible ends up with -your- gun in their hands.

      I'm Not saying I wouldn't want to have a gun in my hands if I were attacked, but its wrong to oversimplify it so that is the only scenario we look at.

    150. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you see criminals? DON'T FOLLOW LAWS which is why they are called criminals, fucking duh!

      By your logic, we shouldn't have speed limits. After all, law breakers are gonna ignore 'em anyway, right? Oh yeah, and let's legalize shoplifting, because thieves don't follow laws either. Duh! And while you're at it, let's do away with all those silly laws against rape and murder. I mean, since when have rapists and murderers ever let a law get in their way?

    151. Re:Gun control however... by jhol13 · · Score: 4, Informative

      AAARGH! Correlation is not causation!

      Especially when statistics are used like this. You pick several statistics, search for correlation and then "prove" that whatever was done was bad (or good). It does not work that way!

      You migh answer some questions first, like how many women did carry a gun and how many rapes did it prevent, before and after. Same with assaults and robberies.

    152. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      FACT: Mass murders involving guns are statistically insignificant.

      Fact: The phrase "statistically insignificant" as used in the above sentence is an opinion.

    153. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... Politicians just love that former category ...

      ... Because it makes the sheeple think a problem will disappear when the boss authorizes some writing on some paper.

      This is why a per-law referendum (direct voting) is a bad idea: The politician who screams that his piece of paper will make you safer, richer, smarter, well-hung and white, gets the votes regardless of who really profits from his piece of paper.

    154. Re:Gun control however... by cold+fjord · · Score: 1

      There are all kinds of exisiting issues including poverty, segregation due to social-economic status, and existing problems of gun violence . . .

      You left out the problem of collusion between politicians and gangs in Chicago.

      --
      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
    155. Re:Gun control however... by cold+fjord · · Score: 1
      --
      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
    156. Re:Gun control however... by davydagger · · Score: 1

      we've also banned drugs with stiff penalties for first time offenders....

      can't get drugs ANYWHERE.

    157. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... forcible rape after guns were banned.

      Correction: ... all forms of assault after guns were banned. There wasn't a sudden victimization of women. Everyone suffered and the newspapers successfully ignored the truth.

    158. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Regulated in that era meant "well trained and equipped".

      You're full of shit:

      regulate
      c.1630, from L.L. regulatus, pp. of regulare "to control by rule, direct" (5c.), from L. regula "rule" (see regular). Regulation is first recorded 1672, "act of regulating;" sense of "rule for management" is first attested 1715. Regulator is first recorded 1655; in Eng.

    159. Re:Gun control however... by cold+fjord · · Score: 1

      Do nothing and continue to count the dead

      Because would be murderers are left impotent without guns? That doesn't really seem to be the case.

      you win schmuck, at least I don't live there with your fools statistics.

      Considering the rubbish you posted in the discussion about the IRS abuses, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that America's gain is Australia's(?) loss. But to be charitable it can be called a win-win.

      --
      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
    160. Re:Gun control however... by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It increases the odds he's also carrying a gun.

      My being armed doesn't do that.

      It increases the odds he's had plenty of practice with it, since its legal for him to carry it around.

      Legal to carry is completely orthogonal to plenty of practice, because you don't practice with it while you're wandering around town. Further, odds are good he's already a felon, and is already barred from carry, if not ownership.

      It increases the odds of a shootout. It increases the odds you get shot. (Maybe he's a better shot than you. Maybe he approaches you with it drawn while yours is still holstered. Not much of an edge for you.

      If he has a gun, and I have no gun, then he's definitely got the edge.

      It increases the odds an innocent bystander gets short. It increases the odds of an accidental discharge. It increases the odds someone irresponsible ends up with a gun in their hands. It increases the odds someone irresponsible ends up with -your- gun in their hands.

      Yes, there are potential negative outcomes. But in the scenario of a more physically powerful attacker, none of them are very different from the already extant outcome, for the attacked in any case. Meanwhile, preventing or reducing attacks is everyone's responsibility, and we are collectively falling down on the job.

      I'm Not saying I wouldn't want to have a gun in my hands if I were attacked, but its wrong to oversimplify it so that is the only scenario we look at.

      You and your straw man must be cuddled close tonight. I never claimed that was the only scenario. You wanted something to complain about, but I didn't say what you want me to have said.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    161. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Fact: It failed (for whatever reason).

      That is not a fact. It is your assumption.

      For example, we could build a hospital into a village that has 100 people in it.
      Watch as a deadly disease spreads to the village. Hospital manages to cure 10 people, but 90 people die.
      After that we could say that hospital failed (because of the chance in the deatch rate.

      World is a very complex place, you would have to ban and de-ban guns several times to get some sort of results that gun-ban really works the way you assumed..

    162. Re:Gun control however... by Fjandr · · Score: 1

      You also have relatively homogeneous populations and a record of lower crime rates even before gun bans.

      If the crime rates were similar before the gun bans, you might have a point. The cultures are similar in some respect, but vastly different in others.

    163. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What happens if you start in 1987 instead? Parent post said that the sexual assault numbers were following a trend line in place before the ban. By starting from just before the grab, you miss any existing trend lines and lose credibility.

    164. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The 'escalating' answer counts as 'dead'.

    165. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Straw purchases are not legal purchases in the US, so those guns were illegally purchased in the US.

    166. Re:Gun control however... by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 2

      "Funny how the Australian experience says you are full of shit."

      Except that it doesn't.

      Somebody who was arguing with me the other day tried to cite a page of government stats to show that crime went down when guns were confiscated in the UK. (I know that's not Australia, bear with me a moment.)

      The problem is, his own statistics showed that per-capita gun crime (we're talking about firearms here) was going down before the big UK gun ban in 1997. And right after the gun ban, gun crime went up, and not just a little, but dramatically. It nearly doubled in the 5-6 years after the ban. Since the peak it has been coming down again, but so what? It has been coming down everywhere else too. Even here in the United States, where over the same period, per-capita gun ownership has been steadily going UP, while crime has gone down by nearly half.

      From the statistics I have seen, Australia experienced a very similar situation. I'm not sure about total gun crime but by some reports, after that last big gun grab, armed "home invasion" crime went up by around 40%, and other crimes showed a similar increase.

      It puzzles me why people keep pointing to these countries as examples of how gun control can work, when official statistics from the governments of those countries actually indicate that it doesn't.

    167. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The (statistical) correlation does not explain the reason why a system works. Because you exclude all (normal) human behaviour as cause.

      Maybe, all normal humans in the 11.000 wrong circumstances, would kill someone. Remember: Most criminals are not insane.

    168. Re:Gun control however... by cold+fjord · · Score: 2

      c) The US Justice Department estimates 70% of guns recovered from Mexican cartels were legally purchased in the US.

      Hmmm... apparently they felt embarrassed about the 90% claim they had been using, but it looks like neither 90% nor 70% are really true.

      The Myth of 90 Percent: Only a Small Fraction of Guns in Mexico Come From U.S.
      U.S. Gun Laws: Mexico's Favorite Scapegoat for Drug Violence

      I wouldn't be shocked to hear cartels are also buying abroad, but why bother when you can get most of what you need immediately to the north?

      Because they want military grade weapons, like grenades, rocket launchers, and fully automatic weapons and those aren't available from el Norte? (After all, they are often battling the Mexican army, marine corps, and federales, as well as other cartels.) On the other hand, there are plenty of sources from the Central and South America, and other places, that converge in Mexico.

      The US is a convenient scapegoat for the weapons problem in Mexico, but not the genuine source of the problem.

      --
      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
    169. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your finding are bollocks.

      You assume that Australians use guns for self-defense, as Americans do.

      They don't.

      The rise is assaults is due to booze, not guns. (Drinking age is 18, btw).

      Australians generally view guns as a tool used by farmers to shoot vermin; we divide owners (or wanna-be owners) into two groups - farmers & idiots.

      The 'great gun grab' is an NRA myth, Australians never had that many guns anyway, now they have a few less of certain types.

      The number of owners has remained constant.

    170. Re:Gun control however... by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      Compared with 1993, the peak of U.S. gun homicides, the firearm homicide rate was 49% lower in 2010, and there were fewer deaths, even though the nation's population grew. The victimization rate for other violent crimes with a firearm -- assaults, robberies and sex crimes -- was 75% lower in 2011 than in 1993. Violent non-fatal crime victimization overall (with or without a firearm) also is down markedly (72%) over two decades.

      http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/05/07/gun-homicide-rate-down-49-since-1993-peak-public-unaware/

      Looks like the cops are trying to take up the slack

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    171. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your signature says all I need to read in your post. Thanks for making your ingoing assumptions clear.

    172. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So you will make your own spread sheets but you can't be bothered fact checking a simple fact; that you should know any way because you care enough about it to doctor your own spread sheets; to frame the data in a way the actual source data can not be interpreted.

    173. Re:Gun control however... by anagama · · Score: 1

      You're probably thinking I'm some Republican who thinks Obama is a Marxist. You'd be wrong. I'm a liberal who thinks Obama is a Republican.

      --
      What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
    174. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Those numbers are quite scary, and ensure that I'll think twice before visiting the USA again!

      I guess it's a culture thing.

    175. Re:Gun control however... by r0ball · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Umm....so using this common frickin' sense of yours, you're saying it's easy to enforce gun laws in Australia because it's an island (which, by the way, has ~80% the land area of the US), but their laws wouldn't work in the US because of all the boats and light aircraft that can make it across US land borders? Or perhaps all those Australian criminals decided to stop being criminals once the gun law was passed?

      And to top off your post with 'NYers are cowards'....man, the real world would be a better place if people like you spent some time outside the insular, self-affirming little world you live in.

    176. Re: Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Except that everything you wrote is wrong and large knives are indeed banned in Germany. Carying knives longer than 7.5 centimetres require a special license and butterfly knives and other concealed knives are completely forbidden. Just like guns.

    177. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I won't count Russia as an european country

      There are some shootings but "daily" body count is an order of magnitude lower than in USA.
      5yo kid don't own a gun (WTF)

    178. Re: Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And the inhabitants of bullshit mountain aka Rublicans, NRA members, rednecks and FoxNews viewers (is there a difference?) are what? Members of the Westboro Baptist Cult? Insane, full of hate, full of shit, incapable of congruent thoughts, constantly lying and seriously out of touch with reality? Yes, sounds about right.

    179. Re:Gun control however... by Dracophile · · Score: 1

      I dunno... maybe we're just generally not determined enough to go shooting the shit out of each other.

      --
      Athy, athier, athiest.
    180. Re:Gun control however... by DKlineburg · · Score: 1

      fair comment. but I will point you to above that states, different cultures are well, different.

      --
      Memory is deceptive because it is colored by today's events. - Albert Einstein
    181. Re:Gun control however... by Dunbal · · Score: 1

      because some knucklehead wanted to fire off a dozen rounds in the air on New Years Eve

      [citation needed]

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    182. Re:Gun control however... by srmalloy · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Nevermind the fact that this gun is impractical for any realistic purpose, all of which have already been gone over elsewhere

      Actually, they've gone several steps further with another design, having printed a lower receiver for an AR-15 (the one part that, under BATF regulations, constitutes a gun), and have raised its reliability from the original six rounds before breaking to more than 600 rounds before breaking (they're discovering that the printed part has different design constraints -- where a milled aluminum receiver has sharp corners, a printed part needs to have curves to reduce points where stress concentrates, because the plastic is weaker). However, as assembled, it's hardly a concealable or undetectable weapon, with the sixteen-inch metal barrel, upper receiver, and action. However, as you allude, a wholly 3D-printed firearm has a long way to go before it's as effective as the cheapest 'Saturday Night Special'. But to a politician, that's not important; what's important is that the fear and paranoia be whipped to a frenzy now, so that draconian knee-jerk measures can be put in place while people are feeling about the subject, not thinking about it; it's so much easier to whip up emotion than reason.

    183. Re:Gun control however... by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Criminals don't follow laws

      Actually for the most part they do. Just because they decide to rob a house doesn't make a criminal decide to ignore all laws. Aside from anything else robbery with a gun is a more serious offence in most places than mere robbery. Most criminals are not dumb enough to want a confrontation anyway, they want to get away with their crime undetected instead of shooting it out.

      Real life isn't like Grand Theft Auto.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    184. Re:Gun control however... by Rufty · · Score: 1

      Dunno if this will work on grandchildren, I've only ever tried on nephews. These.

      --
      Red to red, black to black. Switch it on, but stand well back.
    185. Re:Gun control however... by loufoque · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      You die when you are killed, while rape is simply a 20 minute inconvenience.
      Assuming you had 40 years to live yet, death is worth one million rapes.

    186. Re:Gun control however... by In+hydraulis · · Score: 1

      Posting redundantly, but so be it.

      That's exactly what he's arguing, and he's absolutely right.

      Perhaps you disagree? Explain how. Use clear, non-lame logic to demonstrate why you think he's wrong. Be sure to show ALL of the logical steps behind your thought processes.

      And note that basing your argument on a shaky assumption will result in an instant fail for the course.

    187. Re:Gun control however... by loufoque · · Score: 1

      What is your point? In those countries, sexual assault is not enforced.

    188. Re:Gun control however... by Bongo · · Score: 1

      Why do violent crime rates go up or down? Social "sciences" can make up all the theories they like, but it just isn't known. So let USA carry on and UK and Canada and Switzerland carry on as they are. We wouldn't know what effect the change has, if any, and the people already know the situation as a fact of life.

      Gun ownership seems to get spun as a sort of moral argument that people should trust the state to protect them, or spun that people should be responsible for their own protection. There's perhaps more people with strong opinions either way on that, than have ever had to defend themselves in real life, thankfully.

    189. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      FACT: Americans prefer not to let mass murderers dictate public policy.

    190. Re:Gun control however... by hawkinspeter · · Score: 3, Interesting

      To be fair, he didn't call New Yorkers cowards, but referred to a state of mind he called NYC cowardice which seems to be more of a political philosophy that's often promoted by the media.

      I don't think that gun laws are easy to enforce anywhere in the world, whether or not somewhere is an island. Stuff has always been smuggled into and out of places for as long as there's been civilisation. The importance of gun laws is to raise the bar on gun ownership and make it easier to prosecute anyone that you catch with a gun. In the USA, you can't just throw someone in prison for carrying a gun whereas gun laws make that a lot easier.

      However, if you raise the bar on carrying a gun, that also means that criminals are more likely to use their guns if they deemed it necessary to carry them as the penalties tend to be a lot harsher for armed robbery.

      --
      You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
    191. Re:Gun control however... by hawkinspeter · · Score: 1

      Your name says all I need to read in your post. Thanks for making your lack of boldness clear.

      --
      You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
    192. Re:Gun control however... by BlueStrat · · Score: 3, Insightful

      And the US with one of the highest crime rates in the world has one of the highest gun ownership rates.

      If you remove the crime numbers from Progressive Democrat-controlled major cities with the strictest gun control laws like Chicago, NYC, etc, the US crime rate is one of the lowest.

      Keeping crime and criminals in check requires cooperation and action from both police and citizens. Disarming half the crime-fighting force does not help reduce crime. It not only requires a much larger and more brutal law enforcement arm to maintain order, It turns that disarmed half into helpless victims and erodes trust, legitimacy, and respect for the government and for police, as well as reducing citizen cooperation with police. It promotes increasing hostility by citizens towards police and the government.

      This is the reality for the US and it's society & culture. Maybe gun control works in Australia or the UK. If they're happy, that's great. Different solutions to fit different nations and cultures. It's not just gun control. What works in N. Korea wouldn't work in the UK. What works in France wouldn't work in China. Rinse and repeat for other nations/cultures and various laws/policies/etc. This is true for a large number of things including gun control.

      Do you think gay marriage would work in Saudi Arabia? Do you think a death penalty for being LGBT would work in the US/UK? Same thing for gun laws seeking a national database/registration and outright bans in the US. It would take an extremely intrusive, controlling, brutal, and tyrannical police state to have any hope of even beginning to enforce such bans/restrictions in the US. Many millions would die.

      Strat

      --
      Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
    193. Re:Gun control however... by kbg · · Score: 1

      No the reason is that prohibition doesn't work for things that you can get addicted to. Alcohol and drugs are also victim less crimes.

    194. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      And actually number that carried doesn't directly relate to number of rapes prevented.

      Knowing they could be carrying makes the criminal have to gamble on if they risk it or not.

      And much like how gun violence in America has been on a hard decline since the early 90's but the public mistakenly believes it's been on the increase, it's very possible that few/no women were carrying but suddenly KNOWING none would be carrying empowered the criminals by reducing that mental calculation to a 0% chance.

    195. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Eh what? You refer to Switzerland where most men between 20 and 30 are required to keep a gun at home?...

      http://www.nationmaster.com/red/country/sz-switzerland/cri-crime&all=1

      Would not really call those statistics low..
      I would actually say that strict gun-laws can work.. http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-crime-murders-per-capita
      Rules in spain regarding this:

      Gun owners must be licensed and undergo strict medical and psychological tests. No one is permitted to own more than six hunting rifles and one handgun.
      Firearms must be registered and inspected annually.
      Machine guns and submachine guns are banned, as are imitation pistols.

      Guns should not be outlawed, but they should be controlled so only people that actually need them has them... And why would anyone actually need to own a fully automatic machine-gun?

    196. Re:Gun control however... by Hognoxious · · Score: 2, Interesting

      How many mass-murders by knife do you hear about?

      Rwanda.

      MInd you, they were big knives. Technically you'd probably class them as swords.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    197. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, the US went and invaded a couple of countries for murdering ~3000 people..... Why not react the same way on something that kills 3.7 times the number of people *per year*.

      The bad thing with guns everywhere is that it's escalating things... If the law-abiding citizens has guns then the burglars/robbers have to get guns too.. When the law-abiding citizens gets bigger guns the burglars/robbers make sure they can match that and a bit more... I would prefer any day to get a beating instead of shot if someone would break into my apartment.

      And btw, just carrying a gun increases the risk of getting shot...
      http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17922-carrying-a-gun-increases-risk-of-getting-shot-and-killed.html

    198. Re:Gun control however... by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      Huh? You elected Dubya. Twice.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    199. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Deuteronomy 22 28-29. Read it in hebrew.

    200. Re:Gun control however... by delt0r · · Score: 0

      You know a taser would probably work just as well. And less likely to kill yourself in a accident.

      --
      If information wants to be free, why does my internet connection cost so much?
    201. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The court elected him the first time.

    202. Re:Gun control however... by KeensMustard · · Score: 1

      You assume that Australians use guns for self-defense, as Americans do.

      Do Americans actually use these guns for self defence?

    203. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Another is that prohibition simply doesn't work.

      It works reasonably well in countries like the UK where a 'gun culture' never developed in the first place and most people have never seen a gun 'in the flesh'** let alone handled one. It's not likely to work in countries where 'ordinary people' already own guns routinely.
      It's *not* like drugs and alcohol; a lot more people want them just for fun than they do guns (most target shooters will be satisfied with air guns, shooting arrows etc.)

      ** Yeah, apart from maybe at a distance at the airport or something.

    204. Re:Gun control however... by r0ball · · Score: 2

      Yeah, I was mainly pointing out the absurdity of the logic behind his assertion that Australia is an island and therefore its laws couldn't work in the USA.

      My problem with his 'NYC cowardice philosophy' line is not that he thinks New Yorkers are cowards; rather that the philosophy as he explained it is the kind of North vs South, Coastal vs Heartland, Red vs Blue, Freedom-loving American Patriot vs Freedom-hating Liberal Commie, divisory gut-reaction that seems to cause huge groups of people who never leave their tribal bubble to think there are only two sides to an issue like this: keep things exactly the way they are or lose our freedom.

      And on your last point - even assuming criminals would be more likely to use a gun during an armed robbery (highly debatable), what would be the net effect of such a law on the number of armed robberies that took place; and more widely, the total number of gun-related deaths across the nation?

    205. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Every state that has enacted a concealed carry law in the US has exeperienced a reduced rate in violent crime. EVERY TIME.

      So, the "odds" as you like to put it are better for you not to run into trouble by passing such laws even if you don't carrry a weapon.

      Its wrong to oversimplify it so that is the only scenario we look at.

    206. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Over 2000 of those guns from the US in Mexico were illegally bought and allowed to go into Mexice by the US government, specifically the ATF under a program called "Fast and Furious"

      When the Obama administration was asked about information on this program, they refuesed to comply with Congressional questions even getting Holder a Contempt of Congress charge for illegally not handing over information. Don't worry, Holder told the prosecutor to not chage him criminally for his misconduct. When you have the US government running guns into another country to make political talking points, like the ones you repeated, as a justification to seize arms of its citizens, I'm not sure how you can get more corrupt than that. Glad to see you are on the side of the US government against its citizens.

      Side note: As is common now, the ATF agent that was the whistleblower on this probgram was fired for being a whistleblower. Just like the guy in Libya was demoted for being a whistleblower. The Obama administration has made it clear that if you point out their wrongdoings you will be punished.

    207. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Muggers and burglars in the UK almost *never* use guns; apart from anything else that means maybe 10 years instead of 6 months. Rapists? Also virtually unheard of them to use guns in the UK.

    208. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Clever, linking to the school shooting which got guns banned in the UK, using it to say that gun bans don't work.
      How many happened after that attack and guns were banned in the UK. 0.

    209. Re:Gun control however... by myowntrueself · · Score: 1

      What is your point? In those countries, sexual assault is not enforced.

      Actually, sometimes sexual assault is enforced as a way to preserve family 'honor'

      --
      In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
    210. Re:Gun control however... by flyneye · · Score: 1

      " you need ammunition, which is not easy to get either."

      What? Did they put it on the top shelf? I can get ammo at Wal-Mart.

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
    211. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      One of those rare times I wish I had mod points... gun violence went down after the ban, as did the murder rate (2-3%, as I recall). The rate of violent crimes went up, though. Does a reduction in murder justify an increase in rapes, assaults, and robberies?

      I see this argument all the time, so I guess in US there are plenty of real world examples and statistics of armed citizens stopping rapes, assaults and mass shootings by shooting the perpetrator first. I've just never seen these. Any pointers?

    212. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Congratulations, you have achieved the mentation level of a parrot.

    213. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Would you prefer to be raped or dead ?

      I'd prefer my would-be rapist be dead, which is much more likely if I'm armed.

      So what you are saying is that US has a lot less rape than rest of the world, and a lot of rapists shot by armed citizens?

    214. Re:Gun control however... by loufoque · · Score: 1

      Ok, you don't understand what enforcing means.

    215. Re:Gun control however... by pev · · Score: 1

      So, following your logic, why is the USA trying to stop Iran developing nuclear weapons?

      There are somewhere in the region of 23,574 out there on the planet and in all of history only TWO have actually been used to kill people intentionally. By a very curious co-incidence that also equates to exactly 0.008% of nuclear weapon owners that do bad things. Wow! Clearly, nuclear weapons are not a problem...?!

    216. Re:Gun control however... by amiga3D · · Score: 2

      Short range it would be okay. Even pepper spray if you're close. If you aren't proficient with a pistol then those choices would certainly be decent alternatives. Over 10 feet of course a pistol is better especially if you've trained with it. Too many people think a gun is magic but training is needed to get the most out of any tool and weapons are no exception.

    217. Re:Gun control however... by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      To throw lead downrange, you need ammunition, which is not easy to get either.

      What? How is ammo "not easy to get"? Here is the algorithm I use:
      1. Walk into store
      2. Select ammo
      3. Pay for it
      4. Walk out of store
      It is harder to buy a beer than to buy ammo.

    218. Re:Gun control however... by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      Organized crime could easily afford a $50,000 printer, and if that printer can produce hundreds of short range assassination weapons that can be thrown into a fire afterwards leaving no weapon trail

      Or they could use a far more reliable $100 stolen handgun with the serial number scraped off, and then use the other $49,900 for something else.

    219. Re: Gun control however... by miracle69 · · Score: 1

      The biggest thing that pro gun control people do is misunderstand stats. Democide (death by governmeny) killed over 250 million people in the 20th century - all on populations that were unarmed. Ill take my increased chance of accidental discharge, etc to prevent my government from deciding to cleanse my entire town on a whim.

      --
      Linux - Because Mommy taught me to Share.
    220. Re: Gun control however... by miracle69 · · Score: 1

      Google National Self Defense Survey. 2.5 million preventions a year

      --
      Linux - Because Mommy taught me to Share.
    221. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      wow, what a piece of trash. I suggest you actually talk to a rape victim before making absurd statements like that.

    222. Re: Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Google National Self Defense Survey. 2.5 million preventions a year

      This was the first link I got when Googling that...

      Regardless, I'm still unsure what you mean by that reference. Was 2.5 million rapists shot by armed citizens? Or do rapes happen much less in the US than other places because you have armed citizens?

    223. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It increases the odds he's also carrying a gun. It increases the odds he's had plenty of practice with it, since its legal for him to carry it around

      Technically, if he intends to use his weapon in a crime then he cannot legally possess it. But i realize its hard to police 'future intent' without some sort of thought police.. But regardless, my female having a weapon on her at least raises her odds of survival, and that is all that matters to me...

    224. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Those laws you claim do not actually work do actually work as long as the material they restrict isn't in sufficient demand among the general populace.

    225. Re: Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are ignorant or lying... there are as many illegal gun in oz now as there were before the ban.. who has them? Criminals of course. And our invasive government.

    226. Re:Gun control however... by qbast · · Score: 1

      I would say that the tipping point was twisting "regulation of interstate commerce" into bullshit rule covering pretty much eveything. Or maybe secession war - it shown that states that abandoning USA if they find federal law unbearable is not an option.

    227. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're misinterpreting the data. All you can conclude is that the REPORTING of violent crime went up by 40%.

      From one of the links in your spreadsheet:
      "Taking the results (from each State) together, the surveys found that the rates of reporting for property crimes were high (93% for motor vehicle theft and 77% for break and enter offences). This may be related to the need to report crimes for insurance purposes. In contrast, reporting rates among victims of personal crime tended to be much lower. Only 34% of assault victims and 11% of sexual assault victims said they reported the last incident to the police."

      Which suggests that the ACTUAL rates of assault and sexual assault are much higher than the numbers quoted by the ABS, but there's no easy way of determining the trend in the rate from just the numbers. Claiming that the rates of assault and sexual assault are up by 49% and 32%, as you do in your spreadsheet, is plain wrong.

      Whereas the homicide numbers, and therefore change in rate, are likely to be very accurate.

      You can look for traces of deception yourself.

      Yup, found it.

    228. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, right.
      Next thing you know you'll start talking like there are people outside of the US who matter..

    229. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, why have any laws, because, you know, criminals will just break them. Also, regulations != banning.
      Look at fully automatics, they are regulated to hell, yet can be purchased with the right credentials and are also significantly rare in civilian gun violence. Why is that?
      In cases of second degree, heat-of-the-moment-type murders, how many people would been better to defend against a non-gun vs. a gun? Which has a higher survivial rate, a stabbing which you have to get in close for or a gunshot from yards away?
      Finally, these types of guns and printing materials will definitely get better and cheaper over time.

    230. Re:Gun control however... by budgenator · · Score: 1

      That is by far the most rational arguement I've ever heard for gun control; as a short penised gun nut I'm not convinced, but well a argued point.

      --
      Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
    231. Re:Gun control however... by WebCowboy · · Score: 3, Informative

      It increases the odds of a shootout. It increases the odds you get shot. (Maybe he's a better shot than you. Maybe he approaches you with it drawn while yours is still holstered. Not much of an edge for you.

      It increases the odds an innocent bystander gets short. It increases the odds of an accidental discharge...

      I'm Not saying I wouldn't want to have a gun in my hands if I were attacked, but its wrong to oversimplify it so that is the only scenario we look at.

      It is evident you don't know the psycology of a rapist, or indeed most criminals.

      Most rapists, in particular, seek to exert power and control over their victim. The best way to assure success is to target the most vulnerable, because rapists are cowardly and are afraid of failing to obtain that control and power (often they lack power and control in other aspects of their life and are loathe to face that failure when they don't have to).

      Rapes are virtually unheard of in public places--they happen at night or in secluded places--the chance of an innocent bystander being caught in crossfire is basically nil in those cases.

      Rapists don't tend to be gun enthusiasts--they may brandish a gun or a weapon when they commit the offense but the purpose is to intimidate and control; they generally lack the courage to discharge the weapon. A dead victim can no longer be threatened or intimidated, and if they've gone and shot their victim they've lost control of the situation. If a potential victim were to pull a gun in the vast majority of cases they would flee, not fire back. If the odds are against the attacker they will flee. Rapists who are armed almost NEVER approach with a gun drawn--they will only brandish the weapon when they are very close.

      The studies cited about an increase in violent rapes and assults in Australia is not really surprising at all knowing this--it isn't specific to Australia's society--though different societies would respond differently to changes in criminal laws all rapists share some common traits, and the more confident a rapist can be that a victim is defenceless the more likely they will attempt the crime.

      The kind of situations you describe, where victims have their weapons used against them or are bysanders caught in crossfire, mostly happen as a result of organised crime or street gang activity. The target and the perpetrator are both criminals, and both are probably armed with illegally obtained weapons, and the motivation is not control or personal gain (like robbery--motive is to obtain something of value not to kill). Gang members kill each other out of revenge--to settle a score. Such people wouldn't go through the bother of using a 3d printer--they have their sources of illicit weapons already.

      The most visible, but most rare as well, victims of gun violence are those of the emotionally disturbed, generally suicidal deviants. They are very rare cases actually, and if a bystander was to fire back the situation is proabably already exceeedingly dangerous already.

      Gun control is treating a symtom generally--it is not very effective. Cun-making-control even less so. Treating the causes would work better but is more difficult and less politically expedient. Those causes are many and range from urban blight/decay to public school systems/modern "self-esteem based" teaching philosophies that foster sociopathic behaviour in children to family breakdown to lack of comunity resources to help raise children (and as a result are lured by gangs). Gun violence is a complex problem with no single easy answer. Unfortunately the media advocates quick, easy answers and people demand them, and ultimately laws are crafted on that basis.

    232. Re:Gun control however... by Kuroji · · Score: 2, Informative

      Australia is 78% of the size of the United States and has barely seven percent of the population.

      Methinks your logic to be a tad flawed, good sir.

    233. Re:Gun control however... by delt0r · · Score: 0

      I think it would be quite hard to rape someone from 10 feet away. Also tasers have ranges a bit over 10 feet as well.

      --
      If information wants to be free, why does my internet connection cost so much?
    234. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dear Fucktard,

      This is not "Daily Kos" where people simply copy-paste the person they agree with and leave it at that. People here are actually expected to add to the conversation, not just copy-paste.

      Kthxbye.

    235. Re: Gun control however... by O('_')O_Bush · · Score: 1

      That is because it is really hard to walk guns across the border from NZ to Australia. Mostly because of an ocean. Not hard to smuggle thinks like... drugs... from Mexico to the US.

      --
      while(1) attack(People.Sandy);
    236. Re:Gun control however... by arth1 · · Score: 1

      Intentional homicide is just a small part of the picture.. The dead doesn't care about whether it was intentional or not; he's just as dead whether shot through planned murder, affection murder, manslaughter, suicide, by the police, or an accident.

      Then there's the little problem that what each country defines as intentional homicide differs. Are executions by the government intentional homicide, for example? Or casualties of internal warfare? What about cops shooting suspected criminals? Or doctors turning off life support?

      But anyhow, comparing the US shooting rates to the countries we are the most similar to, in culture and economy shows that the US is far from being one of the safer places, and our high rate of weapons allegedly for protection doesn't appear to protect us all that much.
      When I moved to the US a generation ago, one of the things I had to learn was to fear guns. This was a new experience. And statistics say that as an unarmed person, I'm more likely to be shot by the police or someone legally owning a gun than I am of being shot by a criminal with an illegal gun. Chew on that one.

    237. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      All violent crime is down, however gun control is about more than just gun crime it's also about accidental deaths etc.

