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