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3D Printed Guns Might Lead To Law Changes In Australia

angry tapir writes An inquiry by an Australian Senate committee has recommended the introduction of uniform laws across jurisdictions in the country "regulating the manufacture of 3D printed firearms and firearm parts." Although current laws are in general believed to cover 3D printed guns, there are concerns there may be inconsistencies across different Australian jurisdictions. Although there aren't any high-profile cases of 3D printed weapons being used in crimes in the country, earlier this year a raid in Queensland recovered 3D printed firearm parts.

4 of 245 comments (clear)

  1. 3D printed guns are no different to any other gun by jonwil · · Score: 3, Informative

    3D printed gins are no different to any other home-made gun.

    It doesn't matter if its 3D printed, machined with a lathe, hand-forged by a blacksmith or made on a production line, its still a gun and is still just as illegal or legal as any other gun (depending on what sort of gun it is and what jurisdiction you are in)

  2. Re:3D printed guns are no different to any other g by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Informative

    True, the difference is not in the gun itself, but in the means of production. A 3D printer requires little skill to operate (or soon will), lowering the bar to making a gun for most people. People making home made guns with a CNC machine or even by hand has not proven to be a big problem in most countries. It isn't clear yet if 3D printed guns will be a problem or not, but it seems like law makers want to get in ahead of time.

    Plus it means they can throw some extra charges at anyone they arrest who happens to own a 3D printer. Law enforcement is always looking for new ways to apply some additional stress on people it questions, even if most of the charges are eventually dropped as completely baseless.

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  3. Re:3D printed guns are no different to any other g by dave420 · · Score: 3, Informative

    The rest of the developed world seems to find the opposite is true, and judging by their number of gun deaths, something seems to be working.

  4. Re:regulation? by harrkev · · Score: 3, Informative

    why are so many americans such fucking morons when it comes to the simple undeniable truth: more easy guns = more senseless death, not protection

    Simple. IT ISN'T TRUE.

    How about using (gasp) some FACTS! Hard to believe, but if it were true, you should be able to prove it.

    Australia has greatly tightened its gun laws since 1996. Let's look at the great change.

    http://www.aic.gov.au/dataTool...

    According to this, in 1995, guns accounted for 18.38% of all murders. In 2012, guns accounted for 17.5% of all homicides. Yes, less than one percent drop! WOW! WHAT A DIFFERENCE!

    OK. Gun homicides DID go down quite a bit, but so did knife homicides and blunt object homicides. Did Australia ban all knives and clubs? Yes, the police hassle people who carry such things in public, but you can have a bunch of cricket bats and very large knives in your home in Australia.

    The homicide rate went down overall, but the proportion of weapon used did not seem to change much as at.. This points to some other cause for the drop in homicide. Some people point to less lead in the environment -- removing lead from gasoline and paint, for example.

    So, tell me. Where is your proof?

    Oh, and in the US, go here:

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

    Copy this table into your favorite spreadsheet. Make an X-Y scatter plot of "Gun Ownership" and "Murders." Add a trend line. Look: more guns = less homicide (a weak trend, but it is there). Hey, the District of Columbia has the most murders and the least number of guns (wow, go figure). Delete that row. Look, the trend is still there -- weaker, but still there.

    Now, I ask you: where is your proof?

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