    238. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      “Did you really think we want those laws observed?" said Dr. Ferris. "We want them to be broken. You'd better get it straight that it's not a bunch of boy scouts you're up against... We're after power and we mean it... There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced or objectively interpreted – and you create a nation of law-breakers – and then you cash in on guilt. Now that's the system, Mr. Reardon, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be much easier to deal with.”

      - Ayn Rand, "Atlas Shrugged"

    239. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Stop bringing up arguments that make you sound ignorant. Read the decision of Heller Vs DC, you will learn from that your argument is absolutly worthless. The Supreme Court ruled on those words specifically and said they have no beraing on an individual's rights. Repeating your nonsense does not make it true.

    240. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There was no appreciable increase in the three years after the ban came into effect

      This is your claim. Fuck off.

    241. Re:Gun control however... by harrkev · · Score: 1

      Well, if we ban all red cars, then deaths and injuries from red cars will go WAY down. Does that mean that you are any safer? My numbers speak for themselves. Use a little logic, Sherlock.

      Reducing gun violence is a false target. Australia did record a marked decrease in gun deaths, but an INCREASE in knife deaths. Proponents of gun control think that being shot to death makes you more dead than somebody who has been bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat. That is inherently false, and anybody with some common sense can see.

      Gun violence in Australia DID go down by a fair amount. The problem is that knife violence went way up. I can did up the statistics if you really want, but a little google-fu should confirm what I say.

      --
      "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
    242. Re: Gun control however... by Python · · Score: 5, Informative

      Suicide rates aren't effected by firearms control laws. For example, in Japan the suicide rate almost twice that in the US, and in both the UK and Australia the Suisse rate did not decline after gun bans were instituted. And if you really need proof, here's a quote from the NC Juvenile Justice Department:

      "Of all children and adolescents, those incarcerated in the juvenile or criminal justice systems are at the highest risk of serious suicide attempts (Gray et al., 2002; Penn et al, 2003). Despite around- the-clock supervision and a lack of access to firearms, the methods for suicides and attempts used in this population tend to be more violent and more successful than those of young people in the general population (Penn et al, 2003)."

      Dispondent people find a way, so don't pat yourself on the back that gun control laws will prevent suicides. They won't, suicide isn't a gun control issue, if you really care about suicide prevention drop the political rhetoric.

      --

      Python

    243. Re:Gun control however... by harrkev · · Score: 1

      I gave my sources. Feel free to do this if you want.

      Personally, I feel that I have proven my point. I have a job and kids, and not enough free time.

      --
      "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
    244. Re:Gun control however... by KGIII · · Score: 1

      I am inclined to agree with the former though I can see a case being made for the latter. It seems to me that it would have been around the time when they decided they could regulate someone growing wheat because not growing it was affecting commerce across the several states which is an absurd abuse. I'd have to go over the case again and familiarize myself with it but that, while that seems like a likely time for the tipping point there has to have been a change in attitude somewhere that preceded that. Well, it seems likely to me that the change in attitude preceded that.

      It's pretty sad, really.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    245. Re:Gun control however... by harrkev · · Score: 2

      So, you don't like the facts. The vast, vast majority of American gun owners are honest citizens who mostly just want to be left alone.

      The logic of banning something to stop the minority is even weaker than than earlier attempts to ban Torrent, because a lot more than 0.008% of torrenters were breaking the law by downloading copyrighted material.

      --
      "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
    246. Re: Gun control however... by rikkards · · Score: 1

      that few years back was 2001 and that was right before September. funny how the news stopped covering them midway through the month...

    247. Re: Gun control however... by Python · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The net effect is already known. We have jurisdictions with strict gun control in the US, and there's no causative decrease in armed crime. Gun control, at best, hopes to effect the supply, the supply is already massive so it can't do much there, at worst it's an attempt to control ownership which no law can accomplish: laws can only regulate legal commerce. Black markets just pop up and go around fhem when there is massive demand, and with the already massive supply prices stay relatively low. Example: the so called drug war. No impact on supply or demand. And with vigorous gun laws, you will create a black market.

      So if you want to reduce supply, you have to get rid of guns: confiscation or buy back with significant incentives, and even then you can't eliminate supply. But thats what youd have to do. And to reduce demand you have to both reduce crime, and increase penalties on gun crimes to something so severe you both deter and slowly eliminate law breakers.

      If you're serious about reducing gun violence, look at the root cause of most of it: drug control laws. Get rid of drug prohibition and a large percentage of all violent crime goes away. Anything else, including gun control laws, is only going to make a minor difference, at best, and is likely to just make things worse. You have to eliminate the root cause of violence, the gun is not the cause, it's just one means, and don't kid yourself if a lot of money is available to a criminal element, they will get all the guns they want no matter what laws you pass.

      --

      Python

    248. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      lol?

    249. Re: Gun control however... by miracle69 · · Score: 1

      Read more than one source.

      You asked essentially how many violent crimes were presented by gun owners. Kleck did the best study to date on it and published in a peer review journal. The media doesn't bring these statistics into the conversation, which is why you wouldn't have heard about it.

      Kleck conducted a national survey in 1994 (the National Self-Defense Survey) and, extrapolating from the 5,000 households surveyed, estimated that in 1993 there were approximately 2.5 million incidents in which victims used guns for self-protection, compared to about 0.5 million gun crimes as estimated by the National Crime Victimization Survey.

      https://www.google.com/search?q=kleck+gun+control&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari#itp=open0

      --
      Linux - Because Mommy taught me to Share.
    250. Re:Gun control however... by Fuzzums · · Score: 1

      Lies, damn lies and statistics...

      --
      Privacy is terrorism.
    251. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't forget the Mountain Dew and the new puppy/kitty!

      My wife actually used to do that to my nieces and nephews. God, they loved her. It took a while for my sister to realize that my wife doesn't like her.

    252. Re:Gun control however... by ebvwfbw · · Score: 1

      You're right on. A friend of mine found that this same argument is nothing new. Swords, knives, etc. Not unique over here either, Japan did this as well as Romans. Never worked. Never will. We all need to be armed or we will crush the other. Person to person or Government to the people they are supposed to serve.

    253. Re:Gun control however... by slick7 · · Score: 1

      Not really, all you gotta do is pay off Eric Witholder and get your guns fast and furiously.

      --
      The mind conceives, the body achieves, the spirit manifests.
    254. Re:Gun control however... by slick7 · · Score: 0

      I admit that guns are more efficient.

      Knives can be just as efficient when used properly, it's just that you need a different approach to do it. Guns instill a sense of invulnerability. Whereas knives force stealth, cunning, quietude as well as delivery, up front and personal.

      --
      The mind conceives, the body achieves, the spirit manifests.
    255. Re:Gun control however... by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      while rape is simply a 20 minute inconvenience.

      Have you asked any women their opinion of rape?

      Do you even KNOW any women?

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    256. Re:Gun control however... by kencurry · · Score: 1

      umm... how come you know so much about the rapist mentality?

      --
      sigs are for losers (except to point out that sigs are for losers)
    257. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let's be careful about our delineations here.

      You successfully point out that rapists (like other criminals) desire control over the situation (and victim(s)) so that they can get what they want, and in essence violence, or the threat of violence, affords them a window of control.

      But in general, it's less about achieving control as a goal than as a method. Hence the myth that rapists are dominant, powerful, aggressive men when in actual fact they are largely frustrated, repressed and socially maladapted, or in some cases convinced for whatever reason that they can get away with pretty much anything. Broadly speaking, women in modern western society make the bulk of intercourse-related decisions. When they don't, we call it rape (including here the broader spectrum of the date rape continuum). Men who are convinced that the standard ways of getting laid (flowers, chocolate, lies and liquor) won't work for them are the likeliest rapists.

      On the other hand, arming oneself and learning to use your weaponry is a fine way of denying would-be assailants of all stripes that window of violence-defined dominance.

    258. Re:Gun control however... by slick7 · · Score: 1

      True gun control is to hit the target with one shot to take it down, thereby making the second shot count. One shot, one kill is for war where everyone is the enemy.

      --
      The mind conceives, the body achieves, the spirit manifests.
    259. Re:Gun control however... by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      To the best of my knowledge, both the decrease in homicide and the increase in assaults were in that category.

      So, if homicides were decreasing before the ban, what was actually accomplished by the ban? A continuation of the status quo isn't really a convincing argument in favour of gun control (or any other new law, really).

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    260. Re:Gun control however... by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      so unsurprisingly c) The US Justice Department estimates 70% of guns recovered from Mexican cartels were legally purchased in the US.

      That would be pretty difficult, when a Mexican cannot legally buy a gun in the USA.

      Note that this is the same Justice Department that was telling gun dealers to ignore obvious straw purchases so they could "trace" the guns to their final destination - and then didn't bother to do the traces.

      Hence the death of the odd Border Patrol Agent...

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    261. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You know who has a lower crime rate than Australia?

      Switzerland.

      You know what happens in Switzerland?

      The government *GIVES* everyone guns.

    262. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The gun is neat, fires on or two shots before the plastic barrel melts, so it is good for an up close execution. Dumb Cali lawmakers. People have been making one shot zip guns from a piece of pipe, a nail and rubber band for decades. No 3D printer needed. Hmmm, must trace all pipes and nails. Home Depot, get on it!

      To the point of gun control. Read the scholarly paper written about Australia's gun ban subsequent gun confiscation. Crime and deaths rose there after.

      Be smart, people are ingenious, take guns away and people will use knives (look at the number of stabbing deaths in Jolly Ole England), or IED's, can you say Boston Bombing? We can't keep prisoners in lock-down from making weapons and killing each other. What in the world do you think stoping gun distribution is going to do?

    263. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Australia, where the gov't estimated there were 2 million guns, then assured people all 600K were accounted for?

      Funny how actually knowing something about the subject proves that you're full of shit.

    264. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The problem with approaching this as a numbers game is that you're talking about 11,101 people dying. Even if some of them deserved it, let's say 30%, that's still equivalent to the population of a small-ish town being wiped out over the course of the year. Yes, the rights of three hundred million people might be worth 11,101 lives -- evenly distributed, that's only 0.0036% of a death per person with the right to own a gun. But then again, we're talking about human lives here. Despite these small numbers -- you mention that, at maximum, 0.008% of gun owners kill people -- we're talking about the lives of our country's citizens. I don't advocate for complete gun bans or even more gun control than we already have (in the US). However, even given the immensely small scale of the people causing the problem, the fact that we're talking about human lives makes it a lot more important than the numbers make it seem. Whatever solution we arrive at, if we ever do, I think we can all agree that the preventable death of a person at the hands of a gun is undesirable. Whether that means we let people arm themselves so they can fight back, or we ban guns altogether, we're trying to stop unnecessary death.
      I also find it slightly amusing that you refer to a gunless household as a "defenseless" household. I think there's a bit more nuance to be had there.

    265. Re:Gun control however... by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

      Uhhh...having trouble reading posts I take it? Sure Australia has a lot of land mass...with practically no population on a good 70%+ of it. Now compare Australia to North AND South america put together, because THAT is reality here, with countries THIS close together and so many boats and planes the borders really don't mean shit so all I need is a single "Die Yankee dog!" country that will let me bring in loads of anything I want (of which there are several in South America) and I WILL be able to get it into the USA, again look at the millions of pounds of smack and coke and even thousands of slaves (last i checked the USA is estimated to have over 30,000 slaves in the country right now) because on a land mass that fricking huge its impossible to stop.

      And can you please show me where I said anything about the people of New York? I said quite clearly "NYC Cowardice Rules" which is not the people but the government of the state along with their LEOs that shovel that horseshit, time and time again we have seen criminals slaughter the victims regardless of what they do, but every single thing you hear from officials in that state can be summed up as "You are weak,crawl and beg and maybe after he's done raping and robbing he won't murder you, don't resist". We have even seen their prosecutors try to punish the VICTIM for daring to fight back, like that store owner they had a few years ago where the prosecutor tried to nail the victim because as he was bleeding on the floor where he had already been shot by the criminal (who didn't ask for anything IIRC, just shot him THEN went for the register) who managed to crawl to his gun and shot the criminal in the back which i guess just isn't sporting. Fuck in the south he would have gotten a medal.

      But please go back to advocating being prey, because at the end of the day that is what you are, they are the predator, you are the prey. And if you think the cops will save you might want to look up Castle Rock V Gonzales to see what the courts said about that.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    266. Re:Gun control however... by Dr_Barnowl · · Score: 1
    267. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I live in Finland, which is in Europe.
      We have very strict gun laws and they are on their way to borderline ridiculous.

      "I feel lucky" result Googleing for:
      Jokela school shooting
      and
      Kauhajoki school shooting

      (Spoiler alert)
      The first armed person to appear to Kauhajoki shooting scene (police) and the shooter committed a suicide. What if unknown amount of the students and teachers would have been armed, I wonder how freely the shooter would have gone around massacring people.

    268. Re: Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly! It's not a good law. Might as well ban hot dogs, because someone might choke on one trying to eat it.

    269. Re:Gun control however... by SuperTechnoNerd · · Score: 1

      Not to mention I can built a 3d printer from scratch with spare parts from printers, etc... Try to regulate that!

    270. Re: Gun control however... by iluvcapra · · Score: 1

      Isn't it sortof a tautology to assert that criminals don't follow laws? Really you could use that rationale to invalidate any proposed law..

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
    271. Re: Gun control however... by Spock627corfu · · Score: 1

      OTOH, when Britain moved from toxic coal gas (then the standard way to commit suicide), suicides dropped by a third and never went back up. I don't know what dispondent people do, but despondent people are like everybody else: When they want to do something, they are constrained by the means and opportunities provided in the environment around them. Guns are an extremely convenient way to try to commit suicide; you just need to get your nerve up for an instant and it's over. Knives? CO from car exhaust? You have to be determined for quite a while before you'll get where you're headed.

    272. Re: Gun control however... by Desty · · Score: 1

      "there, at worst it's an attempt to control ownership which no law can accomplish: laws can only regulate legal commerce"

      This logic seems to assume that most of the illegally held guns in the US come from "pure illegal" sources. However, many people come to hold guns obtained from friends and family, originally through some legal channel.

      The problem with there being so many guns available _legally_ is that they often don't stay with the responsible gun owner; they can so easily end up in the hands of a 17 year old thug who knows and cares about little.

      If you limit the number of legally obtainable weapons, you limit the number available to enter illegal circulation.

      Furthermore, you assume that outlaws and gangsters with illegally-obtained guns are the main cause of gun crime. I'm not sure if this is true. The ATF's (old) statistics showed that 80% of inmates with guns had gotten them from "family, friends, a street buy, or an illegal source", which doesn't shed much light on things, since we need to know how many came from "original" illegal sources.

      Anyway, while I do think stricter gun laws would be a step forward, I do NOT think it makes any sense whatsoever to "regulate" 3D printers, whatever that even means. Why not regulate chisels, saws, drills, basic electronics and so forth, since they _could_ be used to construct weapons and bombs? It makes no sense. Guns are designed for killing. Printers are designed for creating - anything, not guns.

    273. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes loufoque has raped many of them.

    274. Re: Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Read more than one source.

      You asked essentially how many violent crimes were presented by gun owners. Kleck did the best study to date on it and published in a peer review journal. The media doesn't bring these statistics into the conversation, which is why you wouldn't have heard about it.

      Kleck conducted a national survey in 1994 (the National Self-Defense Survey) and, extrapolating from the 5,000 households surveyed, estimated that in 1993 there were approximately 2.5 million incidents in which victims used guns for self-protection, compared to about 0.5 million gun crimes as estimated by the National Crime Victimization Survey.

      https://www.google.com/search?q=kleck+gun+control&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari#itp=open0

      Did you read the first page of the linked report showing that those numbers can't possibly be real?

    275. Re: Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep, in an instant, paying a couple hundred dollars, then waiting 7 days to pick up said firearm. So much easier than a car or knife.

    276. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, what alternative technologies would you suggest instead of the gun?

    277. Re: Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In less than two decades, the gun murder rate has been nearly cut in half. Other gun crimes fell even more sharply, paralleling a broader drop in violent crimes committed with or without guns. Violent crime dropped steeply during the 1990s and has fallen less dramatically since the turn of the millennium.

      The number of gun killings dropped 39% between 1993 and 2011, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reported in a separate report released Tuesday. Gun crimes that weren't fatal fell by 69%

    278. Re:Gun control however... by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 1

      Exactly; saying "X has increased since Y, therefore Y caused the increase in X" is simplistic nonsense because it ignores previously existing trends and other confounding factors (for example, I'd say that the consistent correlation between arrests for amphetamine possession and assault rates suggests a greater probability of a direct causal link, but that doesn't make it true).

      I'm not sure it's correct to say the 1996 ban on semiautomatic long arms* didn't do anything: the previously existing trend suggests there should have been a few mass shootings since then, but the number dropping to zero overnight could also be explained by dealers voluntarily tightening up their practices or some other factor, so that's a "maybe". The wider ramifications for other violent crime are even harder to quantify, since semiautomatic long arms aren't typically used for self defence...not even the criminologists and statisticians with access to finer grained data and years to study it can agree, I doubt there's greater expertise here. And trying to relate it to the US, which has a completely different attitude to guns and historically far higher ownership rates, is probably futile.

      *Handguns have been restricted since 1901 in New South Wales and for similar times in other states. It hasn't been legal to carry a gun without a valid reason (which doesn't include self defence) anywhere in Australia for over 100 years, so it's improbable that the 1996 ban on semiautomatics made any real difference to crime rates at all.

      --
      Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
    279. Re:Gun control however... by c9brown · · Score: 1

      Mexican criminals have guns because they so easy to obtain in the US.

      If it were more difficult to buy, sell and trade guns in the US you can be sure that there would be a lot less gun violence in Mexico.

      If you instead had used European countries as examples of the effectiveness of gun control, your argument would be much harder to make.

    280. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In less than two decades, the gun murder rate has been nearly cut in half. Other gun crimes fell even more sharply, paralleling a broader drop in violent crimes committed with or without guns. Violent crime dropped steeply during the 1990s and has fallen less dramatically since the turn of the millennium.

      The number of gun killings dropped 39% between 1993 and 2011, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reported in a separate report released Tuesday. Gun crimes that weren’t fatal fell by 69%

    281. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In less than two decades, the gun murder rate has been nearly cut in half. Other gun crimes fell even more sharply, paralleling a broader drop in violent crimes committed with or without guns. Violent crime dropped steeply during the 1990s and has fallen less dramatically since the turn of the millennium.
      The number of gun killings dropped 39% between 1993 and 2011, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reported in a separate report released Tuesday. Gun crimes that weren't fatal fell by 69%

    282. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's hilarious, because this can be correlated to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brady_Handgun_Violence_Prevention_Act

      But there's no way more regulation could work, right guys?

    283. Re:Gun control however... by Kielistic · · Score: 1

      They can already get a traceless weapon factory for a lot cheaper than 50 grand. It's called a file and only costs a couple of bucks. They could also melt the used gun into slag if really wanted to. If an organization can afford to blow 50 grand on some toy then they're not the type of organization that has to worry about their weapon supply.

      Why do people think criminals are looking for the most complicated and expensive ways to commit crime? The real world is not comprised of Bond villains.

    284. Re:Gun control however... by xhawkx · · Score: 0

      When the fluck, is enough , ENOUGH? For christs sake, today a printing machine, next the telephone, the toilet and then sneakers. Big brother is becoming so freakin' paranoidal and powerful that they will have cameras while taking a shit in your own home. The last time this country was this WTF'd up , citizens were yelling out very loudly "The British are coming,The British are coming". You bet in the near future there will be another Militia to save law abiding citizens from those who let elected authority get to their idiotic heads. Something I would dislike but will be necessary. Bloomy from NY is a perfect example.

    285. Re:Gun control however... by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      If you read my other posts in this story, you'll see that I'm in agreement: the ban was not particularly harmful, but it didn't help any, either, and restrictions for the sake of restrictions on anything are morally wrong.

    286. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Surely you can see that your (very flawed) logic applies to ALL laws? Since the basis of your hypothesis is that as long as someone is willing to break a law, there's no point in having it...

      Meaning that you're basically an advocate of lawlessness anarchism, kudos to you. Unfortunately for you though, most of the rest of us would prefer to live in a lawful, regulated society...

      -AC

    287. Re:Gun control however... by loufoque · · Score: 1

      Whether women have been conditioned to convince themselves they need to self-inflict psychological trauma after being raped has nothing to do with the fact that factually it is just someone doing something to your body against your will for a short duration, typically without any physical after-affects.

    288. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Violent crime in the US is down across the board. There was a peak in the early to mid nineties. This means you can do a lot of manipulation by citing 20 year statistics. You can cherry-pick certain violent crimes, then show how they declined since 1993 (for pretty much every violent crime this will be the case), then you can use that to say that it isn't a problem...

      I don't think the goal should be a reduction over the past 20 years, I think it should be a reduction between now and some future point.

    289. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If there were 11,101 gun homicides in 2011, and gun homicides have been trending somewhat downward over time (and not upward), then it would be safe to estimate at least 11,101 gun homicides for every year going back for the past, say, two decades.

      20 * 11,101 = 222,020.

      So, if you've lived 20 years, then that's maybe a (222,020 / 300,000,000) = 1/1351 chance of being a victim of a gun homicide! That's not looking so safe!

    290. Re:Gun control however... by dubbreak · · Score: 1

      It depends a lot on culture and government as well

      THIS. Gun laws in the US aren't going to solve anything. It's the culture around guns in the US that is the real issue. Guns are viewed as a solution to problems (defending your property, controlling physical violence etc), and while guns may be a solution they are rarely the correct solution.

      When I lived in the US we had an elderly neighbour (single lady, probably 70s) who kept a loaded revolver in her home as "protection". She found it absurd we didn't have a gun "to protect ourselves". "But what would you do if someone broke in?" Ahh.. let them have whatever they want? Call the police?

      I know plenty of people in Canada with guns. They use them for hunting. They don't have them in their homes to "protect themselves". And due to storing them properly they would be extremely difficult to access in a break in type situation. The cultural view on guns is entirely different. I strongly believe any difference in non-crime related gun violence (between countries) is based in gun culture. Access to guns is secondary. Good luck changing culture around guns once it's established though. That's something that takes many generations to change, and with the short term thinking of politics in general, no one is going to be brave enough to try and start that movement.

      --
      "If you are going through hell, keep going." - Winston Churchill
    291. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://www.snopes.com/crime/statistics/ausguns.asp

      Seriously, we're resorting to arguments that can be refuted on snopes.com? What is this world coming to?

    292. Re:Gun control however... by Hanzie · · Score: 1

      Interesting point. I remember very clearly the "CHEAP" was one of the rallying words against the dreaded "Saturday Night Special"

      Never thought about it before, but if you fear an economically repressed group, 'cheap' really would be a problem. I guess it's direct descendants are all the schemes to raise the price of guns and ammunition.

      It's not like your survivalist, gun nut neighbor is going to use all 17 of his .45's, 8 of his 9mm's and 5 AR-15's on you at once.

      Investing an hour of speed reloading practice before your murder spree would turn even a cheap ass revolver into a high capacity killing weapon. It isn't like speed loaders cost much, and the .223 is purpose designed to wound, whereas a .357 magnum revolver (or a .44 cannon) would pretty much guarantee a fatality with any center mass shot.

      Of course, if it's cheap and light enough, a cheap revolver can be considered a disposable 6 round magazine itself.

      --
      ********* sig: If you don't like the law, get filthy stinking rich, and buy a better one.
    293. Re:Gun control however... by Linkreincarnate · · Score: 0

      Plus how are you gonna trace the gun back to the individual printer? Most 3d printers don't have DRM. At least not in the parts the print. So yeah you'll have a long list of people who have 3d printers but you could only reasonably expect to be able to trace a gun back to a particular brand of printer beyond that you can not objectively say what printer printed it.

    294. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Local news is now national and world news easily. If it's about a white victim that is.

    295. Re:Gun control however... by Linkreincarnate · · Score: 0

      Prusa Nozzle can extrude nylon and polycarbonate.

    296. Re:Gun control however... by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      You don't? Finland, Germany, UK, have all had school shootings in recent memory. (ok, UK residents don't think they're in Europe but the rest of the world does)

    297. Re:Gun control however... by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Clearly we should just ban penises. Or have them registered.

    298. Re:Gun control however... by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      That may be a part of why crime is lower, however there are many factors. We just don't have any way to do an experiment where you change just the one variable of gun registration/ownership and see what happens.

      Ie, lower crime rate in Switzerland and people point to gun ownership with a "see, look, that's the reason!" But fail to notice that the Swiss have a very high standard of living, high employment, good school and university systems, and so forth. Of course those have to be very large factors in the crime rate (or maybe the high taxes :-). The majority of violent crime in the US comes from the poor economic situation we have in many parts of the country.

      Threat of retaliation or armed defense doesn't do much when the people are desperate, otherwise you'd never see gangs fighting each other with guns. Everyone knows many shop owners in poor neighborhoods keep a gun under the counter, and yet they still get robbed.

    299. Re:Gun control however... by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Remove the crime numbers from economically disadvantaged regions the crime numbers will also plummet. The problem is not progressive versus regressive politics, or gun ownership or not, but whether or not the neighborhood or regions are very poor with little hope of change. If you have no job and no way to get a job then crime becomes a more viable option. Economics is a bigger factor than fear that your victim might have a gun or not.

    300. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am in Adelaide and i could buy a pistol today if I wanted. It would cost me at least $2000 but at the end of the day I would have one and some ammo.

    301. Re:Gun control however... by Hanzie · · Score: 1

      I see this argument all the time, so I guess in US there are plenty of real world examples and statistics of armed citizens stopping rapes, assaults and mass shootings by shooting the perpetrator first. I've just never seen these. Any pointers?

      You never seeing them doesn't mean they don't exist.
      1: They're boring stories. "News flash: a man was NOT robbed today. When the thug saw his victim draw a weapon, he ran."

      2: The vast majority of these incidents are never reported. Even where it's legal to defend oneself with a weapon, there's paperwork, approximately zero chance of catching the perpetrator, and always the fear that you've broken some law somewhere. Not to mention, you might end up getting sued by the perpetrator.

      You have nothing to gain and everything to lose from reporting these confrontations. It has happened to me a few times in my life, and I certainly never reported any of them, even though local laws would absolutely be on my side. My lawyer agrees, by the way.

      3: The big news outfits are strongly in favor of regulating guns, and isolated, trivial stories of people protecting themselves with guns can confuse the intellectually challenged voting public, especially in 'flyover states'. It might cause the masses to doubt the wisdom of entrusting the government with a monopoly on violence.

      Pretty much all the mass shootings are stopped when somebody else with a gun shows up.

      If you don't like the idea of teachers and sundry school officials having guns, and want only the police to have them, the answer is simple:

      Deputize some teachers. Then they're police, too. This is a win-win, as the students might behave a bit better. Punching a cop is a whole lot worse than punching a regular teacher.

      --
      ********* sig: If you don't like the law, get filthy stinking rich, and buy a better one.
    302. Re:Gun control however... by Hanzie · · Score: 1

      The parent comment (nothing but a blockquote the grandparent) is the very definition of "-1 Redundant".

      --
      ********* sig: If you don't like the law, get filthy stinking rich, and buy a better one.
    303. Re:Gun control however... by Hanzie · · Score: 1

      How many mass-murders by knife do you hear about?

      Interesting you should mention that.
      http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/12/22-kids-slashed-in-china-elementary-school-knife-attack/

      --
      ********* sig: If you don't like the law, get filthy stinking rich, and buy a better one.
    304. Re:Gun control however... by uninformedLuddite · · Score: 1

      You cannot effectively enforce a law against a transaction where all parties involved consent, and even trying to do so inevitably involved measures corrosive to liberty.

      So. legalized prostitution, then?

      why not?

      --
      The new right fascists are bilingual. They speak English and Bullshit.
    305. Re:Gun control however... by Hanzie · · Score: 1

      Rufty, you are utterly wicked.

      For those too lazy to click the link, it's Amaretto and Tirimisu Chocolate Coffee Beans.

      --
      ********* sig: If you don't like the law, get filthy stinking rich, and buy a better one.
    306. Re:Gun control however... by krovisser · · Score: 1

      I can agree. Gun Free Zones were declared unconstitutional the first time around. Then Congress was like, "But our students are scared of guns, and they might work in a different state at some point, therefore commerce clause!" It seems to have worked really well. I mean, you've never heard of any massacres in Gun Free Zones, have you?

    307. Re:Gun control however... by peawormsworth · · Score: 1

      It seems ridiculous to regulate a product that doesnt produce a real reliable and functional item that criminals would employ for making weapons. Especially when it is so easy to get real guns in the US with minimal traceability that actually function well when committing crimes of violence. The 3d printed guns dont even look like guns, so their value as a mere threat is greatly reduced. A criminal would probably have a better result by printing a completely non functional gun that has the identical shape as a real gun (replica). But real replicas are cheap and easy to find.

      Suggesting a regulation or registration system for 3d printers has no security benefit. To me this seems like an attempt to appear to be doing something to curb gun violence, but in fact does nothing except play on the paranoid fears about a problem that does not exist yet. While the real potential solutions to gun violence are ignored

    308. Re:Gun control however... by peawormsworth · · Score: 1

      Take Mexico, a country with a 100% ban on guns, you can't even one a 22 in that country...are the criminals throwing rocks at each other?

      My guess is that violent criminals in Mexico are primarily fighting over the flow of illegal drugs from Mexico to the US. Maybe if the US removed the profit incentive there would be less violence in Mexico.

    309. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why don't you go shoot him, then? You 're obviously spoiling for the chance to use that metal penis you're so proud of.

    310. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have a gun. It's to protect my family from people like you.

    311. Re:Gun control however... by zipn00b · · Score: 1

      Actually the .223 round is designed for hunting small to medium sized critters like prairie dogs and coyotes. I'm not aware of any round designed specifically to wound - pretty much anything that is used in a rifle or pistol is designed for hunting of various types and the object is to kill whatever you're shooting. Larger rounds for larger creatures, smaller rounds for smaller ones.

    312. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lawyers need criminal activity to have a place to perpetuate the supply of clients. The place, oh that is the courtroom. Of course a lawyer is placed in charge of the courtroom. To even things up okay, we needs at least 2 more lawyers. See how 1 criminal can give 3 lawyers or more a job? Of course you cant just let anyone be a lawyer so you have to have a law school and a license board. See even more lawyers get to have job. In order to have criminals you need laws. So So lawyers invented the legislature. Of course the legislature is the place for a lawyer to propose more laws. What to do with the criminals? Kill them? No, that would cruelty to the lawyers, because they would starve. No put them in prison & keep them in one group so they can improve their skills. After a period of further training release them so they can commit more crimes. Do you really think lawyers are going support anything that reduces their source of revenue?

    313. Re:Gun control however... by zipn00b · · Score: 1

      Tasers also have some issues with heavy coats and such while a bullet will generally penetrate them. Tasers also have been known to kill people with heart problems as has been discovered in some autopsies. They're not considered non-lethal, only LESS lethal.

    314. Re:Gun control however... by zipn00b · · Score: 1

      That inspection and training had nothing to do with the Federal Government - it was local militias that the Federal Government could also call upon should the need arise.

    315. Re:Gun control however... by zipn00b · · Score: 1

      In the context of that amendment well regulated did actually mean something more like well trained. The expectation was that owning a firearm would require regular training to maintain proficiency. The 2nd amendment also gave the right to form militias and those have to have some level of "control by rule" etc. by somebody being in charge. No military unit, even a militia, can operate well as a total anarchy. That also is something that would require regular training to ensure the members of the militia could operate smoothly and efficiently.
      You might want to post a couple more definitions of regulate and perhaps even read the US constitution and various other writings by the authors that in some cases expounded upon topics included in the document.......

    316. Re: Gun control however... by Occams · · Score: 1

      Gun bans work very well in Australia. Criminals mostly kill each other. Who cares? Most gun deaths are caused by having guns in homes.

