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Judge Blocks Release of Blueprints For 3D-Printed Guns (nbcnews.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the put-on-hold dept.

U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday to stop the release of blueprints to make untraceable and undetectable 3D-printed plastic guns, saying they could end up in the wrong hands. Defense Distributed reached a settlement with the federal government in late June allowing them to freely publish the 3D files. NBC News reports: "There is a possibility of irreparable harm because of the way these guns can be made," he said. Congressional Democrats have urged President Donald Trump to reverse the decision to let Defense Distributed publish the plans. Trump said Tuesday that he's "looking into" the idea, saying making 3D plastic guns available to the public "doesn't seem to make much sense!" Eight Democratic attorneys general had filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to block the federal government's settlement with Defense Distributed. They also sought the restraining order, arguing the 3D guns would be a safety risk. Earlier today, Senate Democrats introduced two bills addressing 3D-printed guns. The first bill would make it illegal to publish 3D-printed gun blueprints. The second bill would require weapons to include at least one metal component with a serial number to make them traceable. Downloads of the 3D-printed gun blueprints have been suspended until Cody Wilson [the owner of Defense Distributed] reviews Lasnik's order. It is unclear how many times the blueprints were downloaded, but some news outlets say the online manuals have been downloaded thousands of times and posted elsewhere online.

7 of 401 comments (clear)

  1. It's time to break the judiciary by MikeRT · · Score: 1, Interesting

    This bullshit about judges being allowed to hand down injunctions without being able to cite a specific statute or the constitution needs to be stopped forcefully by constitutional amendment and statutory changes.

    Is it dangerous? I don't know, but I do know that your sorry ass isn't one of the people's representatives in Congress. Go fuck yourself, even if you are 100% right about the danger. Your opinion, as a judge, is irrelevant. You're not a fucking legislator.

    Lefties, you want to squawk about "threats to democracy?" Activist judges that behave like this are that and more.

    1. Re:It's time to break the judiciary by SirAstral · · Score: 2, Interesting

      "Those of us that think they know everything really piss of those of us that actually do."

      You don't say!

      US is NOT a democracy of any kind. We have several anti-Democracy controls in place "specifically there to prevent Democracy".

      Seriously, are you folks so ignorant that you won't even take the time to pick up a book on history and read what the founders of our nation wrote? Several efforts were take to specifically prevent America from being a Democracy of any kind. It is 'literally' in the history books, the Constitution, and in the writings of the very founders. It is amazing that some many people can possess this level of ignorant in the "information age".

      More like "misinformation age".

      Yea... your pissed off all right... that you think you actually know anything at all!

      And since you posted a link to a load of ignorance, let me give you a link to a little enlightenment.

      http://libertyunderfire.org/20...
      http://thecrux.com/what-the-fo...

      ---
      Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.
      John Adams
      ---
      Democracies have been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their death.
      James Madison
      ---

      And my personal favorite by a person that is not even an American
      ---
      The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
      Winston Churchill
      ---

      And Churchill was talking about you AND every other person that calls America a Democracy.

      so yea... those of you whom think you know everything...

    2. Re:It's time to break the judiciary by Xenx · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The US is a democracy. There are multiple variations of democracy, and the definitions are broad enough for the US to fall under the umbrella. From what I can tell, it all comes down to what specific set of rules you are restricting the term to. If you want to restrict it to a set that it no longer applies to the US, that's all well and good. That's your choice. If someone else wants to use a more broad definition, that is their choice. Both would be equally valid, just not useful when you're not using the same definition in an argument. If you're going to tell someone their wrong for using a term, maybe you should have a better understanding of how varied a definition that term truly holds.

  2. Trump tweeted opposition to 3D printed guns by rsilvergun · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Which if you ask me kind of lets the cat out of the bag on the NRA's purpose. They're not a gun rights lobby, they're a gun manufacturers lobby. And I don't see them taking kindly to the prospect of just anyone being able to manufacture their own firearms. Yeah, yeah, I know, you can barely shoot 5 rounds before it's ready for the junk heap. But give it 20 years and we'll see. And industry lobbies definitely think long term.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:Trump tweeted opposition to 3D printed guns by El+Cubano · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Trump tweeted opposition to 3D printed guns

      Not really. Trump has tweeted opposition to lots of things, say illegal immigration. His tweets left no doubt in anybody's mind that he was opposed to it. On this subject he said, "that doesn't make sense." That is not opposition. That is hedging. After all, he is a business man and has become a politician. He is waiting to see which way things go in terms of public opinion and more specifically with his supporters.

      Which if you ask me kind of lets the cat out of the bag on the NRA's purpose. They're not a gun rights lobby, they're a gun manufacturers lobby.

      I do not see how the two are incompatible. In fact, manufacturers are likely aware that if they oppose things like 3D printed firearms, they will anger their customers. The same way that Starbucks kicking out the two black men (in Philadelphia, I think) angered lots of their customers even though it has nothing at all to do with their product. Yet, their customers expect the company to act a certain way. Gun owners would be the same way and would not take kindly to gun manufacturers opposing 3D printed firearms. Besides, those are not really competition for them.

      And I don't see them taking kindly to the prospect of just anyone being able to manufacture their own firearms. Yeah, yeah, I know, you can barely shoot 5 rounds before it's ready for the junk heap. But give it 20 years and we'll see. And industry lobbies definitely think long term.

      In general, companies would rather that their customers not have the option to switch away. Even health insurers (hello Obamacare, until the risk pools were gutted) and teachers unions (school vouchers == bad) are the same way. The difference is every body has to have healthcare (it's the law) and for the most part you don't get a choice of school for your kids. Firearms are totally discretionary for practically every individual who owns them, so the gun manufacturers cannot be as obnoxious as the teachers unions and health insurers.

  3. Re:bittorrent by Lord+Kano · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm not an "expert" but I know a lot about guns. I have built them. I can build a functional 1911 from a receiver casting in less than 2 hours. Once you learn how to do it, it's not hard.

    LK

    --
    "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
  4. Re:bittorrent by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Computing is more walled off than ever before.

    False. I got access to the Internet in 1984, when 99.99% of the public had no access, and there were severe restrictions on what you could say or do. Commercial activity was illegal. I got my first domain in 1990, after filing plenty of paper forms and explaining to the US government why I needed it, and what I was going to do with it.

    I helped set up an office in Germany in the early 1980s, and we had to go to the post office to get a permit to operate a modem.