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FedEx Won't Ship DIY Gunsmithing Machine

Posted by Soulskill on from the it-can't-get-there-from-here dept.

An anonymous reader writes Last fall, Defense Distributed — the company created by Cody Wilson of 3D-printed gun fame — announced a DIY gunsmithing machine called the Ghost Gunner. Now, FedEx is refusing to ship the device, saying there are laws or regulations that would prohibit them from shipment. A FedEx spokesperson said, "This device is capable of manufacturing firearms, and potentially by private individuals. We are uncertain at this time whether this device is a regulated commodity by local, state or federal governments. As such, to ensure we comply with the applicable law and regulations, FedEx declined to ship this device until we know more about how it will be regulated." Wilson argues, "They’re acting like this is legal when in fact it’s the expression of a political preference. The artifact that they’re shipping is a CNC mill. There’s nothing about it that is specifically related to firearms except the hocus pocus of the marketing."

13 of 320 comments (clear)

  1. Oh bullshit! by rfengr · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There are no regulations covering firearms manufacturing equipment; at least not YET. They are just covering their asses.

    1. Re:Oh bullshit! by Jiro · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You don't seem to understand libertarianism. Libertarians believe that private actions should be legal. Libertarians do not believe that you should not complain about private actions.

      Furthermore, in this case, if FedEx really is afraid of legal liability, or if the government is in other ways putting pressure on them, it's not a private action anyway. Government involvement is inherently not private.

    2. Re:Oh bullshit! by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Insightful

      UPS recently paid $40 million dollars because they shipped fake drugs.

      They didn't ship fake drugs. They shipped real drugs: prescription drugs from Canada.

      Like they were supposed to open all the packages and verify the contents?

      They didn't need to open the packages. They already knew what was in them.

      If the government did not stop this activity, our health would have been at risk of deteriorating to Canadian levels.

    3. Re:Oh bullshit! by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Change "guns" to flowers and Customer type from "gun loving" to Gay and see if you have a change it attitude.

      FedEx refused to ship flowers to a gay man

      You see, there is NOTHING "immoral" or "illegal" about either flowers, gunsmithing equipment, being a gun lover or lover of men. In fact, there is nothing different here except POPULAR OPINION.

      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
    4. Re:Oh bullshit! by JWSmythe · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I've heard of similar things. For example, this guy sending air, water, and sugar.

      As long as you have the right safety labels, there shouldn't be a problem. The guy in the above link screwed up with the "Rocket Fuel" label.

      If they were sending a mill, why did they say "It's a machine for making guns"? IT could have been labeled as coming from "GG Machine Works", and if they needed a declaration of contents it's just "a CNC machine."

      I can't even think of the countless things I've shipped. Usually I'm only asked on International shipments for the customs declaration. If I explain what's in them, it's too complicated, so they just put "computer parts" or "tools".

      I've received some things that surprised people, like ammunition (legally marked and shipped as such, handled by UPS), a truck front axle, and all kinds of weird smaller things.

      --
      Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
    5. Re:Oh bullshit! by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 5, Insightful

      UPS recently paid $40 million dollars because they shipped fake drugs.

      They didn't ship fake drugs. They shipped real drugs: prescription drugs from Canada.

      Like they were supposed to open all the packages and verify the contents?

      They didn't need to open the packages. They already knew what was in them.

      If the government did not stop this activity, our health would have been at risk of deteriorating to Canadian levels.

      No, our health costs were at risk of deteriorating to Canadian levels.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    6. Re:Oh bullshit! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Neo-Cons posing as Libertarians don't understand Libertarianism. The rest of us actually do.

      As for the right to complain, yes, we embrace it, but in addition his points seem salient to me. If the actions of FedEx are truly motivated by fear of governmental retribution then we should fix the government. If instead, FedEx is simply stating that they are feeling anti-gun today, we can both complain about their private actions (e.g. boycott their service) and consider introducing laws to further protect our civil liberties.

      The current (and I would argue just) rule is that if you offer a service like wedding cakes to a hetero couple, you must offer it to gay couples as well. If you offer to ship machinery that's useless for making guns, then you should offer it for machines useful for making guns.

  2. political preference? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I have worked for fedex for 15 years. I assure you this is not a hippie liberal company.

    Corporations are naturally risk adverse. And it doesn't matter if it's a marketed mill... we can't ship a ball bearing certain places if you tell us it can be used on a tank. Regulations are what they are.

    1. Re:political preference? by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If you say it is "X", FedEx has to treat it like "X". It you say it is not X, you (the liar) will bear the liability. So FedEx doesn't care. If you say it is "X" when it is "not X", why would FedEx risk it?

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    2. Re:political preference? by HiThereImBob · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If you say it is "X", FedEx has to treat it like "X". It you say it is not X, you (the liar) will bear the liability. So FedEx doesn't care. If you say it is "X" when it is "not X", why would FedEx risk it?

      It is "X". It is also "Y" and "Z" along with "L", "M", "N", "O", and "P". CNC Mills can be used to make damn near anything. I am officially notifying FEDEX that any CNC Mill can be used for gunsmithing. Also, Lab equipment / chemicals can be used for making drugs and bombs. Plane parts can be used to assemble planes a terrorist could use to crash into a building, and car parts can be used to facilitate both murder and drug smuggling. Camera and video equipment can be used by pedophiles, as can computers and networking gear (do I really need to keep going?). I expect them to step up and stop shipping these things at once.

  3. RE: expression of a political preference by DocSavage64109 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Lol. If he just told the FedEx rep that he was shipping 1'x1'x1' aluminum mills, there would be no problem. This is what he gets for over sharing. It's like telling police officers you smoke weed.

  4. Irony by tverbeek · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So here's a guy who calls himself a "libertarian", declaring that it's not legal for a private entity to refuse to do business with him based on their political views.

    --
    http://alternatives.rzero.com/
  5. Re: expression of a political preference by zieroh · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's almost like he was more interested in publicity than in actually shipping a product.

    --
    People who say "sheeple" have about as much sophistication as an AOL user, and in fact are probably actually AOL users.