      --
      Heavy is the head that wears the tinfoil hat.
    317. Re: Gun control however... by Occams · · Score: 1

      Never happened. NRA lie.

      --
      Heavy is the head that wears the tinfoil hat.
    318. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I live in Europe where we don't have school shootings

      Oh really?

      Too bad your high horse just threw you and then trampled you right in the argument. Ouch!

      Pillock. Dunblane was what caused our handgun ban in the first place. At least we only needed one nutjob to get a ban. and have not had any more in the intervening 17 years.

        The NRA solution arm all teachers and how soon till one of them loses it and wastes a pupil.

    319. Re:Gun control however... by hairyfeet · · Score: 2

      How I learned about it was a documentary, sorry i can't remember the name as it was ages ago, which was basically "the history of repression in the USA, 1890-1990" and one of the things brought up was how when the slaves were first freed? It was a HANGING OFFENSE for a black man to even OWN a gun in several areas. Then when those laws were no longer allowed just as with poll taxes they came up with ways to make sure that "fear of an armed negro" such as demonizing any gun that could be had for cheap because guess who couldn't afford an expensive firearm?

      Then the head of the rainbow coalition came on and explained the whole history of "fear of an armed negro" while they showed clips of everything from Birth Of A Nation to news broadcasts of Black Panthers and while he is explaining this they put on screen the senators and congressmen who had written and lobbied hard for gun laws...and what else they had lobbied for. Several had lobbied for Jim Crow laws, one had lobbied for a permanent curfew for blacks to "curb violence" and they put up clips from these gun control advocates speeches and...yeah. I was shocked I didn't actually hear the word "uppity nigger" because i heard every way you could allude to that, from "inner city thugs" to "armed ghettos" and it was clear just by their own words that it really did all boil down to fear of an armed negro.

      Like I said no matter which side of the debate you are on I urge everyone to look this stuff up, as it really is shocking how many of the laws on the books were put there by men so damned racist it was incredible, we are talking guys that sounded like something out of the Klan. I know I had never thought that gun laws could be racist before seeing that and after seeing the evidence now i at least have to think about it, because it was pretty damned obvious "fear of an armed negro" really did shape a lot of our gun laws from the 1890s-1990s.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    320. Re:Gun control however... by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

      Isn't the .223 roughly the same as the 5mm NATO round? And I agree as a southerner that has grown up around guns all his life i don't remember ever hearing of a "wounding shell". I mean sure some have more stopping power than others and if you were to shoot an intruder with say a 22 round its gonna be a lot more likely to just wound than say a .44 mag. But even the 22 was designed for animals, where I come from they call it a "varmint" round and is usually used to deal with snakes, rats, anything small and nasty where you don't want or need a large round to deal with the problem. We pretty much always carry a 22 pistol in the summer just for that reason, you run into a snake on a creek bank during dog days when the snakes will strike at anything and are really aggressive? You'll be glad you have that 22 pistol with you.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    321. Re:Gun control however... by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

      I think even that pales in comparison to how any machine shop in America could build MUCH better for MUCH cheaper. Basically this is like banning James bond ejector seats while telling that guy building a technical out of a pickup truck "Nah you can go right ahead".

      Lets face it friend criminals by their very nature are lazy and are gonna go with the path of least resistance, so you have someone wanting to ban lasers because they could possibly be used to cut open an ATM to rob it when the crook can just yank the thing out of the ground with a chain tied to a truck. Any way you slice it the logic behind this just doesn't make any damned sense.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    322. Re:Gun control however... by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

      And I can pick up a pipe for $2 in any scrap yard in America that will be strong enough to fire a standard .38 round...your point?

      This is what one security researcher called the "threat of a TV plot" scenario where they are acting like a "24" style plot is a real significant threat while ignoring there are a million easier and cheaper ways to attain the same end result.

      I mean which do YOU think is more likely, a criminal spend a good $3k+ on the equipment and training required to operate the equipment just to make a plastic gun that can maybe shoot a clip before it starts failing, or spending $500 on the black market for an AK or a Glock that will fire hundreds or even thousands of rounds without fail? Hell even if they wanted for some reason to go DIY a half an hour in any machine shop with maybe $50 worth of raw materials and they would end up with a MUCH better weapon than what they would get from this $3k+ printer.

      This is like passing a law against owning a bat'leth because somebody might use it in a crime while ignoring the guy selling a machine gun kit for $50, it just doesn't make any sense logically no matter how you spin it.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    323. Re:Gun control however... by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

      Nope they use knives, which ended up with the lawmakers actually arguing about regulating the owning of KNIVES in the country! I guess the people in the UK better get used to soup, no steak for you!

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    324. Re:Gun control however... by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      The reason that the criminality/antigun-law argument is made, is because guns in the hands of law-abiders are weapons against criminals. Banning guns makes life worse for the innocent. It's a relevant argument in context .

      The response to "If pies are illegal, only criminals would have pies" is "Yeah? So what?" because pies are not effective weapons against criminals, and because pies aren't weapons that criminals can use. Banning pies, although silly, does not unequally affect the good guys and the bad guys.

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      Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
    325. Re:Gun control however... by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      Some laws are made so that a standard of safety is available. Consider building codes, for instance.

      --
      Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
    326. Re:Gun control however... by myowntrueself · · Score: 1

      Yeah, right.
      Next thing you know you'll start talking like there are people outside of the US who matter..

      http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/29/alleged-honor-killing-suspect-yaser-said-could-be-hiding-in-plain-sight-as-new/
      http://www.debbieschlussel.com/55330/another-muslim-honor-killing-in-america-arab-muslim-bro-murders-muslim-sis-in-obamatown/
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aasiya_Zubair

      though admittedly its not legally sanctioned in the US. It will happen wherever these people go because to them domestic abuse IS the law.

      The point is that you can't pass laws that will have any affect on these people because they believe that the law internal to their culture is always more righteous than the laws of the country they are living in.

      --
      In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
    327. Re:Gun control however... by Mr.CRC · · Score: 1

      Yes, why not? Or don't you think women own their own bodies?

    328. Re:Gun control however... by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      You may have missed the news. It's possible to drive from France to England, and for even longer it's been possible to swim. It's about the same distance, so it should also be possible to swim from Ireland to England.

      Smuggling is at least as old as laws prohibiting free trade.

      --
      Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
    329. Re:Gun control however... by NeutronCowboy · · Score: 1

      So now every civilian is judge, jury and executioner? Yeah, still not convinced.

      --
      Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
    330. Re:Gun control however... by gmhowell · · Score: 1

      How many mass-murders by knife do you hear about?

      Rwanda.

      MInd you, they were big knives. Technically you'd probably class them as swords.

      Oh, those evil assault knives with the shoulder thing that goes up and the bayonet mounts? Yeah. Only police and military should have those.

      --
      Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
    331. Re:Gun control however... by buybuydandavis · · Score: 1

      Gun control is about human control. Obviously it's not about crime, as criminals don't care. It's about controlling the otherwise law abiding and making them dependent on the government.

    332. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Seriously, why ban murder? Criminals aren't going to follow laws anyway.

    333. Re:Gun control however... by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      I saw a guy get sliced with a knife in a bar once. A big guy grabbed this little one and was trying to twist his head off. He had to stop because his guts were all over the floor. What an awful mess. It's hard to fight when you're sticking your entrails back in your belly. The other guy just went out the door and left. I heard they tried to prosecute but they had too many witnesses that stated what happened and finally they had to drop it. Man I kept seeing that scene in my dreams for months.

    334. Re:Gun control however... by KGIII · · Score: 1

      Alright. That made me chuckle.

      To fan the flames, another good one was the advent of "Free Speech Zones" in the political arena. In a twist of fate, it just so happens that the idea was first used by the Democrats. It is amazing how quickly people forget or are willing to be blindly partisan. There is a reason why I don't typically vote for anyone with either of the two major parties' abbreviations behind their name.

      Yes, I'm aware that I am throwing my vote away in that my candidates will almost never be elected but that is my "protest vote" and I engage in it most every time and have for years. So seldom has a candidate impressed me enough to vote for them that I vote simply to vote against them. Again, in my mind at least, there is a vast difference between the two.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    335. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The point isn't to curb organized criminals. The point is to curb the retards, the one off mind snap, the immature juveniles, the accidents, etc.

      You quote Mexico, the problem there is organized crime. The solution is better law enforcement, not equipping its citizens. I can quote a number of Asian countries which has full ban on guns as well. The point is they don't have random kids spraying everyone in school, random dudes sniping people at malls, etc.

      Do they have organized crimes? Hell yea, do they need to equip their citizens? No. That is the job of law enforcement. Want me name some countries? Try Singapore, try Japan.

      The only reasonable argument in arming the citizens is when you want a revolution now. Not a potential one in the future somewhere, sometime while I'm still paying the government to provide an illusion of safety, freedom and civility that doesn't exist but I still wan't to pretend it does only when it makes sense and suspend that when it doesn't like allowing me to carry guns.

    336. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're just nitpicking because you know you're wrong. I grew up in Asia, I would say the same lines. We don't have school shootings.

      Do I mean that in an absolute way. Probably not. Do I mean we have ZERO shootings ever since the inception of the modern government, probably not.

      What I do mean is that we don't go to school and have to worry about school shootings. Access to firearms are very regulated. Can it happen? Of course. But the likely hood is so low we don't have to worry about it unless you are a person who live life in absolutes.

      We don't have to worry about random snipers at malls either or some disgruntled employee flipping and spraying everyone in the office. Do we have organized crime? Hell yea. Do they have guns? Hell yea. Do we need guns to protect ourselves? No. We have the police.

    337. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Speaking of twisting facts...

      Why didn't you use a consistent source for your stats? One of the sources in your spreadsheet (http://www.aic.gov.au/statistics/violent%20crime/victims.html) contains all the numbers for every year 1996 to 2007.
      1997 was the year of the gun control law change but as this article notes (http://www.snopes.com/crime/statistics/ausguns.asp) it was only the banning of some types of semi-auto and pump action firearms. The same article also points out the trouble with using statistics with out context.

      It should also be pointed out that the number of people in Australia that actually own firearms is quite low as they a licensed and restricted.
      Looking at the numbers from that source you can clearly see there are underlying trends in the crime numbers that are not changed by the gun buy back. Given the small numbers involved these are probably not specific enough to see what effect occured, you would want at least firearm specific numbers.

      Luckily some people seem to have done it, and articles have been written just see this Yahoo question and answer that actually point out some real conclusions... http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20121219073651AA3MbKy

    338. Re:Gun control however... by BlueStrat · · Score: 1

      Remove the crime numbers from economically disadvantaged regions the crime numbers will also plummet. The problem is not progressive versus regressive politics, or gun ownership or not, but whether or not the neighborhood or regions are very poor with little hope of change. If you have no job and no way to get a job then crime becomes a more viable option. Economics is a bigger factor than fear that your victim might have a gun or not.

      Progressives being in control of these cities for decades is WHY their economies have been devastated and gangs & drugs and the violence that follows them are out of control. All gun control does in these cities is assure the victims are defenseless. Most deadly assaults are over in less than a minute, and average police response time is about 8 minutes. They show up in time to draw the chalk outlines and fill out reports. Legislating away the *means* of self-defense is indistinguishable from outlawing self-defense.

      If guns are the problem, why aren't there mass murders at NRA conventions and gun shows? I was on my school rifle team and nobody thought anything of a kid bringing his newly-acquired semi-automatic rifle in to school and showing it off to buddies by the student lockers in the main hallway between classes, with students and teachers crowding the hall. The only questions asked were what it cost and have they had a chance to shoot it yet. Nobody was shot. Nobody was panicking.

      All the recent mass shootings that are being used as reasons for additional gun restrictions share a common type of location. They all occurred in "gun-free zones" where the criminal was assured of zero opposition.

      The US War Against Drugs and the earlier alcohol Prohibition disaster has proven that prohibition does not work. Attempting the same foolishness with guns in the US would result in much worse violence, crime, and government corruption than both those failed policies combined.

      The KKK and Southern Democrats tried for decades to keep blacks from owning firearms. Are you saying that you agree with the KKK and want to reverse decades of progress in civil rights for blacks...and everyone else as well? The KKK's hate seems rather limited compared with those who wish everyone suffer under Jim Crow laws making possessing the means for self-defense a crime.

      Strat

      --
      Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
    339. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And who exactly enforced that list?

      God?

      The government can't be controlled by a piece of paper. There are nine people who interpret that piece of paper. Whatever they say is the Constitution.

      Was Plessy v. Ferguson or Brown v. Board of Education decided wrongly?

      Regardless, in its day, each was the Constitution.

      The whole point of being sovereign is not having to answer to anyone. Limited government is a contradiction in terms.

    340. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It increases the odds an innocent bystander gets short.

      That's a pretty tall story you are telling... *ducks*

    341. Re:Gun control however... by delt0r · · Score: 1

      True. My point being, if the justification is just protection, there are less lethal ways to do so. Sometimes it feels like the "we have a right to bear arms" folks are much too quick to jump at the "right to kill". Sorry but you are not justified killing someone taking your stereo, or walking across your lawn.

      FWIW I own 4 rifles and do some hunting. Well i did back in NZ. Here in Europe i just enjoy the odd night at the range. But really, this kill or be killed scenario is just a rare edge case that its poor justification for them. We are not living in a war zone. But a civilized society.

      --
      If information wants to be free, why does my internet connection cost so much?
    342. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You spreadsheet is painful waste of bits and harddisk storage. It's everything but not real and shows nothing. It's fiction, not fact. Your data mangling comes close to FoxNews. Hard numbers massaged to support your point. I feel pity for those numbers. And yes, you can compare countries. That's what global organisations do all the time. Over and over again. The USA is not inhabited by sharks with lasers or lizardmen that needs to be shot. There is absolutely no difference to other countries.Gun regulation/banning would work just as well as in other countries.

    343. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So the only thing keeping you from raping children is a law? Morality obviously does not play a part in your worldview.

    344. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Right, the wackos up north. That's how they get AKs with grenade launchers and RPGs from Iran. Blaming the US for Mexico's gun problem is just a ploy to regulate US gun owners.

    345. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      One of those incidents was a stabbing, which just goes to show that guns aren't the problem, crazy people are the problem. Another had a death toll of 333, which is much higher than any in the US.

    346. Re:Gun control however... by DarthVain · · Score: 1

      You Sir are an Idiot.

      1) My definition, Criminals don't follow laws. By your logic, we should just abolish all laws then? You are an Idiot.
      2) The reason why say countries like Canada and Mexico which do have gun regulation but still has some issues are:
                      a) The bloody fact that the US doesn't have any, so ALL the illegal guns for BOTH countries come from the USA!
                      b) The fact that most of those guns are a direct result of the "War on Drugs" in the US and the Demand for drugs paying for guns.

      Anyway gun regulation isn't about "banning" guns. It is about making them harder to get a hold of.

      I am glad I don't live in a country with crazies like you. (unless you are from Alberta...)

    347. Re:Gun control however... by Reziac · · Score: 1

      Now that you mention it -- where are the templates to 3D-print ammunition that matches the 3D-printed gun??

      --
      ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
    348. Re:Gun control however... by Reziac · · Score: 1

      If the gun is undetectable, how do you tell when someone owns one??

      --
      ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
    349. Re:Gun control however... by Reziac · · Score: 1

      Legislation need not be logical. It only need be seen as "doing something about [problem]" come election time. Legislators get re-elected largely for having been SEEN to be "doing something", such as "being tough on crime" by passing innumerable bills that criminalize ordinary behavior and/or property.

      [Me, I try to find one to vote for who has sponsored and voted for the FEWEST new laws.]

      --
      ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
    350. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The militia is a local entity, it doesn't answer to the federal government. Training would be conducted by the states.

    351. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The ban in question was ONLY for semi-automatic longarms.

      Australian women were packing assault rifles

      (Emphasis mine)

      Either you don't understand what "semi-automatic" means, or you don't understand what "assault rifle" means.

    352. Re:Gun control however... by coinreturn · · Score: 1

      Your logic dictates that there is no need to have laws of any kind, because criminals don't follow them.

    353. Re:Gun control however... by geoffrobinson · · Score: 1

      A lot of labor laws that are viewed as pro-labor were actually laws to prevent blacks from entering the market, since they would work for less money.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUBK9_4OQIs

      --
      Except for ending slavery, the Nazis, communism, & securing American independence, war has never solved anything.
    354. Re:Gun control however... by RevDisk · · Score: 1

      Ahh... Wow. I'm surprisingly at a lack of words for describing the wrongness in your comments. When I was in the Balkans, I had to deal with folks that committed rapes against civilians of opposite ethnic groups for psychological warfare purposes. Mind you, these people (on multiple sides) were pro genocide, and they knew what they were doing was wrong and psychologically traumatizing.

      You are entitled to your opinion. But please do realize that the existence of your opinion completely explains why self-defense is a human right. If it needed justification, which it doesn't, that'd provide it. And that in practical terms, folks should have the opinion of owning and carrying firearms. Ideally with training and whatnot.

      Also, rape does not happen solely to women.

    355. Re:Gun control however... by kaatochacha · · Score: 1

      So what you're saying is, look at the root cause for various issues, and not the symptoms.

    356. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, instead of worrying about those things you mentioned (very rare), you end up worrying about corrupt police (totally common).
      For I lived in Asia too, and it wasn't uncommon to see bike cops hit you up for a bribe.

    357. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yea, lets take advice from a guy who runs a Christ friendly sex toy shop. The cognitive dissonance is so strong it's laughable.

    358. Re:Gun control however... by kaatochacha · · Score: 1

      Once again: determine the cause, and treat shootings as a symptom, not a cause.

    359. Re:Gun control however... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "you sir are an idiot", followed by "the US doesn't have any [gun regulation]" Um... I think you need to look in a mirror to find the idiot.
      Because we do have gun regulation. Or did that stack of paperwork I've filled out in the past, and waiting periods simply come from my fragmented mind?
      I'm also glad you don't live in my country. Because we need fewer morons spouting easily disproved nonsense.

    360. Re:Gun control however... by vux984 · · Score: 1

      My being armed doesn't do that.

      Not a causal relationship, but if its legal, allowing you to legally carry a gun, then its legal for them to carry them too, and that increases the odds they will carry.

      Legal to carry is completely orthogonal to plenty of practice, because you don't practice with it while you're wandering around town.

      Its difficult to get plenty of practice with banned equipment.

      Further, odds are good he's already a felon, and is already barred from carry, if not ownership.

      I'd hardly count on only being raped by previously convicted serial rapists.

      If he has a gun, and I have no gun, then he's definitely got the edge.

      You missed my point. The "edge" I was referring to was in a shootout, if one of you don't have a gun, there is no shootout. As the scenario being evaluated is not one of attempted / pre-meditated murder, there is unlikely to be a shootout unless you pull a gun out and start one.

      I concede readily that in a murder scenario, having any gun at all would be a major benefit. But that's not the scenario.

      Meanwhile, preventing or reducing attacks is everyone's responsibility, and we are collectively falling down on the job.

      Ah well then we should be solving our poverty and education problems, fixing our safety nets, funding rehabilitation centers, getting involved with the community.

      More guns isn't going to make society any better, just more lethal.

      Besides, the 2nd amendment was written to prevent the government from oppressing its citizens. It wasn't to enable citizens to shoot at felons.

    361. Re:Gun control however... by vux984 · · Score: 1

      Most rapists, in particular, seek to exert power and control over their victim. The best way to assure success is to target the most vulnerable, because rapists are cowardly and are afraid of failing to obtain that control and power (often they lack power and control in other aspects of their life and are loathe to face that failure when they don't have to).

      Rapes are virtually unheard of in public places--they happen at night or in secluded places--the chance of an innocent bystander being caught in crossfire is basically nil in those cases.

      You watch too much TV. Most rapists rape you in your own home, in your own bed. Or in otherwise familiar surroundings. They usually know you, and are often related to you.

      Rapists don't tend to be gun enthusiasts

      Because they don't meet the profile of people who like to exert power and control? I would expect them to be at least as gun-enthusiastic as the general public, if not more so.

      If a potential victim were to pull a gun in the vast majority of cases they would flee, not fire back

      I'd love to see the study on that.

      And given that most rapists are familiar figures, I doubt most potential victims are going to be

      the studies cited about an increase in violent rapes and assults in Australia is not really surprising at all knowing this

      I see that as some fraction of lethal gun violence simply translating to less-lethal violence. Not as some sort of general 'rise in violence' as a result of the guns being removed.

      The most visible, but most rare as well, victims of gun violence are those of the emotionally disturbed, generally suicidal deviants.

      I agree with this and everything you said afterwards.

    362. Re:Gun control however... by vux984 · · Score: 1

      Every state that has enacted a concealed carry law in the US has exeperienced a reduced rate in violent crime. EVERY TIME.

      The US as a whole has experienced a steady reduction in the rate of violent crime.

      There has been no real correlation shown with conceal carry laws reducing crime on their own merit relative to states that didn't pass them.

    363. Re:Gun control however... by neonKow · · Score: 1

      I knew Chicago politicians had a reputation, but that is deeply disturbing, although it furthers my point that gun control is probably not what is causing the high crime rate.

    364. Re:Gun control however... by Spiked_Three · · Score: 1

      pfffft. What bullshit. Ever hear a lobby group named NRA? At the moment, gun manufacturers are second only to banks as far as who runs the US.

      --
      slashdot troll = you make a compelling argument I do not like the implications of.
    365. Re:Gun control however... by Spiked_Three · · Score: 1

      Talk about making shit up as you go; wtf does 5 million members have to do with 5 million manufacturers? I will admit the logic of that totally missed me. Yes I am refering to the NRA. The NRA dictate how congress act. you did notice the failure to pass a 90% approved by public gun background check, at the demand of the NRA didn't you? let's see your facts - $$$ contributed to the NRA, manufacturers versus non manufacturers.

      Go away troll.

      --
      slashdot troll = you make a compelling argument I do not like the implications of.
    366. Re:Gun control however... by Spiked_Three · · Score: 1

      oh yeah, that has worked so well in the past. I dont know how I missed that brilliant point.

      --
      slashdot troll = you make a compelling argument I do not like the implications of.
    367. Re:Gun control however... by harrkev · · Score: 1

      I apologize. I thought that you could follow a simple chain of logic. Since you apparently cannot, let me explain.

      You previously said:

      The republicans are in a pickle. If they support 3D gun printing, they hurt gun manufacturers, which is what they really are supporting ($$$$).

      I assume that you mean that the NRA, in general, supports the GOP, and that the GOP is therefore obliged to the NRA, and therefore the gun manufacturers. This is a reasonable assumption, since, as far as I know, individual gun manufactuers do not support many individual candidates. I was simply pointing out the simple fact that the NRA is NOT just gun manufacturers, but consists of millions of individual citizens who also greatly support the organization, thereby demonstrating that the gun industry is only a very small part of the NRA.

      I can understand why you call me a troll. In the future, I will try to use language that you can understand and not make assumptions about your mental abilities. Please accept my sincerest apologies.

      --
      "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
    368. Re:Gun control however... by Keith111 · · Score: 1

      Guns bans have never been nor will ever be about controlling criminals or protecting innocent lives. It's all about making the general public feel safe, especially when they are not. "You know, I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After 9 years, you know what I realize? Ignorance is bliss."

    369. Re:Gun control however... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Not a causal relationship, but if its legal, allowing you to legally carry a gun, then its legal for them to carry them too, and that increases the odds they will carry.

      I covered this in a prior comment.

      Its difficult to get plenty of practice with banned equipment.

      You're moving the goalposts from "legal to carry" to "legal to own". Logical fallacy.

      I'd hardly count on only being raped by previously convicted serial rapists.

      Any felony disqualifies you from firearm ownership in most cases, pending review. Most crimes are committed by repeat offenders. Bad luck if you're their first offense, but bad luck for them if you shoot them in the face, too.

      we should be solving our poverty and education problems, fixing our safety nets, funding rehabilitation centers, getting involved with the community.

      That is true. We should be doing those things.

      More guns isn't going to make society any better, just more lethal.

      I disagree, I think it will do both.

      Besides, the 2nd amendment was written to prevent the government from oppressing its citizens. It wasn't to enable citizens to shoot at felons.

      Irrelevant straw man. The bill of rights was not intended to exhaustively enumerate the rights of the citizenry, which I take to include self-defense.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    370. Re:Gun control however... by vux984 · · Score: 1

      Irrelevant straw man. The bill of rights was not intended to exhaustively enumerate the rights of the citizenry, which I take to include self-defense.

      The 2nd amendment is relevant, because it is the legal framework which you are using to protect your right to have and carry a gun.

      Without the 2nd amendment all you have is the "default assumption that you have the freedom to do so, barring a law prohibiting it".

      As your "right to self defense" is not enumerated in the bill of rights or the constitution, it can be fairly easily be legislated away or watered down if you elect a government inclined to do so.

      But any attempt to legislate anything even peripherally related to guns is challenged by people pointing at the 2nd amendment.

      However the 2nd amendment is as much about letting you shoot at felons as the first is about letting you yell fire in a crowded theatre, and its an abuse of the amendment that it gets used to shield the desire to carry your guns to shoot at criminals.

    371. Re:Gun control however... by krovisser · · Score: 1

      In a bizarre collision of the two, a school I used to go to had some students that wanted to protest some gun control measure or something. They were to wear empty holsters and shirts with guns on them or something.

      So, the school responded to their declared intent by saying they could only protest in the designated "Free Speech Zone", couldn't wear holsters, nor could they wear any shirts that were "threatening", (iow, "Had guns pictured on them").

      Law suit comes, sees, conquers.

      Ignoring the gun control part for the moment... what the hell? Free Speech Zone... at a school? What perversion of culture is this crap?

  2. Terrorists? by kk49 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't think doing something horrible to an individual qualifies as terrorism. In my day we call those people criminals.

    --
    You can have your god back when you are old enough to handle the responsibility.
    1. Re:Terrorists? by ColdWetDog · · Score: 2, Funny

      If you don't think that criminals are terrorists, then you must be a communist. Or at least a socialist.

      How does it feel, comrade?

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    2. Re:Terrorists? by MaskedSlacker · · Score: 1, Redundant

      California state lawmakers are a special brand of stupid. I'd say that they were Congress's autistic cousins, but people with autism aren't actually stupid.

    3. Re:Terrorists? by kk49 · · Score: 1

      I'm pretty sure clowns do qualify as terrorists.

      --
      You can have your god back when you are old enough to handle the responsibility.
    4. Re:Terrorists? by epyT-R · · Score: 1

      Actually, people like him aren't communists or fascists, they're terrorists themselves. Anyone questioning the doctrine of the Supreme Corporate Soviet should be labeled as such so they are denied the 'privilege' of due process.

    5. Re:Terrorists? by nsaspook · · Score: 3, Funny

      If you don't think that criminals are terrorists, then you must be a communist. Or at least a socialist.

      Or be for the fluoridation of water and foreign substances being introduced into our precious bodily fluids.

      --
      In GOD we trust, all others we monitor.
    6. Re:Terrorists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In my day we called those people psychos. And we didn't need laws restricting peoples rights to own, purchase, or produce. Our society has become oversensitive to harm/death. There are *real* problems and harms and terrorism isn't one of them that need fixing. Prioritizing financing cancer research, HIV / AIDS research, safer vehicle technology, and other things would save a significantly larger number of lives than shutting down Boston for a few days to prevent *one* person from *possibly* harming or killing a few hundred more people-- or even dare I say thousand people. While the people are not insignificant the numbers killed are insignificant compared to our reaction and we do more damage than the terrorist ever could had we simply ignored them.

    7. Re:Terrorists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Correct, it's what the government is doing today that is terrorism and treason.

    8. Re:Terrorists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Only the scary ones.

    9. Re:Terrorists? by jamstar7 · · Score: 1

      If you don't think that criminals are terrorists, then you must be a communist. Or at least a socialist.

      Or be for the fluoridation of water and foreign substances being introduced into our precious bodily fluids.

      Dammit, my tinfoil hat got ripped. Let me point this home-printed gun at you so I can take yours. Gotta keep the Martushians outta my head, ya know. The thorazine just ain't working anymore...

      --
      Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
    10. Re:Terrorists? by jamstar7 · · Score: 0

      Cancer cures won't be marketted til cancer treatments stop being a cash cow. After all, they only work so well, then you get a relapse after remission so you get to buy the treatments again.

      And they wonder why medical bankruptcies account for something like 75% of all personal bankruptcies in the US. That statistic alone tells me something is very very wrong with the system...

      --
      Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
    11. Re:Terrorists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you don't think that criminals are terrorists, then you must be a communist. Or at least a socialist.

      How does it feel, comrade?

      Except that the person claiming all criminals are terrorists is a Democrat.

    12. Re:Terrorists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I second that. 3-D printers aren't a very economical way to create guns, since they cost tens of thousands of dollars in the first place. Second, you have to know how to use one. Third, this lawmaker would be imposing further regulations on businesses that already use this technology (jewelry manufacturers and dentists, to name a few). Sounds to me like Yee didn't do his homework on what 3D printers are and what they do. Yeah, some of them can make a gun, but that's not even the most remotely useful thing they do. Maybe Yee should ban the citizens from learning metallurgy as well, since that goes much further in creating a high-quality gun than some printed plastic one.

    13. Re: Terrorists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Does it beat the Missouri state legislator who suggested shooting illegal immigrants from helicopters?

    14. Re:Terrorists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't think doing something horrible to an individual qualifies as terrorism. In my day we call those people criminals.

      You would be surprised how many people think "terrorism" means to scare people.

    15. Re:Terrorists? by Si · · Score: 1

      Tis a pity you posted anonymously, since this is about the most insightful comment I've seen on /. in a while.

      --


      Why is it that many people who claim to support standards have such atrocious spelling and grammar?
    16. Re: Terrorists? by MaskedSlacker · · Score: 1

      Yes, but only because this will probably become law in California. Yee is only average for the California state legislature. That guy from Missouri, while even stupider than Yee, was exceptional and much stupider than the average , even in Missouri.

    17. Re: Terrorists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wait a sec.

      Are the illegal immigrants flying the helicopters, sitting in the back, or just dangling off the skids?

      Because while shooting the hanging ones off the skids would work well, shooting the pilot from a helicopter would leave a very dangerous machine behind.

    18. Re:Terrorists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That only apply to the USA. In first world country they have socialized health insurance. The fact that everyone has access to healthcare benefit the whole society. Peoples are more productive and don't end up been a burden.

      Research done in 'the rest of the world' can result in a cure for cancer because nobody beside american corporate overlord benefit from perpetual treatment. So if you pull your head out of your ass, you would see that there is hope.

    19. Re:Terrorists? by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      They are all scary.

    20. Re: Terrorists? by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      I wish the guy in Missouri would run for President. It should make for great entertainment.

    21. Re:Terrorists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you don't think that criminals are terrorists, then you must be a communist. Or at least a socialist.

      How does it feel, comrade?

      comrade
      /kämrad/

      Noun
      (1) A companion who shares one's activities or is a fellow member of an organization.
      (2) A fellow soldier or serviceman.

      So, if he's a communist... and you call him comrade...

    22. Re:Terrorists? by gd2shoe · · Score: 2

      The irony is that idiocy like this is what convinced the founding fathers that the 2nd amendment was a pretty neat idea in the first place.

      (Petty bureaucrats and politicians trying to micromanage life; preventing people from going about legitimate business; trying to control all weapons, other consequences be darned. This doesn't seem to cover onerous taxes, but coming from a California Democrat it's close enough.)

      --
      I won't join Slashcott. OTOH, If Beta goes live, I just won't be back until it's fixed. Sorry Dice.
    23. Re:Terrorists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're wrong, you can buy one like this guy used to print the gun for $8k, you can buy a cheap home one for about $1k and cheaper if you are technically adept and have the time and patience to to throw one together. They are easy to use. However you are right about about it being silly to regulate them.

