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California Lawmaker Wants 3-D Printers To Be Regulated

Posted by Soulskill on from the i-demand-background-checks-for-sketchpads-and-protractors dept.

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.'"

19 of 856 comments (clear)

  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 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.
    2. 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?
    3. 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.

    4. 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?

    5. 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.

    6. 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
    7. 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.

    8. 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.

    9. 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.
    10. 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.

    11. 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

  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 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.

  3. 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.
  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. 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.