    24. Re:Terrorists? by mhajicek · · Score: 0

      Wish I had mod points. Insightful.

    25. Re:Terrorists? by jamstar7 · · Score: 1

      That only apply to the USA. In first world country they have socialized health insurance. The fact that everyone has access to healthcare benefit the whole society. Peoples are more productive and don't end up been a burden.

      Research done in 'the rest of the world' can result in a cure for cancer because nobody beside american corporate overlord benefit from perpetual treatment. So if you pull your head out of your ass, you would see that there is hope.

      Um, no, not really. There are several drugs developed outside the US that are illegal in the US. The original 'morning after' pill, for instance. Developed in Europe (France?), fell victim to 'Not Invented Here' syndrome here in the US and was never legalised. You think the FDA is going to greenlight something that wasn't designed and created here in the US? Something that a US pharm corporation can't profit from? That's just not the way it's done here. It's not the 'American way'.

      --
      Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
    26. Re:Terrorists? by gd2shoe · · Score: 1

      And they wonder why medical bankruptcies account for something like 75% of all personal bankruptcies in the US. That statistic alone tells me something is very very wrong with the system...

      You get ill, so you can't work. You can't work so you lose your job. Then you can't pay for insurance. Then you spend all your money, go bankrupt, and beg for government mercy. (Often counties have something like medicare for those who don't qualify for medicare. This is a good thing, but insurance companies prey on the broken system.) If they're well, they're a customer; if they're sick, they're someone else's problem.

      Something is very broken with the system. We don't need Pelosi Care*, but we do need legislative intervention.

      *(I don't believe Obama likes what wound up in it, nor do I think he was the driving force in getting it passed. I don't like Obama, but I'm not hanging this on him.)

      Cancer cures won't be marketted til cancer treatments stop being a cash cow. After all, they only work so well, then you get a relapse after remission so you get to buy the treatments again.

      Here, I'll disagree with you. Some cancer can be cured, and are regularly... but doctors never call cancer patients cured. That would lull a patient into a false sense of security, and besides, it could lead to a malpractice suit. If you've ever had cancer, you are statistically much more likely to get the same class of cancer again. This doesn't mean it "came back" (sometimes yes, not always).

      What you mean to say is that curing individual cases of cancer is more profitable than preventing future occurrence of cancer in patients known to be very high risk. This may be somewhat true.

      --
      I won't join Slashcott. OTOH, If Beta goes live, I just won't be back until it's fixed. Sorry Dice.
    27. Re:Terrorists? by Zenin · · Score: 1

      3D printers haven't costs "tens of thousands of dollars" for quite some time: http://store.makerbot.com/3d-printers.html And they aren't hard to use, especially if you're printing someone else's downloaded design.

      You're missing the fact the person wanting the gun doesn't need to be the one with the printer. Some gang land arms dealer, who currently sells stolen ("untracable") guns, will be printing untracable guns on demand out of the the trunk of a Pontiac.

      Considering the already cheap price of 3D printers and the fact they can print copies of themselves, you're never going to dent criminal use of 3D printing. You're not unringing that bell.

      --
      My /. uid is better then your /. uid
    28. Re: Terrorists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      California lawmakers aren't stupid, they just aren't smart.;-)
      PS I live in CA, and let me add that at a local level it's rare to find a smart politician, but they do exist. The smart ones usually burn out or labeled extremists, go figure, or was that configure? Good golly I must be a product of the CA edu system....;-)

  3. Children and terrorists by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was wondering which argument they'd be going with.

    1. Re:Children and terrorists by Joce640k · · Score: 1

      I'm still trying to figure out how being able to print a crappy single-shot pistol using a complicated $1000 will allow terrorists to "walk away scott-free".

      (As opposed to using a $10 handgun bought on the streets...or even a $300 handgun bought in a gun shop)

      --
      No sig today...
  4. California Lawmaker... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wants burgeoning industry to be shut out of his state.

    Sometimes all that corporate lobbying isn't totally evil, hope this gets shut down quickly.

    1. Re:California Lawmaker... by interkin3tic · · Score: 5, Informative

      It's the same guy that proposed a ban on videogames to minors.

      Leland Yee: using the government to protect you from bogeymen that don't exist.

    2. Re:California Lawmaker... by The0retical · · Score: 5, Informative

      This is the same person that wants:

      Senate Bill 47 (Yee) expands the definition of “assault weapons” to BAN the future sale of rifles that have been designed/sold and are equipped to use the “bullet button” or similar device, requires NEW “assault weapon” registration of ALL those semi-auto rifles that are currently possessed to retain legal possession in the future, and subjects these firearms to all other “assault weapons” restrictions.

      http://legiscan.com/CA/bill/SB47/2013

      Senate Bill 108 (Yee) requires mandatory locked storage of firearms within a locked house regardless of whether anyone is present.

      http://legiscan.com/CA/bill/SB108/2013

      My impression of him is that he is a reactionary that responds to any situation in the most forceful way possible to please the pundits who are calling for action that the constituency doesn't actually want. He doesn't actually understand what he's legislating against in many situations, like as mentioned below the ban on video games for minors but because the pundits call for it something needs to be done.

      The 3d printer is no different. Damn all the useful things that can be done with it he doesn't understand it and it can do one bad thing so ban it.

    3. Re:California Lawmaker... by jamstar7 · · Score: 0

      It's the same guy that proposed a ban on videogames to minors. Leland Yee: using the government to protect you from bogeymen that don't exist.

      Sounds like he's aiming for a spot on Faux Newz when he 'retires' from politicking...

      --
      Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
    4. Re:California Lawmaker... by dbc · · Score: 1

      You are clueless. Leland Yee is part of California's looney left.

    5. Re:California Lawmaker... by Howitzer86 · · Score: 0

      That doesn't stop them from giving a mic to Cornel West. Fox likes left wing people. They bring them on for contrast, and they like them especially if they are waaay out there. As a result, the viewer will be more inclined to think the "conservatives" of Fox News are normal and relate-able, while all the liberals are nutty (or wimpy, like Colmes). Afterwards they can claim to be "fair and balanced".

    6. Re:California Lawmaker... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For what it's worth: "Protecting kids from violent video games" is something nutjob far-lefties and nutjob far-righties agree on for diametrically-opposed reasons: the far-lefties want to protect society from children immitating art, and the far-righties want to protect the kids from impure/immoral thoughts.

    7. Re:California Lawmaker... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't mind him. He's one of those idiots who never shuts up about fox news being this totally false propaganda wing of the right, then goes and watches msnbc because he thinks it's unvarnished truth.

    8. Re:California Lawmaker... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey, leave Yee out of our loony left. He's way, way, way out of bounds even for us uber-liberals.

    9. Re:California Lawmaker... by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      I think the greatest thing they could do is hire Pelosi if she ever retires from Congress. People love to hate her. The more she talks the more the hate grows.

    10. Re:California Lawmaker... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      so what you are saying is this guy is a legislative "first post"

    11. Re:California Lawmaker... by __aajfby9338 · · Score: 1

      Hi there. I'm a Californian, so let me fill y'all in on some information that non-Californians might not be aware of:

      Leland Yee is a drooling idiot.

    12. Re:California Lawmaker... by russotto · · Score: 1

      Senate Bill 47 (Yee) expands the definition of âoeassault weaponsâ to BAN the future sale of rifles that have been designed/sold and are equipped to use the âoebullet buttonâ or similar device, requires NEW âoeassault weaponâ registration of ALL those semi-auto rifles that are currently possessed to retain legal possession in the future, and subjects these firearms to all other âoeassault weaponsâ restrictions.

      I wondered WTF a "bullet button" was, so I looked it up. Apparently, California has some law banning rifles where you can remove the magazine without using a tool. So someone came up with a magazine release where a bullet would work as a tool. Now as long as you happen to have a bullet with you (and hey, who doesn't?), you can reload quickly. Make stupid bans, people find workarounds.

    13. Re:California Lawmaker... by X0563511 · · Score: 1

      That idiot would like to ban tools altogether. California: the land of sticks and rocks.

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
  5. the problem being.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    You can't tell whose printer printed it, inb4 3d water marking

  6. Horrible things? by erotic_pie · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Wouldn't most "horrible things" that you would do with a gun be illegal? Meaning you wouldn't be able to walk away scott-free.

    Unless there is some crazy loophole that says if you kill someone with an unregistered homemade gun it's 100% legal. Which if that's the case I don't think it's the 3D printer that is the problem.

    Also, I guess this means it's time to start regulating CNC machines as well.

    1. Re:Horrible things? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly. Good luck Mr. lawmaker on putting the genie back into the bottle.
      In the meantime, we will continue dreaming of the day when parasites like walmart and the NRA are reduced to a state of impotence.

    2. Re:Horrible things? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Also, I guess this means it's time to start regulating CNC machines as well.

      Don't give them any ideas.

    3. Re:Horrible things? by Delarth799 · · Score: 1

      A homemade gun might be harder to trace is about the only thing that could make finding the killer more difficult

    4. Re:Horrible things? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Next thing you know we'll be registering knives, baseball bats, crowbars, and shovels. Can't forget about the registering shovels otherwise finding the killer will be more difficult.

    5. Re:Horrible things? by Locke2005 · · Score: 2

      A homemade gun is a lot less reliable than a cheap firearm, and no harder to trace than any weapon with the serial number filed off. Wait, don't tell Lee that, or next he'll propose outlawing files!

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    6. Re:Horrible things? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unregistered homemade handguns and rifles are legal in most if not all parts of the US. The deal is that they can't be silenced, full auto and you can't transfer/sell them.

    7. Re:Horrible things? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      By "Scott free" he probably means that it's not possible to track a gun that was made with one of these, as there are no records of the gun existing to begin with.

      Not that it matters, in most cases when a gun is being used to prosecute the markings on the shells are used to determine if that specific gun was used.

    8. Re:Horrible things? by Martin+Blank · · Score: 1

      I think the major issue that scares some people is the ability of a person who is otherwise ineligible to own a firearm to manufacture one at home using a 3D printer. While it's also possible to do this with other home equipment, proper operation of a lathe, press, and other shop tools usually used to manufacture firearms requires a level of skill that a 3D printer does not. Of course, the cost of purchasing a 3D printer plus materials goes way beyond the cost of an ineligible person getting a gun on the black market. The only benefit that I can see is relative anonymity in acquiring a gun in this new manner.

      I figured that something like recent events would happen, which is one of the reasons that I downloaded the plans when they first hit the web. I'm eligible to (and in fact do) own guns, and I trust the courts to protect this. But it never hurts to have an out.

      --
      You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
    9. Re:Horrible things? by Totenglocke · · Score: 1

      Well, according to Feinstein it's legal to hunt humans as long as you use a 30 round magazine. So who knows, the homdemade gun murder loophole might exist after all.

      --
      "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
    10. Re:Horrible things? by harrkev · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If a guy uses homemade pistols a lot, they are easy to find. They are in the hospital with bits of plastic embedded in their face. The 3d-printed gun is NOT "the Liberator." It is really "the Darwinator."

      I am 100% for freedom, but I am 110% for safety. I would never shoot The Liberator because having a plastic barrel is simply a horrible idea. While technically this thing IS a gun, it is not MUCH of a gun. I would rather be armed with a baseball bat than that thing.

      --
      "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
    11. Re:Horrible things? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think the major issue that scares some people is the ability of a person who is otherwise ineligible to own a firearm to manufacture one at home using a 3D printer. While it's also possible to do this with other home equipment, proper operation of a lathe, press, and other shop tools usually used to manufacture firearms requires a level of skill that a 3D printer does not.

      To make something close to what's on sale commercially, even the cheapest Saturday night special, yes.
      But to make a metal equivalent of the Liberator you really, really, don't need any significant skills - just look at all the zip guns on youtube...

    12. Re:Horrible things? by excelsior_gr · · Score: 1

      Actually the actual Liberator was a really crappy pistol to begin with.

      But at least it was made of metal. And it still cost only a couple of bucks to produce.

    13. Re:Horrible things? by harrkev · · Score: 1

      I would at least be willing to fire an original Liberator (well, a copy. The originals are collectors items). The original was safe, but not accurate. This new Liberator is an accident waiting to happen.

      --
      "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
  7. Lets license all possibly harmful things by wbr1 · · Score: 1

    Lets start with procreation. Having kids can be harmful. You may not be prepared and have m the child. Worse yet,said child my grow up an addict or rapist or terrorist or murderer. Having kids can harm the economy. Having kids can harm the environment. So lets mandate reversible birth control and license procreation.

    --
    Silence is a state of mime.
    1. Re:Lets license all possibly harmful things by asm2750 · · Score: 3, Funny

      I think having morons as elected officials is more harmful than having kids.

    2. Re:Lets license all possibly harmful things by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think the next thing we should license is air. Look at all the harm oxidation does to people's bodies! And it rusts stuff too! Its a terrorist!

    3. Re:Lets license all possibly harmful things by c0lo · · Score: 1

      I think having morons as elected officials is more harmful than having kids.

      Agreed. While definitely something needs to be banned, I can't make my mind on what to ban. Suggestions?
      (grin)

      --
      Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
    4. Re:Lets license all possibly harmful things by Locke2005 · · Score: 2

      Practically ALL rapists have male genitalia... let's outlaw having male genitalia!

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    5. Re:Lets license all possibly harmful things by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      Let's start with Legislatures.

      Then ban Public Officials.

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    6. Re:Lets license all possibly harmful things by Starteck81 · · Score: 1

      I think having morons as elected officials is more harmful than having kids.

      If we were to continue the analogy, these politicians would think it best to regulate the birth of children so the isn't even a possibility of a moron being elected.

      --
      "There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order." -Ed H
    7. Re:Lets license all possibly harmful things by armegeddon1975 · · Score: 1

      I'm probably in the super minority, but for years I've been wondering why someone hasn't put forth a proposal requiring reversible birth control for males (once it is perfected) and females.
      Once you enter puberty, you automatically get put on some form of birth control. When you are ready to have a child, you go to a doctor and get the BC reversed. Would eliminate most of the accidental and unwanted births.
      The only reason I I can come up with why I haven't heard of someone pushing for it would be some sort of constitutional violation, and how against birth control some religions are.

    8. Re:Lets license all possibly harmful things by BlueStrat · · Score: 1

      I think having morons as elected officials is more harmful than having kids.

      Agreed. While definitely something needs to be banned, I can't make my mind on what to ban. Suggestions?
      (grin)

      "First, kill all the lawyers." - Ye olde English playwright dude.

      Seeing as how the federal government bureaucracy including the Executive branch is chock-full of lawyers, as are most (I believe) in Congress, I should wonder if some of Nostradamus' DNA was possibly included in Shakespeare's family tree.

      Strat

      --
      Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
    9. Re:Lets license all possibly harmful things by Lawrence_Bird · · Score: 1

      You know, matches can hurt if used by the wrong hands. They can even burn things down. I think we need a national matchbook registry immediately.

    10. Re:Lets license all possibly harmful things by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you should move to north korea and get the fuck out of our country. it's scary that retards like you might be voting.

    11. Re:Lets license all possibly harmful things by gmhowell · · Score: 1

      Practically ALL rapists have male genitalia... let's outlaw having male genitalia!

      I guess we finally know what Jessica Valenti's slashdot uid is...

      --
      Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
  8. Thanks, Cody! by Guano_Jim · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I'd like to thank middle-class crypto-anarchist Cody Wilson from Defense Distributed for ensuring that idiot politicians of every stripe try to clamp down on the most promising new manufacturing technology in a decade.

    Nice job! Love the plastic zip gun you made, kid.

    1. Re:Thanks, Cody! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The blame lies with the politicians. And nobody else.

    2. Re:Thanks, Cody! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nice job blaming the victim. I bet you think Sasha Baron Cohan would deserve a shot to the nuts for wearing a pillow case to a meeting of black panthers.

    3. Re:Thanks, Cody! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Explain how I'm "blaming the victim". You can't and won't.

    4. Re:Thanks, Cody! by zedtwitz · · Score: 1

      Slut.

    5. Re: Thanks, Cody! by Vanderhoth · · Score: 1

      Politicians have to say stupid things to appease the stupid people that elect them. Defence Distributed has created a shrode of fear around 3D printers, so naturally people are now fearful of what can be done with them. Regardless of what good 3D printers could do, from his point on the majority of the ignorant masses will only believe they're for printing guns. Politicians unfortunately are going to be required to address those peoples.

    6. Re:Thanks, Cody! by jamstar7 · · Score: 0

      Nice job blaming the victim. I bet you think Sasha Baron Cohan would deserve a shot to the nuts for wearing a pillow case to a meeting of black panthers.

      The victims are politicians??? When'd this happen????

      --
      Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
    7. Re:Thanks, Cody! by wbr1 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The blame lies with the apathetic idiots who elect the politicians (or sit by idly as freedom and prosperity erode). FTFY

      --
      Silence is a state of mime.
    8. Re: Thanks, Cody! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Politicians have to say stupid things to appease the stupid people that elect them.

      No. They choose to. They always choose to.

      Leland Yee's actions are Leland Yee's fault. He is not the "victim", therefore any claim that I am "blaming the victim" can result only from dishonesty or stupidity.

    9. Re:Thanks, Cody! by anagama · · Score: 1

      A LOT of the blame lies in the way the GOP and DNC conspire to control elections and pass power back and forth. I personally always vote third party or if no third party is available, for my cat ... but I don't pretend that my vote can ever register as more than a fringe protest vote. Most people take a look at the choice between brain cancer and a stoke, and pick the 'lesser' evil. Couple that with the DNC/GOP stranglehold on elections and the election process, and it doesn't matter if you aren't apathetic -- you're going to get either a Democrat or a Republican, and as Obama has proved with respect to war, civil liberties, and police state issues by being equal to or worse than GWB, it just doesn't matter who wins if the choice is between a Republican or Democrat. Even social issues, like Plan B -- you have Obama playing the exact same political game GWB played.

      So, it isn't exactly fair to blame voters -- except for the die hard party loyalists. Those bastards deserve derision. The rest of us are just stuck with this crap.

      --
      What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
    10. Re:Thanks, Cody! by sgt+scrub · · Score: 1

      It is only half for now. Someone will need to start a sight with designs on how to make sex toys to get the other half on board.

      --
      Having to work for a living is the root of all evil.
    11. Re:Thanks, Cody! by shikaisi · · Score: 1

      I personally always vote third party or if no third party is available, for my cat ...

      Hmm. Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your cat's newsletter.

      --
      No left turn unstoned.
    12. Re:Thanks, Cody! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, the fault lies entirely with Cody Wilson who perverted 3D printing technology to make weapons.

      Leave it to a non-engineer asshole to take what we make and turn it into a murdering machine. That's Cody for you. A true scumbag fucker. It is 100% entirely his fault.

    13. Re: Thanks, Cody! by flimflammer · · Score: 1

      So either do the right thing try to convince your idiot constituency that this is vastly overblown assuming you're not also an idiot and potentially lose your job, or do the wrong thing, helping to feed the fear, and likely keep your job.

      So we have another metric from which to derive evil: a politician is proportionately evil to the amount of time they've spent in office.

    14. Re:Thanks, Cody! by flimflammer · · Score: 1

      What's your cat's name? I may wish to join in his support.

    15. Re:Thanks, Cody! by Gallomimia · · Score: 1

      The blame lies with the idiots who believe electing politicians will serve any purpose other than to empower a corruptible (corrupted) entity who will seek only to be a detriment to the well being of the electorate, and to use sensationalism to compel voters to think say and do what they are told.

      --
      Sadly, a Libertarian cannot force his views on another, and freedom cannot spread as does the cancer known as religion.
    16. Re: Thanks, Cody! by Vanderhoth · · Score: 1

      a politician is proportionately evil to the amount of time they've spent in office

      This I agree with.

    17. Re:Thanks, Cody! by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      Although power-brokers exist in both parties - shit-for-brains, amoral Karl Rove for example - they don't have absolute control. If you want to have some positive contribution, work in a primary campaign for the best guy with a reasonable chance.

      In my small town, one office and one funding bill were decided by ONE vote in the last election. An individual can make a difference.

      --
      Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
  9. What about plumbers? by meerling · · Score: 2

    Before 3d printers, people that wanted a cheap and lousy gun without buying a real one would just assemble one from some metal pipes and other junk, the old Saturday Night Special, Zip Gun, or Junk Gun.
    As to passing through metal detectors, who really cares, after all anyone that can't afford a real gun from illegal sources isn't going to be going into the areas 'protected' by metal detectors.

    1. Re:What about plumbers? by Pubstar · · Score: 1

      Check out 80% build AR-15s. You don't have to register them, and they are as good as the real thing.

    2. Re:What about plumbers? by Si · · Score: 1

      A fine sentiment, except many schools in the US have metal detectors. I know, I know "wontsomebodythinkofthechilluns", but before you spout "who cares" you might want to think "just because *I* don't care about or understand aspect X, doesn't mean others don't (or shouldn't)".

      --


      Why is it that many people who claim to support standards have such atrocious spelling and grammar?
    3. Re:What about plumbers? by fredprado · · Score: 2

      Many? More like "a few" paranoid ones, as in "a very few", and it is a completely ineffective measure anyways.

    4. Re:What about plumbers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bullets are still metal, FYI. And you could assemble said Zip Gun out of wood, if you're okay with it exploding in your hands (just like a 3d printed plastic gun).

    5. Re:What about plumbers? by Totenglocke · · Score: 2

      Most states don't require you to register guns. Those that do would require you to register a homemade gun anyways, so I'm not sure what your point is.

      --
      "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
    6. Re:What about plumbers? by KGIII · · Score: 1

      As to passing through metal detectors, who really cares, after all anyone that can't afford a real gun from illegal sources isn't going to be going into the areas 'protected' by metal detectors.

      Umm... Court?

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    7. Re:What about plumbers? by phrackthat · · Score: 1

      As to passing through metal detectors, who really cares, after all anyone that can't afford a real gun from illegal sources isn't going to be going into the areas 'protected' by metal detectors.

      But, you see, that's exactly the problem. If it only caused issues for the plebs, politicians wouldn't care but 3d printers can now make guns that can bypass technology that protects the politicians and they damned sure aren't going to stand for that.

      BTW, Saturday Night Specials were inexpensive guns usually made from inexpensive zinc alloys and manufactured using low cost techniques - the reduced costs meant some guns could sell for less than $50.00. The politicians didn't want guns that were cheap because that made them widely available and empowered the poor so they could defend themselves. Saturday Night Specials were outlawed in many jurisdictions by defining firearms that had a melting point below 800f to be unsafe and therefore illegal. Of course we know how often people pack heat when it's 800f outside.

    8. Re:What about plumbers? by phrackthat · · Score: 1

      But bullets are made from copper and lead - both non-ferrous materials. Metal detectors only detect ferrous metals so the bullets won't set the metal detectors off.

    9. Re:What about plumbers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And people who wanted a nice expensive gun, would make it from gold. I've heard that it can double up as a cigar case and lighter.

      Just ask Monsieur Scarramanger...

  10. Dear State Senator Yee, by MitchDev · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    FUCK YOU!

    1. Re:Dear State Senator Yee, by Aonghus142000 · · Score: 2

      Don't do that, whatever he has might be contagious. I wouldn't even trust a full-body condom.

  11. No terrorist needs a 3D printer by kawabago · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Guns and explosives are easy to get thanks to America's right to bear arms. The representative would have 3d printer regulation before gun regulation? That makes absolutely no sense at all. Since 3d printers can be made by hobbyists at home, effective regulation is impossible. Not to mention that firing a 3d printed gun as a proof of concept and having an effective weapon are two very different things. A car is a far more dangerous weapon than a 3D printer. Are you afraid to drive?

    1. Re:No terrorist needs a 3D printer by maxwell+demon · · Score: 2

      A car is a far more dangerous weapon than a 3D printer.

      Bad example, because it actually is tracked who owns and uses a car. Or what did you think those license plates are for?

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    2. Re:No terrorist needs a 3D printer by twistofsin · · Score: 1

      There are no penalties for having an unlicensed vehicle on private property, though.

    3. Re:No terrorist needs a 3D printer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Does that mean arc welders, english wheels, and band saws are illegal?

    4. Re:No terrorist needs a 3D printer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let's not forget that I can make a far better gun, at home, out of metal, than these toys made a on a 3d printer.

    5. Re:No terrorist needs a 3D printer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You don't need a license or registration to own an auto mobile. You only need that to drive it on public roads.

    6. Re:No terrorist needs a 3D printer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bad example, because it actually is tracked who owns and uses a car. Or what did you think those license plates are for?

      And no one ever steals a car to do anything bad I guess. No criminal has ever thought of that.

    7. Re:No terrorist needs a 3D printer by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      California tops the Brady Campaign's ratings for "safe gun laws". We have extraordinary levels of registration, restriction, and tracking of firearms in the State. Of course, it hasn't really eliminated firearm murders, most of which are committed by felons who already break the law by possessing the firearm. This is just more insanity by the dolts in Sacramento to trample on the rights of the law-abiding citizen simply in an effort to garner a few votes...

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    8. Re:No terrorist needs a 3D printer by ScentCone · · Score: 2

      Bad example, because it actually is tracked who owns and uses a car. Or what did you think those license plates are for?

      Bad analogy. Criminals steal cars - expressly for the purpose of using them in a crime - all the time.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    9. Re:No terrorist needs a 3D printer by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 1

      Bad example, because it actually is tracked who owns and uses a car.

      And certainly if I was going to go buy a car to mow down a bunch of pedestrians, I'd go title and register it at the MVA after I buy it from some guy on Craigslist for $500.

      Here's how effectively cars are tracked: despite the law, 1 in 7 drivers are not insured.

      --
      Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
      You cannot wash away blood with blood
    10. Re:No terrorist needs a 3D printer by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      Kind of like Restraining Orders... because obviously anybody planning on breaking the existing laws against assault and/or murder is going to totally change their mind when a judge says coming within 100 yards of their intended victim is now against the law!

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    11. Re:No terrorist needs a 3D printer by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      Yes there definitely is.

      My brother rented a room from someone out in the country for a while. That guy got a ticket for having a car behind his barn that wasn't currently licensed. The county knew it was there because they saw it from a helicopter that was looking for marijuana plots.

      They want annual fees for anything registered, not just what is used on public roads.

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    12. Re:No terrorist needs a 3D printer by Howitzer86 · · Score: 1

      And it costs more to print one than to just buy a cheap one off the street.

    13. Re:No terrorist needs a 3D printer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just because the solution is imperfect, primarily due to the fact that it's trying to balance the right of the person seeking the Restraining Order to be free from harassment with the right of the target to move freely about their life, doesn't mean the solution shouldn't exist. In a way, you end up making the point FOR the legislation, because it's obvious that while Restraining Orders don't work 100% of the time, they do work over a large number of cases. The same argument can be made for 3D printer regulation.

    14. Re:No terrorist needs a 3D printer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Guns and explosives are easy to get thanks to America's right to bear arms.

      No. Guns are easy to get because they are easy to get. Explosives are actually pretty hard to get from what I understand. When my father was a boy they didn't track them. People would bring home sticks of dynamite from the mines to use on the 4th of July, like bringing home a stapler from the office. Not now.

      Anyway, I digress. These things are easy to get because there is a market. To wit: pot. Totally illegal at the Federal level. Still an infraction in California and still very illegal if I were to grow or sell it in the same quantity of tomatoes. There is no recognized right to smoke pot, and yet... if I wanted some, it wouldn't be any trouble at all. Doc, I'm SooooOOO sick. Yeah. Either that, or you just ask a friend of a friend of a friend, and there are so many people that smoke your network doesn't have to expand very far until you hit a connection.

    15. Re:No terrorist needs a 3D printer by Totenglocke · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Uh, no. There is no law against owning a car without having it registered, having license plates, or having a drivers license as long as it stays on private property. The police may have given him a ticket, but it was a bogus ticket.

      --
      "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
    16. Re:No terrorist needs a 3D printer by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      So the other person I know who was told he couldn't have an unlicensed vehicle on a friend's property also didn't have the government force him to license it? It wasn't even operable anymore, but his choice was to pay the annual license or junk it.

      You ever think that maybe your state's law is different than other states' laws?

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    17. Re:No terrorist needs a 3D printer by Richy_T · · Score: 1

      Even England isn't that lame (c.f. SORN)

    18. Re:No terrorist needs a 3D printer by Totenglocke · · Score: 1

      It's not a state law, it's a Federal law. Like I said, they may have given him a ticket and threatened him, but police do that without any legal standing all the time.

      --
      "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." ~Thomas Jefferson
    19. Re:No terrorist needs a 3D printer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In some places, you're supposed to positively certify that it's not being used, though. Sorry for the anon. post, but I've moderated heavily in this discussion.

    20. Re:No terrorist needs a 3D printer by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      That may vary by state. Some states are desperate/vicious, and will tax anything they can.

      --
      Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
  12. I hate being ruled by the FUD of soccer moms by epyT-R · · Score: 0, Troll

    and their democrat/neocon elected idiots in washington. Yee's 'argument' could apply to just about anything, including things like computer hardware, software, tools/manufacturing equipment, and anything else that empowers the individual in some way. Why not put those behind a regulated paywall too?

    Of course, a hyper regulated country with an ever shrinking 'freedom sandbox' is the leftist definition of liberty, and I'll bet the business interests behind the neocon right wouldn't mind it either. Anything to keep the peon employee-slaves in line, right?

    1. Re:I hate being ruled by the FUD of soccer moms by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 0

      Of course, a hyper regulated country with an ever shrinking 'freedom sandbox' is the leftist definition of liberty

      No, it's not. Left vs. right is the "common people" vs. the aristocrats axis -- labor vs. capital, in modern times. One's opinion on how much government regulation there should be is independent of one's opinion on whether that regulation should benefit working people or the investment class.

      --
      Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
      You cannot wash away blood with blood
    2. Re:I hate being ruled by the FUD of soccer moms by Dahamma · · Score: 2

      Take a deep breath and relax ;) This guy isn't in Washington, just Sacramento. He's the same idiot - I mean CA state senator - who sponsored a law to regulate video games until the Federal court told him to piss off (ie ruled it unconstitutional). This legislation isn't going anywhere, and hopefully will just piss off enough people in SF that they finally vote the moron out of office...

    3. Re:I hate being ruled by the FUD of soccer moms by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Left vs. right is the "common people" vs. the aristocrats axis -- labor vs. capital, in modern times.

      That'll be why the left almost always opposes personal freedom in favor of giving more power to government bureaucrats.

      All government regulation benefits the bureaucrat class, and the bureaucrat class and welfare class are who the modern left represent.

    4. Re: I hate being ruled by the FUD of soccer moms by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Did I understand you right? You think labor is left and capital is right? There are lots of laborers on the right in the U.S. and lots of capitalists on the left.

    5. Re:I hate being ruled by the FUD of soccer moms by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And I'm sure things such as the Patriot Act and TSA were all the left's fault, too.

    6. Re:I hate being ruled by the FUD of soccer moms by fazey · · Score: 1

      I hope you're right. I would hate to think of how crazy he would go, if he knew all you needed was a mil and a lathe to make metal guns.
      I'd rather the terrorists have inaccurate plastic pieces of shit that fall apart when it counts... instead of well made mil-spec firearms.

  13. Regulation of tools? by Antony+T+Curtis · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why not regulate lathes? They can be used to make a barrel of a high powered rifle.
    Why not regulate mills? They can be used to make land mines.
    Why not regulate sheet metal? They can be used to make the skin of missiles.
    Why not regulate screwdrivers? They can be used to make bombs.

    Why not just regulate and put a serial number in each and every bullet manufactured? I doubt that anyone would be able to 3D-print a bullet and its charge for many years to come.

    --
    No sig. Move along - nothing to see here.
    1. Re:Regulation of tools? by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 4, Informative

      I doubt that anyone would be able to 3D-print a bullet and its charge for many years to come.

      It should be noted that bullet molds can be acquired quite easily - many reloaders make their own bullets.

      The powder charge isn't quite as easy to make, but it's not like you can't find recipes, since "modern" smokeless powder has been in use since the 1880's.

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    2. Re:Regulation of tools? by Mister+Transistor · · Score: 3, Informative

      Umm you do realize that soldiers were casting their own lead bullets since BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR, right?

      I'd say they're pretty easy to "3d-print".

      --
      -- You are in a maze of little, twisty passages, all different... --
    3. Re:Regulation of tools? by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      Umm you do realize that soldiers were casting their own lead bullets since BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR, right?

      Since before Columbus sailed, you mean?

      For what it's worth, slingers were casting their own slingbullets since, well, they discovered lead would melt...

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    4. Re:Regulation of tools? by Mspangler · · Score: 1

      " I doubt that anyone would be able to 3D-print a bullet and its charge for many years to come."

      Way, way too late. Just one source is here;

      http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/bullet-casting/

      The recipe for black powder is on wikipedia, and smokeless powder is only one step beyond Mythbusters level kitchen chemistry.

      The government can't reliably stop people from making their own methamphetamine; this chemistry is much simpler. Making it in ton lots consistently time after time is the hard part, not the making it in the first place. It's similar to beer or wine. A batch of home brew is no big deal. Making it by thousand barrel lots and getting it to come out the same every time is the hard part.

       

    5. Re:Regulation of tools? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Regulate primers. Every firearm primer should include microdots. Electronic ignition in firearms deserves a matchlock renaissance.

    6. Re:Regulation of tools? by dgatwood · · Score: 2

      Doing it repeatedly without blowing the doors off your house is the hard part.

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

    7. Re:Regulation of tools? by Pubstar · · Score: 1

      California already tried something like that. They wanted the firing pin to stamp the guns serial number on the shell casings so the could identify the gun that fired it. Not sure if that ever made it into law, but there was something on here about some patent making it impossible to happen.

    8. Re:Regulation of tools? by WrecklessSandwich · · Score: 1

      Umm you do realize that bullets have changed in the past 200 years and aren't a simple round ball anymore, right?

    9. Re:Regulation of tools? by couchslug · · Score: 1

      "I doubt that anyone would be able to 3D-print a bullet and its charge for many years to come."

      Bullets are simple to machine and casts. Primer cups and anvils are simple to form and punch. The chemicals are basic chemistry. Good luck banning nitrates.

      --
      "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
    10. Re:Regulation of tools? by Crypto+Gnome · · Score: 1

      Why not just regulate and put a serial number in each and every bullet manufactured?

      Did you miss the part where the government TRIED TO do exactly that last year, and THE NRA LOBBYISTS SHOT THE LEGISLATION DOWN.

      --
      Visit CryptoGnome in his home.
    11. Re:Regulation of tools? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Umm you do realise that humans haven't suddenly become immune to the old-style bullets just because new kinds exist, right?

    12. Re:Regulation of tools? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      why limit yourself to smokeless powder? If you go with standard black power, god only knows how old that is. Perfectly effective, and all you need is a popular bbq ingredient, and a meat preservative. If you want to go really fancy and have something to regulate the burn rate, add sulfur. And it's stupid easy to make.

    13. Re:Regulation of tools? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      for nitroglycerin, I would agree, for black powder, no. Just no, it's so easy to make, and so low risk to make, you would have to be borderline retarded to screw it up. If you screw it up, and it goes off, you lose your eye brows, that's it. And you would have to be monumentally daft to screw it up to even lose your eye brows.

      Black powder isn't a class A explosive, it's a class C explosive, also known as a propellent, in other words, unless encased in a pressure vessel, all it does is burn vigorously. You might burn your house down, but that's probably the end of it if working in large batches.

    14. Re:Regulation of tools? by Mspangler · · Score: 3, Interesting
    15. Re:Regulation of tools? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      NRA shot it down? What? By pointing out the simple it would be to replace the firing pin with a standard hammer? Or maybe filing off the serial number? Or do you just think that every crime is a crime of passion done in the heat of the moment and nobody would take the time to file that off. Or maybe you just don't care about any level of anonymity.

      And come on, seriously blaming the NRA for anything in California. In Texas you'd have a point, but in California, I don't believe for an instant they have an ounce of influence, more that the legislators realized how daft and pointless it would be. Especially in a state with more illegal fire arms than any other.

    16. Re:Regulation of tools? by runeghost · · Score: 1

      Don't give the powers that be ideas.

    17. Re:Regulation of tools? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And yet it's still just as easy to make them

    18. Re:Regulation of tools? by tibit · · Score: 1

      You win the internetz for today :)

      --
      A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
    19. Re:Regulation of tools? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You do realize bullets weren't necessarily simple round balls during the civil war, either, right?

      You do realize round bullets are actually harder to cast than the bullets we used today, right?

    20. Re:Regulation of tools? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ammo doubled in complexity, which is not saying much. The charge and projectile share the same package for faster reloading. That's not a big difference. The most difficult thing for an average person making their own ammo would be casting the metal. In other words, people (like you) think it's difficult, but it's not and it only requires thousand dollar machinery if you're mass producing ammo.

      The easiest firearm to make from scratch, is a shotgun. The easiest ammo to make from scratch is a shotgun shell (and the spent shells are reusable). Shotgun shells are cheap and abundant, and building a simple shotgun would take less than a day (two pipes, one that slides inside the other, the other capped with a firing pin in the center).

      The general consensus is that the issue of 3D printed gun regulation is retarded.

    21. Re:Regulation of tools? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Umm you do realize that bullets have changed in the past 200 years and aren't a simple round ball anymore, right?

      In the case of shotguns, they still are simple round balls, and BBs from the hardware store would make perfectly serviceable shot.

      Even for rifles and pistols they're barely more complicated than a simple round ball. You think a chamber is tremendously tightly calibrated, but so long as everything is reasonably round, it doesn't care. Blanks, for instance, are just a casing with powder and wadded up paper, crimped off at the end.

      Even if you can't buy a machined mold, you can make a mold from wood; that site is showing sling bullets, but you could adapt it to rifle or pistol bullets. (No, I haven't done it myself, I'm not *that* dedicated.)

      And there's no guesswork. First, you're going to take your bullet and verify that it drops through the chamber and barrel with little resistance.

      Since the bullet produced by your mold may be a tighter or looser fit in the casing, you have to adjust the amount of powder until it's dialed in optimally. This is a standard technique in reloading, and books on the subject show how to observe the spent brass to see when there's too much pressure in the chamber.

      Once you've got a good mold and know your preferred load, you should be able to win shooting tournaments with your homemade bullets.

    22. Re:Regulation of tools? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think he was being sarcastic. I mean my sarcasm detector went off, but it's one of the cheapo 3-d printed ones so maybe it's flawed.

    23. Re:Regulation of tools? by Mister+Transistor · · Score: 1

      Hell yeah!

      Kirk used it to kill the Gorn on Cestus III...

      --
      -- You are in a maze of little, twisty passages, all different... --
    24. Re:Regulation of tools? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I owned and shot a muzzleloader a few years ago, and it used simple round balls.

      Guns with pre-1890 technology (cap lock, flint lock, and match lock muzzleloaders) are not regulated in the U.S.

      I bought a flint lock pistol through the mail once. Didn't even have to sign for it. Also bought black powder through the mail, but I had to sign for that.

    25. Re:Regulation of tools? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Umm you do realize that bullet gun design and ammunition complement each other and that soldiers aren't going to go back to black powder pistols because of the significant efficiency losses, right?

    26. Re:Regulation of tools? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why not regulate screwdrivers? They can be used to make bombs.

      It would be simpler to regulate red 7-segment displays.

    27. Re:Regulation of tools? by O('_')O_Bush · · Score: 1

      Doesn't matter at all. Casting bullets from old lead tire weights is nearly free, and is a popular pastime for most people that shoot large caliber handguns (.44 magnum, .50 AE, etc).

      All it takes is a propane torch, a small crucible, and one of hundreds of bullet moulds in various shapes/calibers.

      --
      while(1) attack(People.Sandy);
    28. Re:Regulation of tools? by dgatwood · · Score: 1

      None of the above. I was talking about the risks involved in making meth.

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

    29. Re:Regulation of tools? by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      Black powder leaves a lot of corrosive residue. You don't want to use it if you're planning on shooting a lot before taking time off to clean the gun.

      --
      Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
    30. Re:Regulation of tools? by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      Why not just regulate and put a serial number in each and every bullet manufactured?

      Because it's a stupid idea. Some, not all, bullets deform to an astonishing degree, or even fragment. Try reading a 15 digit serial number off a ragged, expanded bullet.

      --
      Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
    31. Re:Regulation of tools? by TheBogBrushZone · · Score: 1

      Who needs tools? A heavy stick can be a formidable and lethal weapon and can easily slip through a metal detector. I suggest the immediate registration of everyone who owns or has access to a tree or bamboo plant.

      --
      And behold, a command prompt and he who sat upon it, his name was shutdown and -h 3:11 followed with him
  14. Why not go further? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Make anyone who owns/buys a lathe, mill, drill press or other metalworking machinery undergo a background check, make them register it, report to the government whenever they use it. After all, terrorists could use it to make a gun and get away scott free. Oh, did you buy a piece of steel barstock? Background check for you, just in case you think of turning it into a rifle barrel. We really just can't go far enough when it comes to regulating things that terrorists might use to cause harm.

    1. Re:Why not go further? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Not to mention that you can make tools with other tools. Once you have a 3D printer that can print 3D printers, all bets are off.

      Unless they plan on monitoring who downloads what plans and build every printer so it "calls home" and reports what you printed? Who gave government THAT power?

  15. No one tell him... by pla · · Score: 1

    Uh, oh - No one tell him about "zip" guns!

    More seriously, though - You can get an untraceable "real" gun a hell of a lot cheaper and easier - even in California - than by buying a $1000 machine, finding the plans online, trying to get it to print all the parts un-warped enough to actually fit together, and then will only fire a single shot, perhaps half a dozen times before it deforms too much to use again.

    / You can have my Bic ball-point pen over my cold dead hands, you 2nd (and 1st!) amendment hating scum!

    1. Re:No one tell him... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah its funny when you think about you could go buy a drill and some metal pipe and make something that would be more useful than what you can print with a 3D printer.

    2. Re:No one tell him... by Si · · Score: 1

      Yes, but you can't sneak *that* gun past airport "security".

      --


      Why is it that many people who claim to support standards have such atrocious spelling and grammar?
    3. Re:No one tell him... by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      Nobody buys a $1000 3D printer to make just one item, just like nobody plants a field of marijuana to get just one joint. Yee doesn't want the people that now go into the drug business to go into the gun illegal gun parts manufacturing business. But Pandora's box is already open, and stuffing everything back inside is now impossible... existing 3D printers can be used to make more 3D printers, in fact most 3D printers come with blueprints to replace easily warn parts and recommend that he first thing you make is spare parts!

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    4. Re:No one tell him... by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      Zip guns are single-shot. Printed guns take clips and are multiple shot until they jam, which should happen within the first few clips. Both are fun toys, but nothing I'd bet my life on when a Glock or Walther PPK are still relatively cheap.

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    5. Re:No one tell him... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Zip guns are single-shot. Printed guns take clips and are multiple shot until they jam, which should happen within the first few clips. Both are fun toys, but nothing I'd bet my life on when a Glock or Walther PPK are still relatively cheap.

      Depends on what you're talking about - there's [not yet] no fully printable gun that will do what you say above. The printable AR-15 lower, along with printable magazines, still rely on lots of non-printable metallic parts (that so happens to be unregulated, in the US, for now).

      The fully printable Liberator IS the equivalent of a zip gun.

  16. Comprehensive reform by MacDork · · Score: 1, Insightful

    While I agree with the Senator, I believe we must act with comprehensive reform. Laser printers are being used to print counterfeit money. Those too should be regulated and tracked just as strictly as 3d printers. All printer owners should be tracked, registered, and of course, pay a government tax to cover all this tracking.

    Goddamn, I'm good at this political bullshit. Block something I don't want under the guise of "comprehensive reform." Being a greasy politician is easy.

    1. Re:Comprehensive reform by Alex+Pennace · · Score: 2

      While I agree with the Senator, I believe we must act with comprehensive reform. Laser printers are being used to print counterfeit money. Those too should be regulated and tracked just as strictly as 3d printers. All printer owners should be tracked, registered, and of course, pay a government tax to cover all this tracking.

      We are already halfway there: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Printer_steganography&oldid=554087510

    2. Re:Comprehensive reform by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      actually, the 3d printer they used to make this was $8,000, not 40k (http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/05/05/meet-the-liberator-test-firing-the-worlds-first-fully-3d-printed-gun/) and I know their site mentions reprap 3d printer, which can be obtained about $1,000 depending on the model. I'm not sure if that's recommended for this particular build (the liberator) or not, but I know it's been recommended to me for the AR lowers they designed.

      The point is, it's nowhere near $40,000 to make one. However, it's still far more costly than getting a real gun somehow (legally or illegally)

  17. Yee must have the Maker Bot Steel Edition by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dear Senator Yee,

    Metal working tools (also unregulated) have allowed a skilled backyard machinist to build weapons for probably the last 150 years. A DIY 3D printer isn't going to be cranking out steel gun barrels any time soon. I'm going to cut myself off before I rant about how morons without technical backgrounds are determining what is and what isn't legal for you and I to own. [whoops guess it leaked out anyway].

    No I didn't RTFA so flame away....

    1. Re:Yee must have the Maker Bot Steel Edition by Takatata · · Score: 1

      Metal working tools (also unregulated) have allowed a skilled backyard machinist to build weapons for probably the last 150 years.

      That's the difference: skilled backyard machinist .
      With those printers every idiot with two left hands can download the plans and print his gun. Probably even kids. So there is a new quality to what was possible for the last 150 years.

    2. Re:Yee must have the Maker Bot Steel Edition by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      actually it doesn't really even take someone that skilled, they teach that shit in shop class at school. How to use lathes, drill presses and do metal working. That's basic stuff that's not too hard. You don't need to be a metal working artist or genius to drill out some pipe properly and make a nail+hammer for a firing pin.

    3. Re:Yee must have the Maker Bot Steel Edition by zedtwitz · · Score: 0

      Hey dipshit, You need a ~$50,000 3D printer to make anything of an accuracy that will actually fire. Otherwise, it'll blow up in their face. You really think making a 3D printer is that easy?! Cunt. It's easier to use a steel tube and a stapler. People like you are the ones keeping us on this fucking mudball.

    4. Re:Yee must have the Maker Bot Steel Edition by Takatata · · Score: 1

      Hey dipshit,

      You are confused, I am not your mother. For the rest what you said: Yes, high quality 3D printers are very expensive at the moment. But so where computers ~30 years ago. It can be expected that 3D printers will become much cheaper and much better in the next few years.

    5. Re:Yee must have the Maker Bot Steel Edition by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      The skill needed is quite little. The instructions are quite complete and easy to follow, and you need a hand drill, a hacksaw, a couple of hand files, and materials you can buy at Home Depot - along with the tools I just listed. Trivial to build, nothing more complex than tracing a paper pattern on thin steel and cutting it. And you end up with a fully-functioning 9mm submachine gun.

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    6. Re:Yee must have the Maker Bot Steel Edition by zedtwitz · · Score: 0

      Okay, I'll calm down. I agree, they will get cheaper. Might I ask you read this article by a NASA astronaut on how our dreams are being hijacked by terrorists? http://news.discovery.com/space/history-of-space/astronaut-leroy-chiao-space-dreams-media-130507.htm This one is also intriguing: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/13/130510-buzz-aldrin-space-mars-moon-nasa-science/

    7. Re:Yee must have the Maker Bot Steel Edition by Takatata · · Score: 1

      I just don't understand what problems you have with what I wrote. Did I say that I advocate 3D printer regulations? I don't. First I don't see that it can be regulated, second... I want to have one of those myself. Not to print guns, but all the other cool stuff. But a problem does not go away just by ignoring or denying it. Even though I am constantly told here how easy it is to build a working weapon with stuff from a hardware store, it is not easy. Not many people are skilled enough to build their own weapon from scratch. At least not many compared to the numbers when in a few years in almost every home such a printer stands. Unlikely? How many homes had a 2D printer 30 years ago?

    8. Re:Yee must have the Maker Bot Steel Edition by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Metal working tools (also unregulated) have allowed a skilled backyard machinist to build weapons for probably the last 150 years.

      That's the difference: skilled backyard machinist .

      With those printers every idiot with two left hands can download the plans and print his gun. Probably even kids. So there is a new quality to what was possible for the last 150 years.

      They can also download the plans to 3D print a ninja sword, oh noes!
      If you think there's a strong risk of children/adult even, obtaining crappy plastic pistols and becoming menaces to society.. um, where are they now?
      Drinking beer, thinking "damn, if only I had a PoS plastic handgun I'd go do something stupid right now"?

    9. Re:Yee must have the Maker Bot Steel Edition by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree the skills required to make a 'serviceable' weapon are not high ( not a great weapon, but serviceable ), it does take 2 things most people don't have. - determination and some elbow grease. If you can someday just push the 'print gun' button and out pops a blob of plastic that shoots, more people might do it once the costs go down. Not saying we should ban 3D printers, or personal use manufacture of course, just that it does bring the bar down a bit lower and more accessible to more people ( where it should be, as everyone has a right to own a firearm, and i don't care what some stupid law says. as far as i'm concerned its a basic human *right* ).

      Do note tho, that the gun in the book you presented would be illegal to manufacture in this country as is without special licenses, while the 'liberator mk II' would be legal.

    10. Re:Yee must have the Maker Bot Steel Edition by Osgeld · · Score: 1

      I am a totally unskilled machinist, its not that hard, kids are just as likely to have unsupervised access to a 3d printer as they are to machine tools, that will rip your fucking hand off available in any high school throughout the country.

  18. Cody Wilson & a 3d Printer walk in to gun shop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In compliance with ITAR, the punchline to this joke has been removed at the request of the office of the U.S. Secretary of State.

  19. Great fear mongering!!! by dewright_ca · · Score: 1, Insightful

    This is the kind of stupidity I see coming from Democrats across the country and its just sickening. Just as the DOD and DOJ are pushing to block the ability to share the plans for these printed guns they seem to forget the fact that these printers are available world-wide; and the US does not have a monopoly on people with engineering experience let alone knowledge in creating firearms.

    So by trying to ban this, all they are doing is drawing more attention to it. As if countries like Iran, North Korea or Syria don't have people who know how to acquire a lathe and make a gun of better quality themselves. So this is made out of plastic and not detectable by a radar/magnetometer, you know what; the bullet/shell will be.

    The ability to create a plastic/resin based shell casing that can properly detonate and propel a shell as required isn't possible.

    --
    He who is always at the bottom of the distribution list, but needs the information first!
    1. Re:Great fear mongering!!! by Takatata · · Score: 1

      The ability to create a plastic/resin based shell casing that can properly detonate and propel a shell as required isn't possible.

      Not? I wouldn't be too sure of that. Perhaps a shell made of stone? Not much precision necessary for the very short distances in a plane.

    2. Re:Great fear mongering!!! by dewright_ca · · Score: 1

      Interesting point, I don't think a plastic shell in a plastic gun would fire well without bad back-blast, but a stone shell? Hmmm while structurally you might be correct I wonder about the feasibility of a usable product.

      I won't discount it, but wonder about the true potential...

      --
      He who is always at the bottom of the distribution list, but needs the information first!
    3. Re:Great fear mongering!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The "shell" is exactly what it sounds like -- a shell! The round would have to be made of stone.

      But either way, you would pretty much be better off with an Airsoft gun if you actually wanted to hurt someone on a plane. LOL

    4. Re:Great fear mongering!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You don't need a shell casing to send a bullet down range. The earliest guns didn't have such a thing. There are modern weapons that have a castable powder that is entirely consumed during firing.

    5. Re:Great fear mongering!!! by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      The ability to create a plastic/resin based shell casing that can properly detonate and propel a shell as required isn't possible.

      Oh, really? http://www.pcpammo.com/

      Plastic shell casings have been made for at least 50 years, even if you discount shotgun shells, which are mostly plastic (except when they're mostly paper).

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    6. Re:Great fear mongering!!! by Grand+Facade · · Score: 1

      "The ability to create a plastic/resin based shell casing that can properly detonate and propel a shell as required isn't possible."

      Too late already done.....

      --
      Rick B.
    7. Re:Great fear mongering!!! by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      Mostly plasting, except for the metal end carrying the primer, and of course the metal shot inside. But yes, I'm sure somebody has by now made non-ferrous ammo to go with the non-ferrous guns that have been around for a long time. In fact, ceramics are pretty strong now. I wouldn't reuse them like brass shell casings, but I'm pretty sure they could be designed to survive a single shot.

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    8. Re:Great fear mongering!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The ability to create a plastic/resin based shell casing that can properly detonate and propel a shell as required isn't possible.

      http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y67/slickr1/active2.jpg, Oh... ok.

    9. Re:Great fear mongering!!! by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      Actually, it's possible to create ammunition that consists of nothing but primer, propellant, and bullet. Hold the bullet and primer in place in a mold, pour in the propellant and let it set until hard.

      --
      Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
  20. Next on the list: fire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Of course a CA idiot wants to regulate something else. Next, the use of fire to shape metal, or perhaps they'll restrict the ability to shape stones into pointy objects. Morons.

  21. Easy solution... by Takatata · · Score: 1

    ...the printer only starts if you put a drop of your blood into a receptacle. With the DNA in it the plastic material is 'signed'. Ok, I am not serious, but who knows...

  22. This is why space is empty by CRCulver · · Score: 2

    I've recently been musing on the idea that the reason for the Fermi Paradox and a huge point against Kurweilz's optimism that we'll reach the Singularity in a just couple of decades, is that a civilization's regulatory agencies are so slow to react to technological advances. If lawmakers don't allow 3D printers to flourish, then there won't be the consumer demand that motivates the next generation of printer, and the one after that, etc. Eventually the environment will be too fucked and the natural resources exhausted before humanity can develop the technology to transcend its limitations.

    1. Re:This is why space is empty by zedtwitz · · Score: 1

      Beautiful yet hideous. It's true; the human race is too fucking retarded to ever leave this orbit.

    2. Re:This is why space is empty by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Alternative hypothesis:

      The gap in complexity between the technology required to melt a low temperature high tensile strength material plus position a extruder-head in 3 axes & the technology required to transport large volumes of mass outside the gravity-well of a planet make the probability of any species of life that is suitably aggressive in behavior and breeding to expand to the edges of it's natural habitat unlikely to escape that habitat before resorting to cannibalism under economic pressure.

      Competing theories exist on the best survival strategy to prolong the species survival and hasten the arrival of orbital mass drivers. These competing ideologies contrast between attempts to harness cooperative behavior and suppress aggression & attempts to harness competition and suppress the welfare-seeking behavior of the Luddites that find comfort in communal societies.

      Development of weapons research hastens the arrival of high energy launch technologies, and communal behavior from populist access to the means of production helps to suppress the violent tendencies which pose a threat to civilization.

      Stay tuned to find out which form of zealotry is "more correct" in their efforts to reform society to conform to their world-view!

    3. Re:This is why space is empty by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      I've recently been musing on the idea that the reason for the Fermi Paradox and a huge point against Kurweilz's optimism that we'll reach the Singularity in a just couple of decades, is that a civilization's regulatory agencies are so slow to react to technological advances.

      On the contrary. Lawmakers have an inhibiting effect on technology, so their inability to react in a timely fashion is the only reason we actually see progress.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  23. California and New York are in a battle... by VinylRecords · · Score: 2, Insightful

    California and New York are engaged in an all out conflict to see which state can erode its citizens' rights the quickest. They'll try anything to regulate what you can and cannot do as an individual. They want to police your every movement, thought, and activity.

    Want to smoke cigarettes? Then get ready to pay the government $5 in taxes per pack just for the privilege. They'll throw out regressive and punitive taxes on smoking to create their own vision for America. You can't even open a private club or restaurant that allows smoking without going through extreme legal battles for the permit.

    Want a 20oz soda? Well that's against the law. At least that's how they wanted it in NYC. And no more delivery of 2 liter bottles of soda with pizza takeout. That's another law that they want to pass. Banning pizza companies from delivering a 2 liter soda with your order.

    Want to practice the 2nd Amendment? You need fingerprints, background checks, additional invasive background checks, registration to a permanent database, tons of money, and expensive lawyers. And if you get a gun or a concealed carry permit they'll illegally give your information over to the newspapers and blogs to reveal your personal information to everyone. Try getting a concealed carry permit for a pistol in certain cities in CA or NY. You need at least $5,000 for the fees and lawyers. It's prohibitive and costs people right out of their constitutional rights. You need to be wealthy to protect yourself.

    3D printers? Why not try to regulate them? Everything else needs to be regulated anyways in our new utopian liberal fantasy. After all we need to protect the children from terrorism and school shootings and violent video games.

    1. Re:California and New York are in a battle... by techno-vampire · · Score: 1

      California and New York are engaged in an all out conflict to see which state can erode its citizens' rights the quickest.

      That's an excellent way to describe the situation. And, I admit, it's things like this that make me wonder why I still live in The People's Republic of California.

      --
      Good, inexpensive web hosting
    2. Re:California and New York are in a battle... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Better jobs, better weather, better women.

    3. Re:California and New York are in a battle... by shoemilk · · Score: 1

      Dude, I was going to go into how I can't stand your points, but I think the thing that bothers me most is the level of your rhetoric. "police" "extreme" "invasive" "utopian liberal fantasy". Tone it down some and you might make some decent points. Currently, you just sound like a Fox News sound bite.

      Damn, as much as I tried, I can't stop myself.

      By your examples of CA and NY and the "liberal" at the end, you seemed to be under the impression that conservatives don't want to do the exact same thing. Which party is the one that keeps trying to pass laws about what you can and can't do in your bedroom again?

      Ahh cigarettes. That was a hard fought battle. Fortunately, public decency won. I currently live in a country where there's no regulation in restaurants. Some do have separate rooms, some have the "invisible wall", others don't even have that. If people want to smoke, have at it. If people want to smoke while I try to eat, I hope they don't mind if I shit on their plate while they try to eat. See, smoking isn't a right, it is a privilege. If you want to buy pre-packaged ready to smoke cigarettes, you pay for it. But you know what? There is no regulations on growing your own.

      As to the concealed thing? Let me just say good. It makes me happy to know not just any moron can carry a gun.

    4. Re:California and New York are in a battle... by shoemilk · · Score: 1

      Okay, back again. You seem to have not actually read the second amendment. No where in it does it say that anyone anywhere can carry a gun they bought thirty seconds ago at the Kwik-e Mart. In fact, it's the only amendment to use the word "regulated". One man walking down the street is not a militia.

    5. Re:California and New York are in a battle... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As to the concealed thing? Let me just say good. It makes me happy to know not just any moron can carry a gun.

      Right, because clearly the people who intend to do harm with that gun that will be dissuaded by having to get a permit. They won't, but maybe law-abiding citizens who could have helped out will be.

    6. Re:California and New York are in a battle... by jp_452 · · Score: 1

      Which party is the one that keeps trying to pass laws about what you can and can't do in your bedroom again?

      Radical feminists who claim that all heterosexual sex is "rape" are "conservatives" now?

    7. Re: California and New York are in a battle... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Regulated" does not mean what you think. Go read DC v Heller and learn something.

    8. Re:California and New York are in a battle... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As to the concealed thing? Let me just say good. It makes me happy to know not just any moron can carry a gun.

      Yes, because needing 5000 bucks for a lawyer definitely levels the playing field *guffaw*. Does it physically hurt being as stupid as you are?

      I've got a concealed carry permit in the midwestern US, and in my state at least the crime rate of concealed carry permit holders is not only lower than the general population, it's lower than the crime rate of law enforcement personnel both on and off duty. So, I suppose what I'm saying is, fuck you. Fuck your nanny state fear. Fuck whatever nation you live in.

      Just remember something son, it wasn't your pussy nation of residence that went to the moon or won the cold war, the was the USA, back when we had leaders with balls.

    9. Re:California and New York are in a battle... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think you'll find that the average conservative actually has a problem with "marriage" due to the first amendment and its separation of church and state, and marriage being predominantly a religious institution. As a conservative, I don't give a damn who you bang, but marriage is a religious thing, and I believe in the first amendment. I tend to think most conservatives want to see the abolishment of the concept of legal marriage as it's a bastardization of the first amendment. But hey, since when did a liberal ever not mind twisting reality to any extreme so long as it suits their purpose?

    10. Re:California and New York are in a battle... by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      t's the only amendment to use the word "regulated". One man walking down the street is not a militia.

      But one man walking down the street IS a member of the militia. Read the Militia Act sometime....

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    11. Re:California and New York are in a battle... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When has anybody that absurd ever had the political clout to try to pass laws?

      They don't slot into either party.

    12. Re:California and New York are in a battle... by techno-vampire · · Score: 1

      I'm retired, now, so the first isn't a factor. As far as weather goes, everyplace has its own weather issues. We don't have hurricanes but we do have windstorms, brush fires and earthquakes. As far as better women, I'm sure that there are many other parts of the US that would disagree with you.

      --
      Good, inexpensive web hosting
    13. Re:California and New York are in a battle... by CrashPoint · · Score: 1

      I think you'll find that the average conservative actually has a problem with "marriage" due to the first amendment and its separation of church and state, and marriage being predominantly a religious institution. As a conservative, I don't give a damn who you bang, but marriage is a religious thing, and I believe in the first amendment. I tend to think most conservatives want to see the abolishment of the concept of legal marriage as it's a bastardization of the first amendment.

      Huh? What's your basis for believing that the "average" conservative feels this way? The only ones I've ever known to espouse it are libertarians, many of whom don't identify as conservative and none of whom can honestly be called "average" by conservative standards.

    14. Re:California and New York are in a battle... by CrashPoint · · Score: 1

      No where in it does it say that anyone anywhere can carry a gun they bought thirty seconds ago at the Kwik-e Mart.

      By that reasoning, since First Amendment doesn't say that anyone anywhere can post on the Internet, it's okay to outlaw Slashdot.

    15. Re:California and New York are in a battle... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      but marriage is a religious thing

      Not anymore it isn't; it's also a government thing, and it comes with some benefits. There is no reason that marriage can't be both a religious thing and a government thing at the same time. Words have multiple meanings, and the people who believe in fairy tales can maintain that marriage is between a man and a woman while the government allows anyone to marry.

    16. Re:California and New York are in a battle... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I see what you did there.

  24. Repeating History? by jaa101 · · Score: 1

    Relevant: http://articles.latimes.com/1989-10-05/news/mn-913_1_soviet-union. Those who don't study history are condemned to repeat it.

    1. Re:Repeating History? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Guess they were right to ban'em... as soon as they unbanned'em, the whole country imploded!

  25. Regulation? by Murdoch5 · · Score: 1

    Okay so you can print a gun, but when you think about it, you can turn most every day objects into weapons. So should we regulate everything then?

    1. Re:Regulation? by Mspangler · · Score: 2

      "but when you think about it, you can turn most every day objects into weapons."

      You've been watching Jackie Chan movies, haven't you?

      I was amazed what he can do with a common stepladder.

    2. Re:Regulation? by dbc · · Score: 1

      Well, according to FBI statistics, more people are killed every year by blunt trauma (a hammer to the head) than by rifles of any kind. So, yes, you should have to be fingerprinted, wait 10 days, and pass a DOJ background check to buy a hammer at Home Depot. Actually, more people are killed by being beaten to death with fists and feet than by rifles of any kind, so you are guilty by the theory of "constructive possession" of having deadly weapons on or about your person at all times. I hope you have a concealed-weapons license, otherwise it may be a felony to wear shoes. Sandals are technically legal, but expect them to be probably cause for a stop-and-frisk.

  26. Expensive and not efficient at all by morcego · · Score: 1

    I wonder if anyone is going to tell him there are cheaper and more efficient ways (for larger numbers) to make homemade guns.

    His heart is in the right place, it is just his brain that has a problem...

    --
    morcego
    1. Re:Expensive and not efficient at all by dbc · · Score: 0

      Ummmm.... he knows.

      Now, think..... think..... hmmmmm..... is there *any* other reason he might have put all this effort into making a totally impractical gun and publishing the plans? Hmm....

    2. Re:Expensive and not efficient at all by morcego · · Score: 1

      Ummmm.... he knows.

      Now, think..... think..... hmmmmm..... is there *any* other reason he might have put all this effort into making a totally impractical gun and publishing the plans? Hmm....

      You know Leland Yee didn't make the gun and publish the plans, right? And it is about him, the lawmaker, California State Senator Leland Yee I'm talking about?

      --
      morcego
    3. Re:Expensive and not efficient at all by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      His heart is most definitely not in the right place. He wants to stifle technological advancement, take away people's rights, further grow a useless government bureaucracy, and control the free flow of information.

      And he'd be doing all that even if his proposed law could stop the non-threat of 3d printed gun crime.

  27. Mmm... by Greyfox · · Score: 1
    Hysterical people sure do make great leaders! Maybe we should elect more of them in the future! Yeah! That seems like a GREAT idea!

    Of course, if we're going to go after causes of death, maybe we should work on low-hanging fruit. Oh wait, that's a rational argument and I forgot we were being all hysterical here for a second. Plus, if we put the same amount of resources into reducing heart disease that you were planning to use to regulate 3D printers, we'd have to buy into Obamacare and its associated death panels! Ahh... there we go... that's the stuff...

    --

    I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

  28. Here we go... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Took them long enough.

    Next we will get regulation on knowledge..

    1. Re:Here we go... by PPH · · Score: 2

      Already banned in California.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    2. Re:Here we go... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That'd be Oklahoma and Kansas, they banned it.

      Alabama tried, but couldn't figure out what it was.

  29. Protecting corporate interest by metalmonkey · · Score: 2

    Corporate need a way to limit peoples ability to cheaply manufacture their own products and replacement parts vs buying new plastic crap with high profit margins.
    This excuse will work fine thanks.

    1. Re:Protecting corporate interest by Grand+Facade · · Score: 1

      I like this theory better.
      Yep,
      When the zombie apocalypse or martial law comes around,
      there won't be any raw materials or resources to build stuff out of,
      it all gets recycled to buy meth.

      --
      Rick B.
    2. Re:Protecting corporate interest by justaguylikeme · · Score: 1

      Corporate need a way to limit peoples ability to cheaply manufacture their own products and replacement parts vs buying new plastic crap with high profit margins. This excuse will work fine thanks.

      This. A billion times this! Absolutely! Where are my mod points when I need them?

  30. Regulate hardware stores next? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    News flash: You can build far better weapons with parts from the local hardware store. Nothing else you can just buy an axe and kill people with that..that worked thousands of years ago, and still works today.

    Regulate tools.
    Regulate raw materials.
    Regulate cars and trucks.
    Regulate brick ownership.
    Regulate our brains..

    It never stops.. i want off this train.

  31. CA Lawmaker Wants Encryption To Be Regulated by Cyphase · · Score: 0

    California State Senator Leland Yee (D-S.F.) says he wants regulations to track who possesses and uses encryption technology. Yee's comments come in response to the recent news of a successful trial of a super-secure encryption algorithm.

    "He's concerned that just about anyone with access to those cutting-edge encryption algorithms can protect their information. 'Terrorists can use these encryption technologies to protect their communications while they plan to do some horrible things to an individual and then walk away scott-free, and that is something that is really dangerous,' said Yee. He said while this new technology is impressive, it must be regulated when it comes to protecting information. He says background checks, requiring serial numbers and even licensing possession could be part of new legislation that he says will protect the public. Yee added, 'This particular encryption algorithm has no backdoor whatsoever.'"

    --
    by Cyphase ( 907627 )
    1. Re:CA Lawmaker Wants Encryption To Be Regulated by Takatata · · Score: 1

      Replace 'Terrorists' with 'Child Porn'. Works better with encryption related fear mongering.

  32. Regulate gunpowder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Guns are useless without gun powder. Since you can make gun powder in a 3D printer, I think regulating gun powder might be more effective.

    1. Re:Regulate gunpowder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're a moron. Replace 'gun powder' with 'bullets' and your statement wouldn't sound so stupid, just a little more like Chris Rock instead.

    2. Re:Regulate gunpowder by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      Guns are useless without gun powder. Since you can make gun powder in a 3D printer, I think regulating gun powder might be more effective.

      Making gunpowder is quite simple, actually. It's time-consuming, but if you follow the instructions you end up with something quite good, like Hodgdon's HP38. It was actually quite consistent when I made it, but took a long time to make around 10,000 grains. Definitely easier to just go buy a pound bottle...

      Now making primers might be tricky; I'll have to try that sometime. But making powder, molding bullets, and reloading are all quite simple, and I do the latter two (molding bullets and reloading) quite often...

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    3. Re:Regulate gunpowder by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      I'm pretty sure black power is just sulphur, charcoal, and saltpeter... and that's without bothering to even google the recipe. People have been casting their own bullets out of lead for hundreds of years now. Machining your own brass shell casings is probably more trouble than it's worth, but there are literally billions of them already out there, and they are generally reusable. Hardest part to make is the primer, but understand those are made out of mercury fulminate, which my dorm mate made in his room in college -- and he was a computer scientist, not a chemist. Wan't to skip all the complicated stuff, go back to using single-shot muzzle loaders, preferably flintlock. 200 year-old technology pretty easy to replicate today. And most likely pretty easy to make one that won't trigger a metal detector.

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    4. Re:Regulate gunpowder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Simple in that it only takes basic ingredients and no real chemistry knowledge. It actually hard to make good, consistent gunpowder. I know this both from experience and because pyrotechnicians would make their own lift (basically 2FA) if they could do so reasonably well. It's exceptionally hard to produce a Goex quality black powder.

      Unless your talking about smokeless, with which I'm not familiar - it's useless for both pyro and HP rocketry.

    5. Re:Regulate gunpowder by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      It may have been useless for pyro and HP rocketry, but it propelled my little 158 grain pieces of lead down the pipe of my S&W 686+ quite well...

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
  33. We must have new laws! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If only there were existing laws which forbid people from doing "horrible things to an individual" so that they couldn't "then walk away scott-free."

    If only....

  34. 3D Lego Printers by hawguy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wait until he sees one of the 3D Lego Printers, then he'll want to regulate Legos too. 8 year old kids will have to pass a security check to purchase a set of Legos.

    1. Re:3D Lego Printers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      they can have my legos when they pry them from my cold dead hands

    2. Re:3D Lego Printers by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      ... but they'll have to walk barefoot across a huge room with a floor littered with thousands of loose legos first!

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    3. Re:3D Lego Printers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wait until he sees one of the 3D Lego Printers, then he'll want to regulate Legos too. 8 year old kids will have to pass a security check to purchase a set of Legos.

      Yep, the first person to print a working gun using a 3D Lego Printer will win 15 minutes of fame, and drive the point home pretty nicely that only morons will try to regulate plastic guns out of existence by regulating tools that could be used to make them.

    4. Re:3D Lego Printers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This makes me wonder how come he's not on top of regulating Pressure Cooker manufacturers, purchasers and owners. Maybe the guy is a bit insane?

  35. Zip gun, look it up. by DaveV1.0 · · Score: 1

    I can assemble a firearm from parts available in a local hardware store. Maybe we should outlaw hardware stores. The fun part is I can assemble a number of even more dangerous devices from the same hardware store, so the hardware store is actually much more dangerous than a 3D printer.

    --
    There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
  36. Oh crap by roman_mir · · Score: 0

    so what about my own home made 3D printer that I put together back in 2005-6 from parts I salvaged from other printers and fax machines and some steel pieces and electrical motors? Will I now have to register my own concoction with the Mr. police state there? :)

    Man, these politicians are brazen.

    1. Re:Oh crap by fascismforthepeople · · Score: 1

      so what about my own home made 3D printer that I put together back in 2005-6 from parts I salvaged from other printers and fax machines and some steel pieces and electrical motors? Will I now have to register my own concoction with the Mr. police state there?

      As usual, you missed completely what is going on here. The story mentions a politician who proposed legislation. In a democracy, laws come about by discussion and legislation. Of course, we all know that you openly hate democracy. You want swift concentration of power to bring about prompt laws. You want more power for those who already hold most of the power, and you want fascism for the people.

      I, for one, am glad I do not live in the state that you want to see created.

    2. Re:Oh crap by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

      Printers can be used to print fake money, fax machines can be used to send death threats, steel pieces can be carved into knifes and electrical motors are the enemy of oil companies.

      And now you can print plastic guns in your own home.

      You're a terrorist, five times over!

  37. Land of the free ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    California is looking more and more like Soviet Union.

  38. Excellent news! by dbc · · Score: 1

    California gun owners have been fighting that ass-hat Leland Yee for years. It is getting expensive and annoying. I'm glad now that all the hackers at Maker Faire are going to be joining us so that Yee doesn't take away our 3D printers, too.

    Yee is the enemy of freedom. I hope this allows more people to see that. Yesterday, he came for our guns. Today, he is coming for our 3D printers. Tomorrow, what will it be? Your Dremel tool? Or.... maybe if he finds out that all you need to melt lead for casting bullets is a cast iron pot, some charcoal, and a good blower to get the charcoal hot enough he will ban cookware, charcoal, and shop vacuums.

  39. Next to track and control by kgroombr · · Score: 1

    Lathes: as they can be used to make firearm parts, grinders: as they can be used to make firearm parts, metal: as it is most likely used to make firearm parts, and so on and so on. Lawmakers are morons and know nothing about about reality.

  40. Next by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Next up: Start regulating copy machines and computers that can copy files.

  41. I've said it before, I'll say it again. by VortexCortex · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "Protection" is a disease. The government is not obliged to protect you. Congress has upheld that police are not required to protect you. Protecting yourself and your family is your responsibility. Life is dangerous. Be prepared. More folks die in car crashes, we don't ban cars or streets. Zip-Guns made of junk can kill you, hell, a plastic knife can kill you if sharpened properly, a broken window tied to a stick is a lethal weapon of opportunity. Limiting freedom should never be the answer to fear. The answer is to simply be aware of the danger you face in every day life, and protect yourself. Regulations like these are cancerous leaches of tax-payer money.

    We really need to change the 2nd amendment, or create a new one clarifying that we have the right to bear technology, cryptography, photography, computers, and firearms included.

    1. Re:I've said it before, I'll say it again. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      More folks die in car crashes, we don't ban cars or streets.

      We do heavily regulate and police it though. So unless you are against driver licenses, speed limits, traffic rules and traffic cops, I would say this is an analogy in support of gun regulation.

    2. Re:I've said it before, I'll say it again. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We really need to change the 2nd amendment, or create a new one clarifying that we have the right to bear technology, cryptography, photography, computers, and firearms included.

      Well, crypto is "munitions", and you have the right to bear arms. Take your pictures through a gunsight, and you'll be within your right. Computers? Didn't know there were problems with those, but claim it is an aiming computer and you'll have your rights . . .

  42. Hype!!!!! by pbjones · · Score: 1

    it is cheaper to buy a metal lathe and milling machine, that can make a better 'gun', than the mid/high level 3D printer required to build a safe plastic gun. It's all hype!!!

    --
    There was an unknown error in the submission.
    1. Re:Hype!!!!! by dbc · · Score: 1

      Well, a mill and a lathe aren't cheaper than a 3D printer. At least not the ones I own, and I own one of each. But the practicality of a 3D printed plastic gun is not the point. It is the proof of the concept. I agree there is very little practical about a 3D printed gun at this point. The Liberator is a political statement -- just like wearing the DVD decryption key on a tee-shirt.

    2. Re:Hype!!!!! by PPH · · Score: 1
      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    3. Re:Hype!!!!! by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      That thing is so poorly made that it will likely kill or injure you just by turning it on (I had the Harbor Freight version for a while).

      No step 2 needed.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  43. Horrible things ... by Skapare · · Score: 1

    ... should be illegal. They need to make a law against those horrible things so they don't let people walk away scott-free. We already have such a law against doing horrible things in my state. Why doesn't California have it already?

    --
    now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
    1. Re:Horrible things ... by VortexCortex · · Score: 1

      ... should be illegal. They need to make a law against those horrible things so they don't let people walk away scott-free. We already have such a law against doing horrible things in my state. Why doesn't California have it already?

      We were going to outlaw horrible things, man, but instead we ate all the honey-nut cheerios straight from the box and fell asleep watching golf because no one could reach the remote from the couch.

    2. Re:Horrible things ... by Skapare · · Score: 1

      Now see, if you had lost the remote, it would be within reach ... if you can reach under your butt and into bowels of the couch cushions.

      --
      now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
  44. This isn't about guns or terrorism by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

    It's the 'new' mercantilism protecting commercial interests at play. Like the British prohibiting the people of India from making their own salt, or even clothing way back when it was a colony.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    1. Re:This isn't about guns or terrorism by Takatata · · Score: 1

      Don't think so. Generally yes, something like this will happen. But at the moment such printers are far too rare as that the usual protection mechanisms are lobbied in.

  45. ....dipshit. by zedtwitz · · Score: 0

    Because every idiot with two left hands has a 3D printer. Including kids? WOW! I'll just head over to my local preschool and have them print me a gun. Cunt.

    1. Re:....dipshit. by Takatata · · Score: 2

      Cunt.

      Not necessary to sign a post here with your real name. 'zedtwitz' is doing fine as nick.

  46. Lawmaker wants sheet metal to be regulated by FuzzNugget · · Score: 2

    "He's concerned that just about anyone with access to those products can arm themselves by tearing out sharp edges as makeshift knives. 'Terrorists can make these knives and do some horrible things to an individual and then walk away scott-free, and that is something that is really dangerous ... it must be regulated when it comes to making knives. He says background checks, requiring serial numbers and even registering them could be part of new legislation that he says will protect the public. Yee added, 'This particular knife has no trace whatsoever.'"

    Look, honorable dumbass, just because it's technological doesn't give you a free pass to enforce your own personal brand of oppression.

    Just because it's not (easily) traceable doesn't automatically mean they'll get away with it, it just means that police might have to do some actual detective work rather than having the techno-nanny hold their hand. Shocking, I know.

    We cannot expel these xenophobes from office soon enough.

    1. Re:Lawmaker wants sheet metal to be regulated by dbc · · Score: 1

      Sheet metal knife? Google "AK-47 flat" to see what you can do with sheet metal.

    2. Re:Lawmaker wants sheet metal to be regulated by zedtwitz · · Score: 1

      Maybe we could kill them with cell phone radiation.

    3. Re:Lawmaker wants sheet metal to be regulated by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      My coworker is a lot smater than Leland Yee-haw, and has figured out that the best way to make knife blades is by taking old hardened carbide steel files and grinding them down. I check his prototype, and yes, it had a much better edge on it than you could possibly get with a 3D printer. And yes, anything you can make with a 3D printer you can make much better with a full machine shop, provided you know what you're doing. When I was in college, my dorm mate went down to the local chemical store and bought everything he needed to make pyrotechnics (ok, the mercury for the mercury fulminate he made was stolen from the college chemstry lab). Kids can't do that anymore, because lawmakers can't tell the difference between pyrotechnics and explosives. Every fireworks display uses mortars, with the same name and principle of operation as the mortars used on the battefield. We now strongly discourage all Americans from learning how to make things for themselves, and as a consequence the Chinese are now much better at machining than we are.

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    4. Re:Lawmaker wants sheet metal to be regulated by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We now strongly discourage all Americans from learning how to make things for themselves, and as a consequence the Chinese are now much better at machining than we are.

      Dude, who are you telling. This is how I learned chemistry as a kid. I've got a couple of copies of the book, and I'm pretty sure that if you order everything needed for the book in this day and age you'd either get a visit from law enforcement or at the very least end up on a watch list. Not surprisingly, some states like Texas have gone full retard.

      Yes, I can get all the ammo in the world for my Glock 32 chambered in Sig .357, but don't you goddamned order an Erlenmeyer flask.

  47. Seriously? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    If you don't think that criminals are terrorists, then you must be a communist. Or at least a socialist.

    How does it feel, comrade?

    Even when the person saying it is a gun-controlling liberal Democrat smearing law-abiding gun owners as potential terrorists, you blame this on right-wingers?

    1. Re:Seriously? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      That's the joke. The Democrats are right-wingers too. At least when seen from a country with a less screwed up political system.

  48. I can build ... by PPH · · Score: 1

    ... a simple machine gun in a well equipped bicycle repair shop.

    Lets regulate those too.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  49. Ride the knee jerk by Marksolo · · Score: 2

    Quick someone build a zip gun and film firing it, I want to see this senator try to ban plumbing. Unfortunately it seems law makers seem to think the only way to justify their jobs is to make more laws, rather than improve existing and remove old unnecessary ones.

    1. Re:Ride the knee jerk by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      I though .22 gage zip guns were made from car radio antennas... silly me. Yes, some steel pipe would be a lot more sturdy.

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  50. FFS I can kill anyone of you with a pencil by maliqua · · Score: 2

    just relax and stop thinking everything is a tool of the terrorist. AMERICANS RELAX ITS OK NOT EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD IS OUT TO DESTROY YOU even though you probably deserve it

    1. Re:FFS I can kill anyone of you with a pencil by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most of us are well aware of this, it's mostly the loudmouth politician that like stirring shit up.

  51. MacGyver needs no printer! by garyoa1 · · Score: 1

    Hell, he can take a toysRus plastic gun and modify it for a fraction of the price.

    --
    Wuddooeyeno? IITYWYBMAD? Like nuts? eclecticallyincorrect.com
  52. The real danger... by gmuslera · · Score: 2

    you will be able to print your own lego pieces

    1. Re:The real danger... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Indeed, the ilLEGOnati are behind the coming 3D printer crackdown...

      - T

  53. Would the new Mr. Yee please step forward... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Perhaps someone could buy one of these and make a new Leland Yee with a shred of common sense. It's not the machine's that are killing people (yet) but the people. Banning guns in general would be a better method. Heck someone can go to the local hardware or car parts store and buy the necessary parts to make a weapon capable of firing all sorts of nasty things. Oh and don't forget high tension crossbows and high pressure dart guns. Pretty easy modification to make a slug gun into something far more dangerous.

    1. Re:Would the new Mr. Yee please step forward... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Had to love the captcha "peaceful" that I had to answer to post the above. Very appropriate :)

  54. 3d print in Titanium, Steel, Ceramic, Glass also by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Heres things in this discussion hat most people seem to be missing:

    You can use 3d printing services already, that can print in nearly any hard metal:
    Titanium, and aluminum printing : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zApmGFDA6ow

    The hobbyists home based DIY, 3d printer is between $600 and $1200 on average.
    http://reprap.org/wiki/RepRap_Buyers%27_Guide

    There are already hobbyist endeavors underway to 'additive' print in metal at home also, such as
    http://reprap.org/wiki/MetalicaRap

    *ANYONE* can design something in a CAD program, and use existing professional 3d printing Services such as
    http://www.shapeways.com/upload/about

    That means, that anyone could just take the cad files from the now infamous Defense Distributed gun, and some cash and send it to a 3d printing service and have it printed in Steel, or Titanium, and they would ship you your gun. Nearly every 3d printing service however has already realized that people do crazy crap and will not 3d print things that are illegal and its against their terms of service. This is an example of the industry correctly self regulating.

      Hobbyist printers under about $1500 can print directly in metal as well, but the more correct term for those are 'Subtractive' CNC Milling machines.
      http://www.dhgate.com/4-axis-water-cooling-ball-screw-cnc-machine/p-ff808081321fe39e01324d4495674f86.html?recinfo=8,2,1#cppd-1-2

  55. Citizens want lawmakers regulated by Constitution. by aristotle-dude · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Funny how, "lawmakers" seem to often ignore the "law" of the land. The American constitution is supposed to be the measuring stick/regulations by which other laws are judged. If they do not measure up, they have to be repealed.

    A democracy stops working for the benefit for all as soon as people stop ignoring the constitution.

    When the laws are working for the benefit of all, some people will not be happy and some people will not get what they want. I know some of you believe that guns are evil but criminals will always find a way to procure guns. The majority of gun related violence is perpetrated by criminals. When I say gun violence, I am not just talking about deaths but also non-lethal injuries and use of guns for intimidation. The anti-gun people are too focused on individual stats and do not stop to consider armed robberies where nobody gets shot during the robbery. That is still a use of guns as a weapon to intimidate/coerce others into doing something against their will.

    --
    Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
  56. Knee-jerks by erroneus · · Score: 1

    Every politician who responds in this way to some new technoloigy needs to be labeled a Knee-Jerk. Immediately calling for legislation for anything they don't understand.

    But before you know it, pretty much anything which can be used in the creation of a weapon is being tracked, tagged, limited and reported in some way. It's ridiculous.

    And all those soccer moms and people like that need to get a grip on reality. I read a story written in part by an actual Kosovo survivor. The things people consider "for safety" don't even come close to serving that purpose. Credit cards? Mobile phones for calling police?

    As a clue as to what might happen, if anyone lives in an area where snow has been known to close down the roads in an area, think of how long after the weather reports air before various grocery items completely disappear from the store shelves. Now imagine when that outage of supplies lasts more than a week. I don't think it's necessary to go into details beyond that, but having the ability to defend one's self against thugs and invaders will mean the difference between surviving and not.

    And we're concerned about a few idiots? The food we eat kills more people -- let's get serious about food before we move on to an extreme minority killer like bullets fired from home-made guns which are more likely to kill the user.

  57. Moron... by Locke2005 · · Score: 2

    Does Leland Lee really not realize you can use a 3D printer to build a 3D printer?!?

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    1. Re:Moron... by Eugriped3z · · Score: 1

      OMG... how dare you disparage a U.S. Senator, our entire military, law enforcement, the CIA, and defenders of the Confederacy and all other batshit-crazy people everywhere, all in the same sentence! You better watch out. Homeland Insecurity has a label for people like you.

      BTW Nice job, usually it takes tiny littlte balls of lead for such a scatter-shot approach.

  58. Public Wants California Lawmaker To Be Regulated by OvERKiLLsFFT · · Score: 1

    I think with the trend going on here that California lawmakers should be replaced with orangutans.

  59. War on general purpose computing by Inf0phreak · · Score: 1

    And so another salvo was fired in the war on general purpose computing.

    --
    ________
    Entranced by anime since late summer 2001 and loving it ^_^
  60. Congrats anarchist dipshits by dbIII · · Score: 1

    Your loud shouting about barely useable guns on 3D printers has become an election issue and fucked it up for the rest of us.

    1. Re:Congrats anarchist dipshits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The right to slaughter six year olds in schools and terrorize lawmakers from the wrong political party shall not be infringe.

      Strawman arguments are lies.

    2. Re:Congrats anarchist dipshits by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      Since you're so much for gun control, shouldn't you rather be cheering for this? I mean, the guy who made "Liberator" had made a clear case that you can, indeed, make the oh-so-dangerous firearms of mass murder with a 3D printer, thereby convincing the politician in question that this should be prevented. If he didn't do it, hey, the first time we'd find out about it was when some weirdo would have done Newtown 2.0 with two dozen 3D-printed single-shot pistols. Think of the children!

    3. Re:Congrats anarchist dipshits by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Please let off the clutch and engage brain before posting. After going to all the effort of parsing the tripe you've put in that post above I can find nothing inside other than shit.

    4. Re:Congrats anarchist dipshits by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      Tsk-tsk. Don't be so selfish. I understand that you love your 3D printer so much, but when your entertainment is paid for by the lives of innocent children, you'll have to make sacrifices.

    5. Re:Congrats anarchist dipshits by dbIII · · Score: 1

      The first 3D printer I saw in person was used to improve the life of an innocent child. A surgeon used MRI data to build a model skull and tested out his reconstruction on the model. So in other words, guns are trivial shit in comparison to the capability of these machines even a decade ago and your bait is not working.

    6. Re:Congrats anarchist dipshits by Legion303 · · Score: 1

      your bait is not working

      Worked amazingly well from where I'm sitting.

    7. Re:Congrats anarchist dipshits by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      A surgeon in a clinic is a well-trained professional (who is already registered and background-checked, I must add!), which is an altogether different proposition from some amateur hobbyist guy printing out random useless crap at home. Face it: you don't need a 3D printer at home. You just want one because it's a cool toy to play with, and you don't care how many children will pay for your fantasies with their lives by being slaughtered with Liberator-like guns by the next Lanza. You'd very much rather keep that secret under wraps, rather than have the politicians do proactive steps to prevent the next tragedy.

    8. Re:Congrats anarchist dipshits by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Face it: you don't need a 3D printer at home. You just want one because it's a cool toy to play with

      Can I join in on this discussion or is it just between you and your strawman inside your head and you've just written it down for some reason?
      If I wanted to make a gun I'd make a real one with cheap machine tools instead of a plastic grenade that sometimes fires a slug off instead of blowing up in the hand.

    9. Re:Congrats anarchist dipshits by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      Are you saying that we should start regulating machine tools as well, then?

    10. Re:Congrats anarchist dipshits by dbIII · · Score: 1

      There we go again, you are off wanking your strawman in public.
      Did you even read my first post? Didn't you notice I was pushing the exact opposite line and complaining about idiots deliberately stirring up those that would like to regulate such things? The subject line that's still attached should have been a bit of a clue even if you'd forgotten.

    11. Re:Congrats anarchist dipshits by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      I very much noticed your first post. In particular, I've noticed an inconsistency between your position in that post and elsewhere. You're complaining about "idiots stirring up things", but all the idiots in question did was demonstrate how you can use the technology to manufacture weapons. Since you're vehemently anti-gun, the only logical position for you is to be thankful that they did it early, before someone with more nefarious motives discovers the same thing and uses it to his ends. But no - when it comes to these things, you're suddenly more concerned about having access to those technologies personally, then about any crimes that would be committed by them, even though the logic here is exactly the same: it's a dangerous piece of tech that should therefore, at the very least, be heavily regulated to ensure that it is not misused. Either be consistent, or admit that your attitude is rooted in emotions and not logic.

    12. Re:Congrats anarchist dipshits by dbIII · · Score: 1

      So anything other than being simplistic to the point of utter disconnection with reality is inconsistent? Why do you think policy about gun use has to be condensed down to "yes" or no" with a choice between either anything goes or a blanket ban on all? Stop insulting your strawman and pretending that it's me that you are writing about.

    13. Re:Congrats anarchist dipshits by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      The funny thing is, you still haven't voiced any rational objections as to why 3D printing shouldn't be regulated.

  61. Sounds fair.... by Lumpy · · Score: 1

    Can we also get Lawmakers regulated? Nobody with an IQ below 135 is allowed to be a lawmaker, and all lawyers are completely dis-allowed from being ablet o do anything as a lawmaker or judge. and make it RETROACTIVE.

    I'll support his bill if he adds in my provisions.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    1. Re:Sounds fair.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can we also get Lawmakers regulated? Nobody with an IQ below 135 is allowed to be a lawmaker, and all lawyers are completely dis-allowed from being ablet o do anything as a lawmaker or judge. and make it RETROACTIVE.

      While I exceed your IQ standard (albeit barely), I'd go for ((IQ > 120) && (Campaign Finance Reform))

    2. Re:Sounds fair.... by VortexCortex · · Score: 1

      Hmmm. Well, it's the lawmakers that pass the reactionary laws after a terrorist attack. So, they're the instrument used by terrorists to steal our freedom. Yep, I think we should make a law to outlaw lawmakers... wait, what?

    3. Re:Sounds fair.... by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      High intelligence, alas, is no guarantee of good decisions. Some bright people use their intelligence to dominate others.
      Above average intelligence is probably adequate for legislators; what is essential is proper beliefs. Try to define those, and get the general populace to agree to impose the restrictions: what a firestorm that will be!

      --
      Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
  62. Impeach the idiot. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What a f)cking moron. Sorry. Had to be said. I'm a democrat, and I live in SF and as liberal as they get. But WHAT. THE. F*CK. Leland Yee, you are an authoritarian moron.

  63. Nice work Cody by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    You attention whoring shitsack, you fucking happy now?

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    1. Re:Nice work Cody by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Leland Yee's actions are Leland Yee's fault. Nobody else's. Cody is morally superior to you.

    2. Re:Nice work Cody by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      Cody's a spiteful smalldick with an underdeveloped sense of morality, who can't tell the difference between a weapon and a tool and his end goal is to either have all weapons regulations dropped, have all weapons regulations subverted so easily as to make them meaningless, or to get geeks to side with gun nuts, all victims of gun violence be damned. To Cody, no amount of innocent blood is worth having to fill out a little more paperwork once in a while.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    3. Re:Nice work Cody by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're a filthy liar. Not a word of what you wrote is true and you know it. You admitted that by making no attempt at a factual argument. You will now admit it again.

  64. I want to ban regulations by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    sick and tired of "nanny state" and "central planning"

  65. Obligatory cncguns download post. by couchslug · · Score: 2

    Unlike the (beautiful troll as was intended) 3D printed weapon, here and elsewhere you can find plans for the real deal.

    http://www.cncguns.com/downloads.html

    Note that paper prints are more than sufficient to machine modern firearms. About 2000 bucks gets you a used manual milling machine. About the same gets you a lathe. You can use those to build a machine to cut a rifled bore if you wish. It's very old technology.

    Remember the DeCESS T-shirt? Weapon prints can be protected speech too. They can also be incorporated into fiction as an illustration.

    --
    "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
    1. Re:Obligatory cncguns download post. by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      Also, for something more low-tech, this book might be helpful.

  66. How much? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How much does it cost to pay a congressman to propose legislation to ban your product?

    I'll bet the free advertising surrounding the manufactured controversy(*) is worth 10x whatever they paid him. (* No pun intended).

  67. Strict laws != strict enforcement by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Take Mexico, a country with a 100% ban on guns...

    ...and an extremely poor record of enforcing its laws. Why not try a European country like the UK which has extremely strict gun laws and a record of strict enforcement. Wikipedia provides a nice table of the rate of gun deaths per 100,000 people and we find that the US has 10.20 and the UK 0.25 i.e. over 40 times fewer people are killed in the UK by guns even accounting for the difference in population. Worse, if you just look at gun murders (i.e. exclude suicides and accidents) the US rate is 80 times that in the UK.

    We all agree that government restrictions are to be avoided whenever possible but in the case of gun control there is a clear trade off: either you have strict controls (with strict enforcement) or you have an exceedingly high rate of deaths due to guns. If the US is happy with one of the highest rate of gun deaths in the world then that's its choice: it knows one reliable way to reduce it if it so chooses.

    That being said controlling 3D printers because of this is just daft. You can almost certainly make a gun with a CNC machine (in fact a quick Google search turned up this video). They have not controlled these so why should a 3D printer be any different? They can machine plastic just as easily if the sole concern is detectability.

    1. Re:Strict laws != strict enforcement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      ...and an extremely poor record of enforcing its laws. Why not try a European country like the UK which has extremely strict gun laws and a record of strict enforcement. Wikipedia provides a nice table of the rate of gun deaths per 100,000 people and we find that the US has 10.20 and the UK 0.25 i.e. over 40 times fewer people are killed in the UK by guns even accounting for the difference in population. Worse, if you just look at gun murders (i.e. exclude suicides and accidents) the US rate is 80 times that in the UK..

      Instead of guns crime they since have knives crime. Not learning from their previous mistake they legislated the most stupid knives law of the world, which is essentially a pocket knife ban. The heavy restriction are mere guide line; you can be arrested for possession of any sharp object if the cop don't like you.

      The real reason for 'regulating' 3d printing is commerce. The fascists are afraid that downloading design from the internet and printing goods from home will kill the Chinese manufactures plants just like the mp3 killed the record label.

    2. Re:Strict laws != strict enforcement by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      Look up historical rates for UK vs US. You'll find that UK had significantly lower rates (and I'm looking at overall murders & violent crime here, not "gun crime", since it doesn't really make sense to single out a single tool and ignore all the others so long as they're used to do the same exact thing) long before they have went down on the path of gun control. What more, when you look at major pieces of legislation, and then try to match them against the graphs, you won't find any visible correlation. It's generally things going down or up at the same rate as they were before each ban.

    3. Re:Strict laws != strict enforcement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...long before they have went down on the path of gun control.

      In effect, there never was a 'long before' in the UK because the UK *never* had wide gun ownership in the first place.
      It's just been that a few people owned guns legally and now it's a few less.
      Many criminals in the UK avoid guns because it takes them from (say) 6 months inside to 5-10 years.

    4. Re:Strict laws != strict enforcement by msk · · Score: 1

      Don't trot out this red herring. Look at homicides, not gun deaths.

      Violent offenders will turn to other weapons.

    5. Re:Strict laws != strict enforcement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just a quick comment here - you realize that we have immigration laws and we dont enforce those either, so what makes anyone think that we are going to enforce new gun laws?

    6. Re:Strict laws != strict enforcement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Look at UK's skyrocketing muggings, with knives. They even considered banning the sale of large kitchen knives.

    7. Re:Strict laws != strict enforcement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What a croc!

      "gun deaths per 100,000 people and we find that the US has 10.20 and the UK 0.25 i.e. over 40 times fewer people are killed in the UK by guns"

      Ok, maybe true but a distortion of human emotional behaviour by far. The UK instead has substitute murder rates with knives, poisons and the ubiquitous blunt force instruments.

      The UK is not some sanctuary because of tight gun regulations despite that expat Piers Morgan parading around a single axis statistic like the be all and end all of safety from violence.

      Clockwork Orange != Gun Violence

       

    8. Re:Strict laws != strict enforcement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      heres a link too.: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4581871.stm

  68. And lathes by gerardrj · · Score: 1

    Anyone with a metal lathe can also manufacture a completely untraceable firearm. So perhaps because there's a small chance that someone will do that, then use that firearm to injure another person all metal lathes need to be serialized, registered and tracked.

    Or anyone that can buy pipe. All pipes must herefor be sold only after a full background check since it is possible to fill a pipe with explosives and blow up large numbers of people.

    Liquid chlorine bleach and ammonia will require 40 hours of intensive training before you may purchase either item, otherwise someone could mix the two and poison an entire building of people.

    People killing other people is a social problem. No technology or law will stop it. If making things illegal stopped crime then we would not need the police to clean up after all this crime!

    --
    Article X: The powers not delegated... by the Constitution...are reserved...to the people
  69. well at least he's consistant... by slew · · Score: 1

    FWIW, he's the same state senator that sponsored the bill to ban the sale of violent video games to minors, and has seemed to make harrassment of the video game biz his personal mission...

    He's also sponsored legislation to ban any semi-automatics that have conversion kits... I suppose this is the next logical step for him since basically a 3d printer is the ultimate conversion kit.

  70. Printception by theedgeofoblivious · · Score: 1

    So can 3-d printers print 3-d printer parts?

  71. Lets just nip the whole thing in the bud by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and regulate the books that teach people how to make such dangerous things in the first place!

  72. IANAL, but what? by rasmusbr · · Score: 2

    "Terrorists can make these guns and do some horrible things to an individual and then walk away scott-free [...]"

    Now I'm not an expert on American law and I'm not an American and English is not my native language, but it sounds just a little bit implausible to me that there would be a law that said that it is not illegal to murder people if you make the gun yourself...

    Or I guess maybe scott-free means something completely different than scot-free, like you're free like a character in a Scott movie, or something.

    Or maybe the senator's best friend owns a gun factory.

    Or I guess maybe the senator has a wildly inaccurate idea of what a 3-d printer is. I mean, it's probably easier to get fingerprints and DNA off of a metal gun than a plastic gun. A metal gun is really hard to destroy, but it would not exactly be trivial to destroy a plastic gun without the neighbors noticing.

    Unless you have a good quality file and a lot of time...

  73. Re:Citizens want lawmakers regulated by Constituti by slew · · Score: 1

    Apparently, State Senator Yee doesn't readily give up if laws that he supports eventually are declared unconstitutional...

    http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2009/07/sensationalist-legal-brief-aims-to-revive-ca-game-law/

  74. Leland Yee's children should be Sandy Hooked by jp_452 · · Score: 1

    This son of a bitch basically wants to ban all guns, and anything tangentially related to guns.

    Not only that, but he supports giving convicted murderers parole if they were given sentences of life in prison as juveniles.

    As far as I'm concerned, Leland Yee and his family have earned the death penalty. The few remaining Americans in California will be safer as a result.

    1. Re:Leland Yee's children should be Sandy Hooked by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not only that, but he supports giving convicted murderers parole if they were given sentences of life in prison as juveniles.

      Yeah! We should keep them around for as long as possible on my dime!

  75. Wait! by Locke2005 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Mr. Yee, what about banning pressure cookers? We've just proved even morons can make effective explosive devices out of pressure cookers!

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  76. Lulz by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    'murica...

  77. ..and.. by JustNiz · · Score: 1

    We should also control access to grinding wheels, coz you know, they can be used to make knives that hurt people.
    We should also control ownership of screwdrivers and all other tools, because they can be used to make WMDs that are used by terrorists.

  78. Criminals don't obey the law by BlueCoder · · Score: 1

    I'm really tired of repeating that...

    I dislike the idea of the Saturday night specials that these types of printers will make. I can only hope that the courts will finally rule that past regulations are pointless and ineffective and give people their rights back.

    3D printers will likely lead to complete real life all plastic firearms which will make metal detectors pointless.

    Everywhere concealed carry is permitted crime is much much lower and overall people become more friendly and pleasant. When everyone has the option to carry a gun it truly makes everyone equal. No more advantage for size and no more intimidation.

  79. I no! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I guess I can't use an expensive 3d printer to make a cheap gun that will fail very quickly and cost as much or more than a black market gun to make. I guess I will just have to do something like this instead.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxHVDtD2S5U

    Really, these changes will do nothing to stop the criminal, it just makes it harder for the law abiding citizen, but to be honest, I think that is what they are targeting nowadays. Wonder if they are more worried about the citizens as a whole getting fed up and needing guns than actual criminals who this won't effect in the slightest.

  80. Regulated ? 3D Printers ? What The Fuck ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Most of these thingies only exist in the minds of 'developers' and 'venture capitalists.' Enough said.

    To date, only "ONE" made it to an actual 'demonstration' [using that word very carefully] Model.

    So now the State Department of the USA wants to ratchet-up the Obama WAR ON USA CITIZENS.

    Well well. Has Obama played Halo 4 ? NO !

    Therefore, Obama's greatest triumph will be his greatest failure. His death will Shine A Light On The
    Masses of Kenyan immigrants infiltrating into the Federal Government of the USA with his favor.

    Oh ... to be ... Favored !

  81. What A Moot Point by wadexyz9774 · · Score: 1

    Since when is ANYONE having trouble getting a gun in the US? Have these lawmakers even seen a 3D printer, or examples of what it prints? Have they seen how incredibly slow and expensive they are? Do they realize 99% only print in plastic? So stupid.

  82. What we really need by reboot246 · · Score: 1

    We need a law that would regulate California lawmakers.

    I would go further and extend that to ALL lawmakers, but the California variety are the looniest of the bunch and their crazy shit tends to spread across the country like sewage running downhill.

    1. Re:What we really need by Stirling+Newberry · · Score: 1

      You do, it is called term limits. How's that working out for you?

    2. Re:What we really need by JustNiz · · Score: 1

      That alone doesnt see to be even sightly effective enough.

    3. Re:What we really need by Stirling+Newberry · · Score: 1

      Yes, obviously we haven't been stupid enough and even greater depths of idiocy need to be employed.

  83. You're wrong. It's really that simple. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    First off, if you follow the logic of your first argument to its natural conclusion, you must declare that there is no use to any laws whatsoever because someone, somewhere, will break them. That is absurd.

    You said gun ban, no one with any real power has ever suggested an outright gun ban. As for the ban on assault weapons, you really think making it more difficult doesn't have an effect that translates into lives, just how much Kool Aid did you drink? Bigger gun in a hand of a crazy person equals more deaths.

    Gun control does work. Gun control is requiring background checks on every purchase, reducing capacity of magazines, etc. Will not everyone check? Yes. Will some bad guys still get guns? Absolutely. But letting gun shows sell guns to every Tom, Dick and Harry isn't helping shit. Nor is making it easier to spray a theater or a fucking playground you piece of shit.

    Gun control reduces the number available for the amateur criminal and for all your "they will find a way" mentality, they typically don't. Why the hell not? Because they are not you. Are some intelligent? Sure, but they aren't the majority. Ireland, Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, etc. see far fewer homicides than we do. Canada sees about a third, Germany about a sixth. Why? Gun control. For the most part, they've got the same movies, video games, etc. that we do.

    Chicago has high unemployment, did you consider that? For gun control to really work, it needs to be on a national level. I mean think about it, when your home city bans fireworks, where do you go? The next city over. So you really think any city has a chance of any meaningful ban whatsoever if the next city offers it? On a national level, you've got borders. The U.S. Coast Guard, etc. As for Mexico, you misunderstand. Most of their weapons isn't coming in crates from Russia, it's coming in sedans from America.

    Finally, as for this rampant crime you speak of. Where? Crime has been in a freefall for decades. We sure hear about it more, but that's because these days if a 5-year-old steals a pack of Certs from a Safeway in Lynnwood, Washington, it doesn't cost a dime to tell someone about it in Orlando, Florida. Seriously, fuck you.

    1. Re:You're wrong. It's really that simple. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      please elaborate on your "etc".
      For example, I find your argument weak, etc.

  84. OMG! Terrorists Wear Clothes! by LifesABeach · · Score: 1

    Is there nothing humanity can do to stop this? We must regulate all those who wear clothes. As a previous president would say, "Wearing clothes supports Terrorisum."

  85. great article, but... by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

    That's a classic article. Do you have anything more recent?

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
  86. Banning children? Backwards logic! by OrangeTide · · Score: 4, Funny

    You need to go to the source of the problem and ban women.

    Banning children is as pointless as banning ammunition. Because an industrious person can always make more at home.

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    1. Re:Banning children? Backwards logic! by DKlineburg · · Score: 1

      Oh if I had mod points. I laughed.

      --
      Memory is deceptive because it is colored by today's events. - Albert Einstein
    2. Re:Banning children? Backwards logic! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You'll have to ban scientists too because they are cunning enough to make something about it even without women. Or men, for that matter.

    3. Re:Banning children? Backwards logic! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You need to go to the source of the problem and ban women.

      Banning children is as pointless as banning ammunition. Because an industrious person can always make more at home.

      Or just do something simpler, like give out free video games to all teenage boys with huge incentives like "gun customization packs" for every 100 hours played.

  87. Who didn't see this coming. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    This idiot might as well regulate sales of metal pipes and stainless steel nails in hardware stores.

    I swear you can't have a decent conversation about 3d printing anymore without some retard chiming in, all concerned, about this "Defense Distributed" attention whore doing what can already be done in less time for about 1/1000th of the price because Oh Mah Gawd, it's 3d printed which makes it super easy. (assuming you have 2 - 3 k to spend on a 3d printer)

    Does anyone else find it extremely ironic that if the recent school shootings had actually involved these one shot fail 3d printed guns, the death toll would probably have been cut by 99 % , possibly 100 % if he missed his first target ?

  88. Go figure by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Could have fucking called that one.
    Don't like guns? Gtfo

  89. Nothing specific, but politicians don't care... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They don't prosecute a lot of folks who violate gun laws.

  90. Ha ha ha ha ha! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    California State Senator Leland Yee don't know 'bout my lathe and drill press.

  91. Next up: Regulate Home Depot. by Jaywalk · · Score: 1

    If you're going to crank out cheap guns, you'd do better with a trip to the local hardware store. You can get plans off the internet that will allow you to crank one out a lot faster and cheaper using stuff from the hardware store than shelling out top dollar for a printer that can crank out one of those plastic jobs and, being made of metal, are less likely to blow up in your hand as well.

    As for having "no trace whatsoeever" the plans (if he had bothered to look at them) include a big metal block deliberately to make it traceable. Even if you left the block out, the bullets are metal and would still look like bullets in an x-ray. Just another politician trying to show he's up to date by getting panicked about whatever the press it panicking about this week.

    --
    ===== Murphy's Law is recursive. =====
  92. What about machine tools? by Cyfun · · Score: 1

    I don't understand the sudden uproar about 3D printers. Machinists have been able to make their own custom weapons for a very long time now, but I don't see anyone wanting to regulate the sale of metal lathes, welders, or milling machines.

    Also, when was the last time a "terrorist" used a gun? The Mass Media, who are the foremost experts on the subject, tell us that terrorists prefer the efficiency of targeting groups of people, and that usually necessitates exploding a bomb or crashing a vehicle. And from what we've seen of these 3D guns, you'd be lucky to kill a handful of people with one.

    --
    In Soviet Russia, dot slashes YOU!
  93. Leeland Yee by Archfeld · · Score: 1

    This guy is a total colon-kissing taint lover, grandstanding for media attention. His previous attempts at legislation include trying to ban x-lrg sodas, trying to dictate to McD's what they could serve in their happy meals. I am a resident CA, and while I do applaud some of our states more forward looking legislation, Yee makes me ashamed to be from CA.

    --
    errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
  94. Fact by wibblewibble · · Score: 1

    Fact: Saying something is a fact doesn't mean it is.

    1. Re:Fact by harrkev · · Score: 1

      No. Having facts makes something a facts.

      Gun control IS argued as making people safer -- that is the reason.

      Violent crime DID go up in Australia by 40% after they banned almost all guns. My spreadsheet PROVES this using data from the Australian government.

      Laws designed to make people safer can safely be said to fail if violent crime goes up by 40% as a result.

      Any other non-logic you want to throw at me?

      --
      "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
  95. California legislator is stupid, news at 11 by argStyopa · · Score: 1

    "...just about anyone with access to those cutting-edge printers can arm themselves. 'Terrorists can make these guns and do some horrible things to an individual and then walk away scott-free..."

    1) anyone can arm themselves. What the 3d printers can make is nothing more than a zip gun - a single-shot pistol of dubious safety. One can make this easily in ones' garage with pipe, rubber band, and a nail - and no special tools. Perhaps he should offer to ban garages?

    2) shooting someone is illegal, no? If someone is going to SHOOT SOMEONE (ie breaking the law) what makes you think he's going to care about some law against owning a 3d printer?

    --
    -Styopa
  96. USSR tried to ban photocopiers by michaelmalak · · Score: 2

    Dismantling Utopia: How Information Ended the Soviet Union

    Synopsis from Google Books, emphasis added:

    By the 1980s the Soviet Union had matched the United States in military might and far surpassed it in the production of steel, timber, concrete, and oil. But the electronic whirlwind that was transforming the global economy had been locked out by communist leaders. Heirs to an old Russian tradition of censorship, they had banned photocopiers, prohibited accurate maps, and controlled word-for-word even the scripts of stand-up comedians. In this compellingly readable firsthand account, filled with memorable characters, revealing vignettes, and striking statistics, Scott Shane tells the story of Mikhail Gorbachev's attempt to "renew socialism" by easing information controls. As newspapers, television, books, films, and videotapes flooded the country with information about the Stalinist past, the communist present, and life in the rest of the world, the Soviet system was driven to ruin. Shane's unique perspective also places one of the century's momentous events in larger context: the universal struggle of governments to keep information from the people, and the irresistible power of technology over history.

    1. Re:USSR tried to ban photocopiers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... one of the century's momentous events ...

      The usual propaganda for the fall of the soviet empire was its inability to make the shiny new weapons that "I believe in small government" Ronald Reagon was building with his bigger military-industrial complex. Ignoring the civil war in Afghanistan which was funded by the US, Russia didn't need better weapons to maintain its military strength. At that time all international politics was framed as 'US imperialism: good, Communism: bad' so obviously the truth would be replaced by a "USA: Fuck, yeah" meme. Your quote has been most enlightening.

    2. Re:USSR tried to ban photocopiers by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 1

      I've tried to read this several times and it just doesn't making any sense. Is the parent an apologist for Communism? The fall of the USSR was a good thing. It freed millions of people.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
  97. Regulate screwdrivers! AND TIN SNIPS! OOH! Andand by Chas · · Score: 1

    Why don't we just go all the way here?

    Just regulate ownership of absolutely anything that could conceivably be used as or to create a weapon.

    Fucking idiots.

    How the hell people this stupid actually manage to wake up in the morning (let alone make it through the day) without dying through their own stupidity is a friggin' miracle. And an absolute tragedy for humanity as a whole.

    --


    Chas - The one, the only.
    THANK GOD!!!
  98. Sounds a bit Soviet... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This sounds like the infamous Soviet-era law requiring the registration of typewriters. In reality, Soviet citizens didn't register them, and the KGB had no delusions that anyone actually *would*. The law's only purpose was to give prosecutors an easy conviction if they couldn't prove the individual was guilty of anything else.

  99. yee is an idiot by najay · · Score: 1

    yee is worse than biden and feinstein, combined. everything i have heard from that man's mouth has been total rubbish and idiocy. he is an embarrassment to our state.

  100. Well there is still one thing that prohibits this. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "...the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." 2nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. Though on second look that ship has already sailed about 100 years ago. In spite of the "shall not be infringed" clause, the government and the courts have said that certain firearms (automatic weapons and large cannons) and certain people (felons and mentally impaired) can be infringed upon to not have the right to bear arms. So why not the rest of us?

     

  101. Thank you Defense unlimited by Yvanhoe · · Score: 1

    You made a point that everyone already knew : that guns are 3D printable, that states would worry about that. 3D printing hobbyists told you that it was a dumb thing to do, not because we dislike guns, but because it would cause too early regulations of a domain that still needs a lot of steam to come up with some useful designs to print (seriously, the guns they make are toys, or rather, proof of concepts. More "bullet detonators" than guns). Seriously, fuck you and fuck everything about this.

    --
    The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
  102. How does it feel? by eWarz · · Score: 1

    How does it feel to want bro? When users can build 3d printers in their basements, good luck with that. Deal with it.

  103. A bad idea, both politically and technically by Animats · · Score: 1

    Sigh. This bill probably won't go anywhere, but it's the beginning of a headache.

    Making a sort-of gun entirely out of ABS is a terrible idea. "The pistol can only be fired once before the plastic barrel has to be replaced." If guns like that were useful for anything, third-world shops with injection molders (of which there are many) would have been stamping them out for years. This whole thing is a PR stunt.

  104. yes, and IE market share drop = murder rate drop by SuperBanana · · Score: 1
    The murder rate has also dropped along with Internet Explorer's market share

    Correlation is not causation, son. Also, the US stands in stark contrast. Increase in gun restrictions, and rape has been the fastest declining category of violent crime. Violent crime overall has fallen something like 80% in the last 20-30 years.

  105. 3D Printers can print 3D printers by vik · · Score: 1

    So who is going to bother putting a serial number on a 3D printer thant their 3D printer just printed?

    http://reprap.org/

  106. Re:Citizens want lawmakers regulated by Constituti by jeti · · Score: 1

    A democracy stops working for the benefit for all as soon as people stop ignoring the constitution.

    Please re-read that sentence.

  107. Proof that you CAN'T print a gun by Windcatcher · · Score: 1

    Some great points on El Reg:

    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/10/oh_no_its_the_plastic_3d_gun/

    But, of course, let's not let those prevent a politician from exploiting the issue...

  108. Let's ban the spork, too by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

    You know it takes only about 5 minutes with one of those babies and a concrete or other hard surface to create a very effective shiv, right?

    --
    Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  109. Even before additive manufacturing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There were people challenging themselves by starting with a charcoal foundry and scrap aluminum to build their own machine shop. Check out a series of books and Yahoo groups using the name of David Gingery. It's not super tight tolerance work but I looked at it as it piqued my geek interest but I don't have the attention span to follow through. If this bozo thinks a plastic receiver is dangerous, this will turn his bowels to water.

  110. Lathes anyone?! What a Knee Jerk! by felixrising · · Score: 1

    Sure, when they start regulating machining shops with Lathes. Because you can making much more dangerous weapons with the proper tools... Lately is seems like there has been an increasing level of unintelligent knee jerk reactions to things like this. Put it into perspective and you suddenly start sounding paranoid!

  111. politicians need the fixing .... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Isnt it also about time we start regulating Politicians who have done more damage than anyone?

    Im sure the industry can come up wth a L Chip which detects Lying which can be inserted along with a small triggerable explosive or poison pellet inside every politicians head so that if they ever tell a lie to the public they are 'switched off'. An alternate might be a 'shock' device that sends the Lying Politician into painful convulsions for several minutes and which by repeated applications may train the Politicians NOT to lie.

    A T-Chip that detects ideas of implementing Tyranny could also be made no doubt which could be similarly employed. Of course such a chip would have to be carefully tuned to detect politicians who are capable of 1) lying to themselves 2) who think what they are doing isnt 'really' tyranny - just 'helping' people by making sure that the citizens arent left to make decisions for themselves.

    Im sure these Politicain Improvements should be implemented first -- before legislation against free use of 3-D Printers need be considered

  112. What has changed? by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

    "do some horrible things to an individual and then walk away scott-free"

    No, murder is still illegal and whether you use a pressure cooker full of fireworks or a one-shot plastic pistol, the authorities are going to chase you down for as long as it takes.

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    1. Re:What has changed? by Fuzzums · · Score: 1

      So what you're saying is let's put a ban on pressure cookers.

      --
      Privacy is terrorism.
  113. What A Fucking Dumbass - by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why don't we just regulate hand tools while we're at it? God damn, haven't these imbeciles ever heard of a zip gun before? You can build a better gun in your garage with less money for tools than what it takes to make that plastic piece of shit, and this shitweed wants to make a watchlist of people that own 3-D printers? If someone could please tell me the name of the mental disorder that produces these idiots and the people that vote for them, pretty please, that would be fucking super.

    God damn, God DAMN I am sick of this shit.

  114. Regulate machine tools by loufoque · · Score: 1

    If you're going to regulate 3D printers, you might as well regulate machine tools as well.
    They can be used to build weapons too.

    1. Re:Regulate machine tools by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you being idiotic on purpose? Or does it just come naturally.

      Yes, you can of course build a gun using machine tools. But not just by clicking a mouse.

      I'm sure you know the difference. Why you, and others like you, choose to ignore such differences is beyond me.

    2. Re:Regulate machine tools by Fuzzums · · Score: 1

      Machines can build 3d printers.
      Machines are evil.

      --
      Privacy is terrorism.
  115. Regulate the ammo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Surely it would be more sensible to regulate the sale and distribution of ammunition. This would work for both 3D printed guns and conventional guns!

  116. A BIG NEW AGENCY by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Here we have another nut job law maker promoting a really lousy idea. Just picture the sequence of events. A new agency designed to investigate potential 3d printer owners. Laws that require records and inspections and forbid the resale of a 3d printer. You know, we don't want straw men purchasing 3d printers as I am just so certain that the printers would be smuggled to NYC where bad people would make and distribute plastic guns. And the agency will need a team of lawyers to defend when some person feels he is denied the right to purchase 3d printers. Just imagine the out of control horrors of 3d printing. I use mine to reproduce 3d printers built in their won image. So far i have created over 1,000 and each can turn out a gun every three hours. I'm also working on printing all plastic nuclear bombs but polystyrene just won't give me the same bang as plutonium. What's a mad scientist to do?

  117. Children are allready licensed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You have to register births, obey government mandates to send them to school, obey government mandates not to marry girls off young, obey obey obey. Or else they'll take away THEIR children and put you in prison.
    Welcom to hell.

    Slave (as we all are).
    This is a woman's world. The geek-feminists support bannin 3d printers or regulating them. They do not want men to be free.

  118. Australia, plus Criminal Dynamics by cmholm · · Score: 1

    Australia says you're wrong. Many Aussies bitched a storm when the conservative Howard government said enough with the mass shootings and introduced wide ranging gun control. Now, they see the world didn't end, and you can still buy (most) firearms. Aussies attitudes aren't really that different from Americans, so I call BS on the other posts suggesting it's apple (pie) and oranges.

    As for criminals and laws: 1) we have laws against murder, yet murders still occur. Thus, we shouldn't regulate murders? 2) criminal gun ownership is a dynamic process. Unlike law-abiding citizens, criminals engage in conduct which puts them in regular contact with the legal system. About 700k guns are recovered from US criminals annually. *If* the US required an adequate gun safe (like Oz), *if* current gun sales laws actually got enforced, and *if* there were adequate registration of sales, the main conduits for criminals' firearms would dry up: sales from gun shops, and thefts from homes.

    --
    Luke, help me take this mask off ... Just for once, let me butterfly kiss you with my own eyes.
    1. Re:Australia, plus Criminal Dynamics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you Australian? If not,then please be quiet.
      Here's a suggestion: why not try your "if current gun laws were enforced" idea out first. See if that helps. You yourself acknowledge that's not being done.

  119. You're working with false assumptions... by denzacar · · Score: 1

    ...and fitting numbers into your bias without thinking about what they mean.
    So, while there may be no conscious "deception" from your side - there is plenty of delusion.

    One - you use only 2 points of data with over a decade in between.
    The fact that you would go out of your way to make a deliberate spreadsheet WHILE at the same time omitting all that data points out your (possibly subconscious) bias.
    You're presenting a very distorted image of the real situation - and making false conclusions based on that.
    Because...

    Two - you are ignoring trends.
    Rise in assaults fits BOTH Australian gun regulation laws. There were TWO. One in 1996 and another one in 2002.
    Which should be reflected in both your data AND in the trends - it doesn't.
    And that one REALLY breaks your entire argument.

    Because three...

    1996 law "banned all semi-automatic rifles and all semi-automatic and pump-action shotguns".
    So that thing about assault and sexual assault going up and correlating with gun regulation only makes sense if all those assaulted people were prancing around with "semi-automatic rifles, semi-automatic and pump-action shotguns" prior to the ban.
    Which they very probably weren't.

    The 2002 law further regulated handguns - but again NO GUN BAN.

    Changes included a 10-round magazine capacity limit, a calibre limit of not more than .38 inches (9.65 mm), a barrel length limit of not less than 120 mm (4.72 inches) for semi-automatic pistols and 100 mm (3.94 inches) for revolvers, and even stricter probation and attendance requirements for sporting target shooters.

    Gun regulation does NOT mean "no guns at all".
    Your logic (and spreadsheet) only work under the assumption that gun_regulation == gun_ban.
    So, all your further logic, data interpretation and even your data acquisition suffer - starting from that FALSE assumption.

    --
    Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
    1. Re:You're working with false assumptions... by harrkev · · Score: 1

      I never said that it was a ban. My only point was that Australia is the "great hope" that everybody who wants to regulate guns points to. Things are not so rosy as they portray, and they restrict firearms a LOT MORE than anybody in this country proposes to do (for right now).

      I chose 1995 as the starting point because that was before they began to overly-regulate firearms. I chose 2007 as the end because that was the last data that I could find.

      So, what is your point? Before tighter regulation (which is supposed to make people safer), vs. last year that I could find = 40% increase in violent crime. Clearly, gun regulation did not make anybody safer.

      Next false argument?

      --
      "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
    2. Re:You're working with false assumptions... by denzacar · · Score: 1

      Before tighter regulation (which is supposed to make people safer), vs. last year that I could find = 40% increase in violent crime.

      Why not before colonization? Just imagine THAT increase.

      If you're cherry picking your data points while purposefully ignoring all others your data and calculations from them are beyond worthless.
      And on the wrong side of the beyond.
      Picking two data points more than a decade apart and calling the change between those points "40% increase" is utter nonsense.
      Decades are compared to decades. Years to years.
      And both have to take account of ongoing trends if they are to mean anything in context.
      You did no such thing.

      What you did do is compare (over) a decade of changes while presenting it as an annual change.

      Which makes what you did there a falsification of arguments - or if you like it better, setting up a strawman that you can easily tear down.
      And no, sorry, "I didn't find better data" does not cut it. It's right there at your source.
      You CHOSE to ignore all those years in between.

      I never said that it was a ban.

      Again, you are missing the point. Utterly and completely.
      I mention the absence of "gun ban" as it points out that REGULATION WORKS without it meaning or constituting banning (clearly, even you agree on murder being down, though you cherry pick that one too) and that the guns removed HAD NO EFFECT ON AVAILABILITY OF GUNS TO CIVILIANS for personal protection.

      I.e. your assault/sexual assault correlation to gun regulation being BULLSHIT, cause handguns (you know... kind that those rape victims could have been carrying) were not regulated-out.

      Which kinda makes your so called "facts" completely false.

      Fact: Gun control is argued as being about making people safer.
      Fact: It failed (for whatever reason).
      Fact: Violent crime went UP by 40% since the great gun grab in Australia.

      Now... Those are either errors or utter lies.
      As you have been explained your error, your further insistence on the correctness of that error makes it into a lie.
      You are now officially lying.

      And the life is far to short to waste one's Sundays on arguing with liars.
      So please do kindly fuck off.

      --
      Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
    3. Re:You're working with false assumptions... by harrkev · · Score: 1

      Why not before colonization? Just imagine THAT increase.

      Just before the bans compared to the latest numbers that I could fine seems reasonable and logical to me. Do you have a better idea? I listed the sources for all of my data. Feel free to dig in the same sources and come up with something better. Wait, it is more fun to throw rocks and try to explain away numbers that you don't like. Don't like my numbers? Give me something better.

      I did not "cherry pick" anything. Immediately before legislation vs. after legislation (latest figures that I could find). How is that "cherry picking?" Once again, put up or shut up.

      and that the guns removed HAD NO EFFECT ON AVAILABILITY OF GUNS TO CIVILIANS for personal protection.

      Wow, how little you know. You have to prove a need in Australia. No proven need = no gun. I found this on the intertubes:

      Applicants for a gun owner's licence in Australia are required to prove genuine reason to possess a firearm, for example, hunting, target shooting, collection, pest control, and narrow occupational uses. In law, personal protection is not a genuine reason.

      If gun laws had to effect on the availability of guns to civilians, then what are the laws for??? That the the purpose of laws -- to put restrictions on things. Fact-check much? Didn't think so.

      Fact: Violent crime went UP by 40% since the great gun grab in Australia.

      Now... Those are either errors or utter lies.

      In that case, the Australian Government is lying. The numbers came RIGHT OFF OF THEIR WEB PAGE. I took the numbers, and even adjusted for population. I am sure that you are thinking "Wow, that goes against my world view, so it CANNOT be right, since I am never wrong, yet I cannot find fault with his numbers, I will just insult this guy and throw bogus arguments at him."

      And the life is far to short to waste one's Sundays on arguing with liars.
      So please do kindly fuck off.

      Since you have no evidence to back up your side, you resort to ad-hominem attacks and foul language. Very classy. What next, "I'm rubber and you're glue?" I do agree about arguing with liars (namely, you), so have a nice day.

      --
      "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
  120. Hard to answer. Probably dead. by WebCowboy · · Score: 2

    Would you prefer to be raped or dead ?

    Not having suffered as a victim of violent crime I cannot say for sure, but having known a victim ov violent sexual assult, I would say that many of them feel they would rather have been murdered, especally quickly with a gun, because the pain and suffering would be over much sooner.

    Furthermore, if a rapist is fatally shot then not only could the victim have aat least a chance to avoid the rape itself, they could also avoid the prospect of facing their attacker in court during trial, appeals, victim impact statements, parole hearings, release from prison, being stalked via phone and email, etc.

    So, the answer to the question is not so obvious.

    1. Re:Hard to answer. Probably dead. by ewibble · · Score: 1

      I don't think it is hard to say. If rape is worse the solution is easy just kill the victim. They wouldn't have to do the trial, face the the attacker etc.

      Yes some people commit suicide because they have been raped, but some people also do it because the loose their job. In a logical sense I don't see why rape is any different from any other assault where you now may constantly worry about your safety.

      Don't get me wrong I think being raped would be very bad, I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but I don't see why it is worse than being severely beaten (baring having a child as a result), both would leave me emotionally scared.

      I think a large part of the stigma of rape, is societal, anything that involves sex in today's society is suddenly much worse, don't know why?

      I have never been raped, but I assume we don't have any body who has been killed to give us a victim comparison.

    2. Re:Hard to answer. Probably dead. by Hanzie · · Score: 1

      Killing the victim doesn't prevent the rape, it just encourages the rapist to repeat.

      Rape is often agonizing and the vagina and or anus can get torn.

      Often the wall between the two gets torn, and operations are required or the victim will spend the rest of her life leaking feces out her now combined vaginal/rectal opening.

      Without the wall being torn, the rectum will often prolapse, which is hideously painful, and if the rectal muscles are torn, the victim has to wear a diaper the rest of her life, and always smells like it.

      Herpes, ghonnorea, syphlis, hepatitis, e coli infections,

      agony while defacating, disfigured vagina, disfigured anus, crippling fear...

      And in many countries, raped women are considered adulterers and stoned. The men are generally considered victims of their natural appetites, who were only acting reasonably. Like a cat would if you showed it raw meat. If the women had been properly careful and not flaunted themselves, they would have had no problem, so it's their fault.

      Now, that said, would you rather get beat up, or beat down and ass raped by a baseball bat loaded with communicable diseases?

      I'll take a beating to unconsciousness any day of the week.

      --
      ********* sig: If you don't like the law, get filthy stinking rich, and buy a better one.
  121. You'll have to take my 3d printer... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...from my cold dead hand!

  122. subject by Legion303 · · Score: 1

    "Terrorists can"

    I'mma let you finish, Yee, but...no, wait, I'm not going to let you finish. Shut the fuck up.

  123. 3D Printer Control by Stephen+Gilbert · · Score: 1

    Unfortunately, this is being framed as a gun control issue, which is almost impossible to have a reasonable discussion about in the United States. What's actually happening here is that a lawmaker wants to regulate a revolutionary small-scale manufacturing technology. This technology is not specifically designed to make firearms, and it isn't particularly good at it. But, because it could possibly be used to produce an "undetectable" gun, you're going to see more politicians try to strangle 3D printing in the cradle.

  124. Regulate printers but not guns ?? by bmullan · · Score: 1

    Ok.. Congress can't come to grips with regulating guns but they can printers that happen to print guns. When they do this only outlaws will have 3d printers

  125. Oh noes! by Fuzzums · · Score: 1

    Wait until he finds out you can build your own 3d printer.

    --
    Privacy is terrorism.
  126. Cannon by JustNiz · · Score: 1

    If anyone can print a cannon, Cannon can.

  127. Pointless by fadethepolice · · Score: 1

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Improvised_firearm I couldn't find the link now, but don't all commercial printers print a tracking code on every print made in order to prevent and track counterfeit money? This is already done on regular printers so there is a very high likelihood this could get passed.

  128. More business!! by snemiro · · Score: 1

    If this senator would like to erradicate crime from the streets, maybe he should start supporting public health and education up to university level with big tax deductions for them whom finish their degrees... crime is a way to get easy money, like..em...belong to a Govt institution for life....or receive insane pension plans for 3 years in politics, without any evaluation of results....

  129. Yeah, thank you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thanks to the nutters for destroying the 3D printer before it could get a toehold in American households. The 3d printer has gone from the cool household tool to make just about anything to the dangerous munition producing terrorist enhancing device.

    Sigh. Stupid nutters. Guess that I'm going to have to get a CNC mill instead of a 3d printer now.

  130. Gun deaths vrs. all murders... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    In Britain, since guns have been pretty much removed from the culture, people use knives and clubs for their violent crime.

    So much so that they have now made knives with pointy ends illegal, in theory to make it harder to kill people with the, Never heard of the dreaded straight razor, I suppose. So comparing just gun deaths in Britain to gun deaths in the US isn't helpful; what's the picture if you compare violent crimes with severe bodily injury?

    I carry a Leatherman multi-tool on my belt most every day that would get me arrested in Britain. It has like 20 different tools, including pliers, file, nail scissors, screwdrivers, wire cutter, a saw, and two knife blades, one pointy and straight, and the other blunt-ended with a serrated edge. That will get you arrested, I suspect.

    Canes to help oldsters walk can be used as a club, probably next on the list to go.

  131. This was Cody Wilson's end game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thank Mr. Wilson. This is exactly what he wanted.
    He's the pothead, gun nut, asshole who has ruined 3D printing for EVERYONE.
    He took a positive and useful technology and corrupted it. All because he has no penis and needs a gun to make up for it.

    Fuck you Cody Wilson, you fucking nutless drug addict moron.

  132. Idle hands... by TrentTheThief · · Score: 1

    Senator Leland Yee is proof that the vast majority of elected officials are useless buffoons. They are in excess of humanity's requirement survive and therefore redundant except as raw material to create soylent green.

    The idiot does not realize that to do so would require sales enforcement to regulate the sale of servo motors, items that contain servo motors, all-thread rod, timing belts, gears, bare circuit boards, solder...

    The list is endless. Such a person should also consider banning libraries since I can use one to learn the procedure to produce nitro-cellulose. And let's not forget that we must also permanently incarcerate all of the specops guys since they could train everyday citizens to become insurgents.

    The best use for politicians is to fill abandoned mine shafts.

  133. Guns are the tip of the iceberg. by sixsixtysix · · Score: 2

    This is just a opening salvo in the war against replicators. After all, 3D printers are the path to eventual full-scale replication. Better nip it in the bud now, with a hot-button topic like guns.

    --
    ...
  134. why don't politicians make laws to ban politicians by kencurry · · Score: 1

    They commit crimes.
    They break laws.
    They can kill if left unchecked.

    --
    sigs are for losers (except to point out that sigs are for losers)
  135. Re:3D Printer Ctl -- control of "Printing Press?" by lpq · · Score: 2

    Seems to me a 3D printer has more in common with a printing press. What you do with it is whatever, and I could see the same issues with government wanting to control printing presses. Which is more dangerous, the pen or the sword? The written word has proven capable of changing and steering countries and civilizations, not to mention inciting people to violence (though spoken seems more likely to do that).

    Should we ban those as well? Oh... some countries already do ban free speech and publishing.. and most forms of media are already state controlled...

    People need to stop looking at the printing of a gun as being some sort of big deal. It's like building a gun. Period. Is it really a big deal? It's been done millions of times throughout history. The fact that a 3d printers lower the costs for home production of anything, is likely what is more at issue. If you can produce a gun, why not a bicycle or a car? Sure, you might have to go down to the 3d-printer center to borrow some time on a large-printer for some parts, but the idea that manufacturing wouldn't be locked away from home users or the masses? Why isn't that as radical an idea as the home printer -- or the home computer? Couldn't those easily have societal altering effects far beyond the ability to make weapons?

  136. Fear driven by chris.evans · · Score: 0

    This is fear driven regulation, just because it is possible to make a gun (unlikely) we shouldn't punish the owners of the equipment.

    1. Re:Fear driven by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly! Call me when I can buy a personal SAM site to stop the drones of tyranny. Any argument that can be made for currently legal weapons can be made for ANY weapons. Suitcase nukes! USA! Suitcase nukes! USA! Suitcase nukes! USA! Suitcase nukes! USA! Suitcase nukes! USA! Suitcase nukes! USA! Suitcase nukes! USA! Suitcase nukes! USA! Suitcase nukes! USA! Suitcase nukes! USA! Suitcase nukes! USA! Suitcase nukes! USA! Suitcase nukes! USA! Suitcase nukes! USA! Suitcase nukes! USA! Suitcase nukes! USA!

  137. One more time? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So a terrorist can print a gun, use that gun to kill, but because the gun was printed can get off scott-free. I must have a really poor understanding of the law, because I thought murder, no matter how the weapon was made, was a crime.

  138. 3D Printers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is he Nuts.

  139. Guns are not hard to make by Satanboy · · Score: 1

    Should we have background checks for metal pipes and nails too?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Va87gB_4AI

    This guy is reactionary and ignorant, he should not be in public office.

  140. Registered guns didn't stop Obama by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Let's regulate the pen and paper since many people die from ideas...And let's ban electricity (wait, obama's trying to do that too)... and forget about registering firearms since obama will ignore those rules too.... Bunch of panzies, just stay outta my business and leave me alone!

  141. Idiots. by Gallomimia · · Score: 1

    3-D printers have enormous possibility and it's very important that they are left unregulated and unfettered. So what's the first thing these idiots do? Proof of concept home made guns during the government's gun-control-spree. For interesting fiction regarding 3-D printers read the following stories by Cory Doctorow:
    Makers A lengthy and excellent novel which you can download for free in any format.
    Printcrime a short story about copywrite on printed goods which is very to the point. It is contained entirely on this short page along with its license.

    --
    Sadly, a Libertarian cannot force his views on another, and freedom cannot spread as does the cancer known as religion.
  142. It's not all bad, but the law won't work. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    On a positive note there could be a materials science boom that could improve many properties of the photo polymers and thermal plastics used in 3D printing. Right now these materials are not as robust as their nearest similar production grade plastics.

    This proposed law is dumb, and that's coming from someone raised in a liberal town in a liberal state, although I'm not a liberal or a conservative.

  143. Might as well regulate and track iron by choadrocker · · Score: 1

    Hell, why stop there. Carbon is the problem!

  144. Anyone care to check the score? by MobSwatter · · Score: 1

    Criminals use guns, politicians use laws, the two won't meet eye to eye but I'd say they have a lot in common, my belief is politicians killed more people in the end with failed diplomacy and resultant war. Trouble is normal folks use guns too, guns are a tool, it is people that kill people and if they don't use guns they'll just resort to something else, and it'd probably be worse.

  145. Regulate real dangers before going off the deep by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you can't regulate guns, don't look at other fledgling and easier corporations to regulate. When Congress gets off its but and really starts doing the peoples business than perhaps we should look at regulating all sorts of potential dangers. How about Ammonia Nitrate stock piled in huge quantities like at Texas. The terrorist could have used that stock pile to do some real damage, and homeland security didn't even know about it!

  146. Registering PRINTERS? by xmundt · · Score: 1

    Greetings and Salutations;
              Well, if this fellow is going to register a printer, perhaps he should also insist that lathes, drill presses, files, and other hand tools be registered too. He apparently does not realize that I could go into the shop, and in fairly short order turn out weapons that would be far more accurate than the plastic ones from the printers, and, will last for thousands of rounds.
            Beyond that, it is also not that hard to make ceramic weapons that are equally hard to find and have the same abilities.
            I would suggest that the better course of action would be to work on making America a place where people do not think of guns as the first course of action to resolve a situation.

    --
    YAB - http://blog.beemandave.com/
  147. Right of suicide by Hanzie · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I disagree with the premise. I strongly believe that suicide is a fundamental human right. It's the one decision that is fundamentally yours.

    Who should have the right to force me to keep living if I don't want to?

    --
    ********* sig: If you don't like the law, get filthy stinking rich, and buy a better one.
    1. Re:Right of suicide by unr3a1 · · Score: 1

      No where in his post does he touch on someone's "right" to suicide. He is talking about the rate of suicide in relation to the prevalence of a deadly mechanism. There is no relation, is what he was saying. Not once did he talk about suicide rights.

      In response to your question though, I will ask you a question. What do you think the people that tried suicide but were stopped by a friend or family member would say about it? Those that are happy about it at least. Don't fool yourself into believing that out of the people that were attempting suicide or plannining to, none of them feel grateful for the individuals who stopped them from doing it. I can't give exact percentages, but there are people who have attempted to kill themselves and were stopped—against their will at the time—who are glad someone was there who cared about them enough to save their lives.

      Suicide is a permanent "solution" to temporary problems. Yes, there are people who genuinely want to off themselves, and the fact that nothing would help them from seeing the value in their lives is sad. The people who fail, whether by their own failure, or who are forced to live by others do still have to live with the depression. Well, they can always try again.

      But if we did what you would seem to suggest, which is "just let people off themselves at will with no intervention of any kind", people who truly didn't want to kill themselves will, because they had no one to try and stop them.

  148. All about the benjamins.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Bottom line.. Has nothing to do with printers but has everything to do with the governments inability to regulate how they are used. If they had a meter on them reporting what and footage of material was passed through them this wouldnt even be an issue. I mean realistically we all know how great the judgement of the gov. is where gun control is concerned... the last lot they felt needed to have guns crashed a plane into a building and used the guns to kill US soldiers when we said something about it. So MAYBE if they stepped out of this one they might actually have a positive result. Hell look at the funds they spend every year on policing immigrants and drug control and we all know how effective all that has been.

    My 2 cents

  149. Rapist mentality by Hanzie · · Score: 1

    Know thine enemy.

    If you've been having trouble sleeping too soundly, or getting scammed because you're too trusting, I recommend the book: Without Conscience.
    http://www.amazon.com/Without-Conscience-Disturbing-World-Psychopaths/dp/1572304510

    Written by a shrink, he explains what happens (and doesn't happen) in the mind of a sociopath, with plenty of examples.

    The rapist mentality is covered too.

    --
    ********* sig: If you don't like the law, get filthy stinking rich, and buy a better one.
  150. re: inconvienence of rape by Hanzie · · Score: 1

    In the least damaging forcible rape you're going to encounter,

    Please imagine being bent over by someone approximately twice your body mass, pressed face first into asphalt, then having a baseball bat repeatedly shoved in and pulled out of your ass for about five minutes.

    As your asshole rips the blood will provide a lubricant. So will the shit, which will also, unfortunately, get rubbed deeply into your ripped rectum, providing you with infections.

    Then, the baseball bat dumps a load of ejaculate, which will quite possibly contain any of a host of diseases.

    Oh, and you're also pregnant now.

    A long time ago I knew and loved a woman who had been gang raped as a 14 year old girl, lost her front teeth from the punching, and 9 months later gave birth to a baby girl, who went up for adoption.

    20 minutes of inconvienence?

    Go Fuck Yourself

    --
    ********* sig: If you don't like the law, get filthy stinking rich, and buy a better one.
  151. Yee is a disgrace by jbgeek · · Score: 2

    The guy is an uninformed clown who constantly makes ignorant statements about firearms. Needs to be voted out of office.

  152. Among the Control Freaks by biggaijin · · Score: 2

    Leland Yee has never met a gun law that he doesn't like and has made himself a reputation among gun-hating Californians as a dependable source of irritation for liberty-loving Americans. The printable gun is his worst nightmare; therefore he must control the means of producing it. It's a good thing the weather is so nice in California. Otherwise, I would never be able to stand living here.

  153. Get real by wiz0690 · · Score: 2

    This one of the most ridiculous, knee-jerk reactions to new technology I have ever heard of. He must have never heard of "zip guns," that any punk on the street can build from less than a dollar's worth of parts without needing a $3000+ 3D printer, knowledge of 3D modeling, and the principals of gun smithy. I suppose he will want background checks and registration for buying PVC plumbing parts and potatoes least someone fashion a potato gun. At the time of the American Revolution, authors, publishers, and printers were regularly imprisoned for seditious speech. The framers of our constitution apparently felt so strongly about freedom of expression and the press that it became the subject of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. If every "disruptive" technology were so highly regulated we would not have cameras, phonographs, radio, television, audio recording, photocopiers, VCRs, personal computers, let alone the Internet itself.

    --
    /steve
  154. Re: inconvienence of rape by loufoque · · Score: 1

    Pregnant from the ass?
    You have some pretty magic body!

    More seriously, those things are extreme cases and are not necessary for an act to be qualified as being rape. Thankfully, not all rape cases are that violent.

  155. There's a march on Washington on July 4th by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://m.washingtonpost.com/local/protest-group-plans-july-4-march-on-washington-with-loaded-rifles/2013/05/07/59b8e392-b727-11e2-aa9e-a02b765ff0ea_story.html

  156. ..and these are the people that lead us by dean.collins · · Score: 1

    Yet another lawmaker who doesn't understand guns and how easy it is to "fire" a projectile. ..and these are the people that lead us and make decisions that affect our lives. I think in the future elected officials must answer a pop quiz (multiple choice to make it easy for them) in order to make their vote on a political motion. - http://www.livepoliticalchat.com/

  157. It will not help by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    So they regulate the purchase of 3d printers. Someone with no criminal record, etc, buys one and prints a gun, uses the gun and burns it. How does regulation help? It doesn't. The plastic fun is untraceable.

  158. Isn't going into protected areas? by crovira · · Score: 1

    More likely, isn't going to let that stop an idiot like him.

    --
    MSBPodcast.com The opinions expressed here are my own. If you don't like 'em... Think up your own stuff.
  159. Mexico Re:Gun control however... by k31bang · · Score: 1

    Actually you CAN own a .22 in mexico. It's just that it's heavily regulated. Obligitory wikipedia link and quote.
    " Weapons may be kept in the home for security and legitimate defense of its dwellers. Their possession imposes the duty to manifest them to the Secretariat of National Defense for their registration. For every weapon, record of its registration will be issued."

    And a secondary quote from wikipedia

    "Under these two articles, private citizens are generally restricted to semi-automatic handguns or revolvers of a caliber no greater than .380 (for home defense),[28] rifles no greater than .22, and shotguns no greater than a 12-gauge (hunting and shooting when a member of a club). Anything bigger than those calibers is considered for exclusive use of the military and strictly forbidden for civilian possession, as defined by Article 11 of the Federal Law of Firearms and Explosives.[29] "

    As far as I know, Aguila Ammunition is still manufactured in mexico, including .22 LR.

    So the 100% Mexico ban you stated is little less than 100% imho.

    --
    -+-=-+-=-+-=-+-=-+-=-+ *** http://www.mountainfort.com *** +-=-+-=-+-=-+-=-+-=-+-
  160. Note the vast difference by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    Muggers and burglars in the UK almost *never* use guns; apart from anything else that means maybe 10 years instead of 6 months.

    As a result you have far more violent crime; If that's what you were after, good job! However it means that I went from traveling from the U.S. to London once a year, to pretty much never unless I'm going somewhere outside the city. Too unsafe.

    However that's not my main point; my point is this. What you are talking about is not regulation, i.e. not laws designed to regulate how lawful people own and use guns. Instead it's a byproduct of criminal law, i.e. laws that govern punishment that in no way effect legal gun owners.

    So leave legal owners alone, and ramp up punishment greatly for criminals who use guns if you must.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  161. They forgot regulating Lathes by windyweather · · Score: 1

    While they are at it, they need to regulate Lathes and other machine tools that are used to make metal guns. Or not..... Either Lathes or 3D printers..... -ww

  162. Send Yee Back to China! Doesn't want airguns now? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://liveimage.beyond360imaging.net/view/templates/43/?sku=M107A1

  163. Somebody let his dogma out on a leash ... by golodh · · Score: 1
    @hairyfeet

    Gun control works fairly well in most parts of Western Europe, Australia, Japan, Korea, and Canada.

    It (admittedly) doesn't seem to work in places like Pakistan's Tribal Areas, Afghanistan, Somalia, Chad, Mexico, Colombia, or the US.

    I just wonder why that is.

    If nothing else, this shows that gun control can work fairly well ... it just depend on who you're dealing with.

  164. Thank You by Common+Joe · · Score: 1

    HairyFeet, you always state things so much better than I could. I don't know how many people say thank you to you for taking the time to express your opinions (and it must be a fair amount of time from the amount that you write), but I'd like to say it now: Thank you. You almost always save me a lot of trouble writing things I'd like to say. This kind of stuff needs to be said and you almost always do a great job.

  165. California Lawmaker Wants 3-D Printers To Be Regul by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What a maroon

  166. Figure it out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is not brain surgery. Please try to pay attention.

    You, like Piers Morgan, are too focused on GUN deaths, and ignoring the other forms of violent deaths.

    If a country had exactly 10 deaths per year, and all were via guns. If you could outlaw all guns, get them all out of the criminal hands, would you still consider it a victory if in the following year, there were 12 deaths by knives? Gun grabbers don't seem to get the fact that it's murder and other violent crimes that are the issue, not the guns. If it were the guns, then take the guns away from the police and military also.

    Maybe you still feel you should go after guns, but think about this; what if those extra two people killed by knife attacks, were your children?

    The world does not run on reality, it runs on perception of reality, but perceptions only drive policy. it is the reality that drives the resuts.

    The UK has more violent crimes per population than the United States. Gun free cities have more gun violence than non-gun free cities. Mexico has a complete gun ban but have a huge amount of violence. Switzerland has a mandatory gun ownership (Assault weapons), and they have one of the lowest crime rates in the world.

    I'm done ranting on the issue. All gun bans in the United States are illegal

  167. Logical deduction by FreedomFirstThenPeac · · Score: 1

    Either this legislator is not very bright, or his voters are not very bright (and that is not an XOR).

    --
    "There is no god but allah" - well, they got it half right.
    1. Re:Logical deduction by kaatochacha · · Score: 1

      Lelend Yee has made a name for himself of illogically hating anything even vaguely related to guns, no matter how obscure the connection.
      My assumption has been someone scared him with a gun when he was five.

  168. Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The (D) didn't get conspicuously omitted that time.

  169. Game changer by OmegaWolf747 · · Score: 1

    While the Liberator may be pretty much a toy gun, it's still a sign of things to come. The day will soon arrive when anyone with a 3D printer and Internet connection will be able to download a schematic and print just about anything they want. People won't have to buy anything at all anymore except the base materials to make what they want. We will be able to make our own cars, clothes, computers, smartphones/tablets, weapons, toys, etc. Commerce as we know it will either cease to exist or be radically altered.

    --
    I charge forward recklessly, leaving chaos in my wake.
  170. Re: inconvienence of rape by kaatochacha · · Score: 1

    You just need to be quiet. Seriously. You started off shoving your foot in your mouth, it's now halfway down your throat. Call it a day and give up before your foot goes any further.

  171. Building materials as currency by bitterblackale · · Score: 1

    I think the world governments have reason to be terrified about this; it could eventually supplant certain people's need for currency, given the right circumstances. That would be bad for our greedy corporately-owned governments. I would hope that the advent of the 3d printer ushers in an era in which useful building supplies supplant useless fiat currency. Then it doesn't matter if you know how to mnufacture your own building supplies - they're still useful. There would be no such thing as 'counterfeit' currency except for imitation building materials that are of poorer quality than they may have claimed. Eh - it probably wouldn't work, but it would make a helluvalot more sense than the USD/GBP/Euro/Yen/etc which derive value from a load of useless-to-people-in-the-real-world fomulae and artificial currency manipulation.

  172. Why did I need to? by dbIII · · Score: 1

    You've got very confused there with some sort of "deny by default" mentality creeping in. It's up to those that propose to regulate something that has not been regulated before to push their case. With 3D printers they got nothing to push other than the hype surrounding what looks like no more than a dangerous toy made on one of the things. Under adult supervision of a legal system that's something that will be thrown out as a waste of time, but once it goes into the spin cycle of batshit insane Californian electoral politics it's a convenient windmill to charge and get votes. Now do you get my first post?

    1. Re:Why did I need to? by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      With 3D printers they got nothing to push other than the hype surrounding what looks like no more than a dangerous toy made on one of the things.

      It's a single-shot discardable firearm that shoots a centerfire handgun cartridge (.380). What makes it less dangerous than any other handgun? (not to mention the whole detection angle...)

    2. Re:Why did I need to? by dbIII · · Score: 1

      The cartridges are not plastic so the detection angle is irrelevant, as about half a second of thought before posting would have shown. This is getting depressing and I'm losing my patience with people like yourself who push overly simplistic viewpoints and deliberately pretend to be far more stupid than they are to do so. It really is coming across as a terrible waste of potential and I'm not sure you realise that is how you are presenting yourself.

    3. Re:Why did I need to? by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      You have conveniently ignored the main question:

      What makes it less dangerous than any other handgun?

    4. Re:Why did I need to? by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Are you serious? OK then, I'll play your game a little longer. Low maximum muzzle velocity and low weight of shot.
      This really is depressing and I keep having to tell myself that you are only pretending to be mentally retarded in some failed attempt to be funny.

    5. Re:Why did I need to? by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      Are you serious? OK then, I'll play your game a little longer. Low maximum muzzle velocity and low weight of shot.

      It shoots a standard .380 ACP round from a 2.5" barrel. That the barrel is plastic is rather immaterial as it does not affect muzzle velocity (and the lack of rifling only affects the stability of the bullet). That's about the same as your typical .380 pocket pistol - not that this round has much use of longer barrels, anyway. And it's a perfectly potent round, used by police forces in Europe for decades.

      ("low weight of shot" - do you even know what you're even talking about? it fires a bullet, not shot...)

      And, of course, I was not talking about Liberator alone, but 3D-printed guns in general. If Liberator could be made and successfully fired, there's nothing precluding someone from doing the same with a different caliber. For example, 12ga - the safe peak pressure for that is two times lower than for .380 ACP (11,500 psi for 12 ga, 21,500 psi for .380), so if a plastic gun can withstand .380, it can certainly withstand 12ga. That would, effectively, make for a single-shot sawed-off shotgun. Still "low power" for you? How many kids do you think one can frag with half a dozen of those walking into a school somewhere in Australia? Are you content to just sit and wait until that happens?

      As a side note, at this point the rounds themselves also become undetectable, since a shotgun shell can (and usually is) made out of plastic, and pellets can be ceramic or even just clay. The only metal part (and even then only because it's hard to make on your own) would then be the primer, but I very much doubt that it would be prominent enough on any metal detector.

  173. Crack Pot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Here we have another half wit scheme that won't work. And on top of that we have an attack by a man with a bulldozer this week. The man destroyed four homes. This is not the first time that tracked vehicles have been used for mayhem. So we need to have background checks on all people who might be able to or have access to a bulldozer. Perhaps we should demand that all bulldozers have small fuel tanks so that they can not run for more than five minutes as less people would be at risk if the dozer operator goes bonkers. Or maybe we should amputate one leg from anyone who might operate a dozer who is less than socially acceptable. It is next to impossible to run most dozers with a leg missing. Think of how much mayhem can be prevented if we get absolute control over potential bull dozer operators. I heard that some guys drive their bulldozers into town to by ammo for their assault rifles. If they can't get permission to buy ammo they might plow down the gun store in order to get ammunition. I know for a fact that where ever a problem or potential problem exists that there is a solution and that solution can only be provided by congress.

  174. Why do you think I'll take you at your word? by dbIII · · Score: 1

    For reference you should note that most types of wood are stronger than the plastic used in 3D printers. Take that in mind when you try to bluff with made up numbers.
    Sorry kid, you've tried faking stupidity, why do you think you have enough credibility after that to think that lies are going to work?

    1. Re:Why do you think I'll take you at your word? by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      Which of the numbers I quoted were "made up", exactly?

      And what relevance does wood have to this? If it can be used to make guns, as well, then we obviously also need to look into regulating carpentry tools that provide sufficient precision to craft a barrel, but that's a separate issue. We're talking 3D printing here.

      And you still haven't answered the main question. You realize full well that this type of gun can be used in a killing spree, and it is only a matter of time before it will be so used - and not only that, but it will gain popularity for that exact purpose outside of US, because regular firearms are much better regulated there. So there will be killing sprees in UK, Australia etc now. Are you okay with that? If not, then why do you so stubbornly resist regulation?

    2. Re:Why do you think I'll take you at your word? by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      Oh, and if the "made up" referred to pressure figures for calibers, then you have just shown yourself to be an idiot incapable of using the most basic Internet search techniques, since SAAMI pressure numbers are all public - you can start at Wikipedia if you really need a hint on how to obtain them. On the other hand, the fact that Liberator shoots a .380 ACP round is the official word straight from its maker, and has been quoted in any article worth its salt about the gun (proving, once again, that you do not know what you're talking about).

    3. Re:Why do you think I'll take you at your word? by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Which of the numbers I quoted were "made up", exactly?

      Yes I know that you would get your jollies making me waste my time checking just like your silly little game of trying to get me to explain the obvious by pretending to be mentally retarded. Ever heard of the boy that cried wolf?
      I've been following this technology for a while now and finally saw one in action thirteen years ago, and I've been reading a bit about it since. Why do you think your petty little games are going to convince me, and even if you are being serious this time how the fuck do I tell? Either put up something from a reliable source or stop this lame attempt at a practical joke on me that I only went along with out of boredom.

      You realize full well

      No that's your strawman again.

      And what relevance does wood have to this?

      Not good enough properties for guns and the plastic has even worse properties - so yes, I have replied to another of your little games where you pretend to be mentally retarded and missing the obvious. Happy now?

    4. Re:Why do you think I'll take you at your word? by dbIII · · Score: 1

      then you have just shown yourself to be an idiot incapable of using the most basic Internet search techniques

      No, I'm showing that you have so little credibility that I'm not going to bother running around and wasting my time like you'd want me to do. It's also a bit more complicated than static pressure but you can be excused for not knowing that.

    5. Re:Why do you think I'll take you at your word? by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      You still haven't explained what, exactly, would prevent some deranged person from using this gun in a manner in which I've described, i.e. for a killing spree. If you dispute the numbers and are unwilling to do even a basic check to confirm them, fine, let's stick to the facts at hand: what we have here is a .380 ACP pistol. You're not disputing that much, I hope? And your knowledge of firearms, limited as it obviously is, is surely sufficient to realize that this is a lethal weapon, perfectly capable of killing or significantly maiming a human with a single well-placed shot, especially with good hollow-point ammo like Federal Hydra-Shok or Cor-Bon DPX?

      So what exactly will prevent a guy from printing half a dozen of those (or a dozen, or really however many he can carry; I bet you can rig up a harness for even more than that), and heading for the nearby school? You still keep dodging this fundamental question.

    6. Re:Why do you think I'll take you at your word? by dbIII · · Score: 1

      I don't have to explain - ask your "regulate everything" strawman that you keep on sticking my name on instead. You keep on putting words in my mouth and then asking me to explain them. Well they are your words, so explain them yourself and leave me out of it.

    7. Re:Why do you think I'll take you at your word? by dbIII · · Score: 1

      And your knowledge of firearms, limited as it obviously is

      Epic fail VB jockey. I was working with an air gun with a one inch bore, three metre long barrel and mach one speed for metal powder compaction probably a few years before you were born.
      Sorry kid, I'm a real person and not your pathetic "regulate everything" strawman. You seem to be a bit slow to grow up so you'd better make a start now.

    8. Re:Why do you think I'll take you at your word? by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      I'm not putting any words in your mouth. I'm giving you a hypothetical but entirely plausible situation, and asking you whether you feel uneasy about it, and if no, then why? and why do you resist regulation on these things so much?

    9. Re:Why do you think I'll take you at your word? by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Yes you most definitely are little petty VB jockey stalker - that's what things like "You realize full well" and even "resist regulation on these things so much" are doing, or have you lapsed back to conveniently pretending to be mentally disadvantaged yet again? At best you are misapplying baggage from a different thread about a different issue, but personally I think you are just doing this to get some reaction to fill some emotional void from being powerless in your own life, and you just happen to be using someone who thinks it's impolite to leave replies unanswered and who has some spare time due to illness as your target. Get a life kid. There's plenty of interesting things out there. Even a VB jockey with zero skills at metalwork/woodwork/machine tools can do stuff with 3D printers if you can get your head around design.

  175. Hum... what about CNC machines, lathes and drills by Marcos+Eliziario · · Score: 1

    A moderately competent machinist using those devilish tools and with blueprints pirated from evil hacker's sites on the internets could even create a perfect metal replica of an AR-15, or uranium-enrichment centrifugue! Let's ban the screw-driver!

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