Federal Judge Rules Against Trump Administration on 3-D Gun Blueprint Case (latimes.com)

A federal judge on Monday issued a preliminary injunction continuing a prohibition on the Trump administration proposal to make available blueprints for so-called ghost guns, untraceable weapons that can be manufactured on a 3-D printer, California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said. From a report: California was one of 20 states led by Washington that won the decision from U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik in Seattle. The injunction extends a ruling last month that barred the Trump administration from taking steps that would allow the firm Defense Distributed to disseminate 3-D gun blueprints. "When the Trump Administration inexplicably gave the green light to distribute on the internet blueprints of 3D-printed, untraceable ghost guns, it needlessly endangered our children, our loved ones and our men and women in law enforcement," Becerra said in a statement. "The Trump Administration's actions were dangerous and incompetent."

Comments

Another judge legislating from the bench

[Anonymous Coward]

What is so complicated about "[s]hall not be infringed?"

Re:Another judge legislating from the bench

[ArchieBunker]

Who is manufacturing them? This is like Metallica suing Napster for distributing mp3 files. The judge says you can't download these files. What if you printed the text of these files into a book and sold it? Would that book be deemed illegal?

Re:Another judge legislating from the bench

[fahrbot-bot]

What is so complicated about "[s]hall not be infringed?"

The Second Amendment talks about the right to keep and bear arms, not manufacture them ...

Who is manufacturing them? This is like Metallica suing Napster for distributing mp3 files. The judge says you can't download these files. What if you printed the text of these files into a book and sold it? Would that book be deemed illegal?

Then it sounds like a First Amendment issue, not Second.

Re:Another judge legislating from the bench

[Anonymous Coward]

They are impinging on the first amendment. They are not allowed to tell people how to make them, thats different from actually making them.

But nonetheless, I find it interesting that the "states rights" outweigh the 1st and 2nd amendments according to this court, which I find illogical. It also seems odd for "libs" to be fighting for states rights... May you live in interesting times.. well these are pretty interesting.

Re:Another judge legislating from the bench

[EvilSS]

Very true. However this particular case isn't a 2A case to being with since there is no law banning these plans domestically. The case revolves around an ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) issue, where the feds said that making them available on a US website made them available to international users, and thus "export". I'm really not seeing how the states have standing on something like this, which is part of a power explicitly granted to the federal government.

Re:Another judge legislating from the bench

[bws111]

OK, 'genious', where did you get THAT incorrect piece of information? The militia of the United States is "all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard."

Re:Another judge legislating from the bench

[MBGMorden]

Indeed - this has nothing to do with the 2nd amendment - and everything to do with the 1st.

You see, it's already legal to manufacture these guns in most places within the US. If you have the file it's legal to print it.

What they're literally saying is that it's illegal to transmit the INSTRUCTIONS. The information on how to do so.

I'm sorry, but there's no way that will pass constitutional muster. If you want to try and outlaw the home manufacture of guns that's a separate issue that is not currently being debated, but barring the publication of instructional information, PARTICULARLY regarding a completely legal activity, is antithetical to the 1st ammendment.

This will certainly be overturned.

Re:Another judge legislating from the bench

[MBGMorden]

Actually we do, however the right to bear arms isn't granted to the militia. It's granted to the people, based on the fact that a militia is necessary to the security of a free state, and the people need arms to be able to form a militia when needed.

Re: Another judge legislating from the bench

[Anonymous Coward]

A tyrannical President wouldn't be supporting the citizens right to arm themselves!

Re:Another judge legislating from the bench

[JesseMcDonald]

Abridge literally means you left no bridge

That is not what "abridge" means. Even considering archaic versions. The origin of "abridge" according to Merriam-Webster is:

Middle English abreggen, abriggen "to reduce, diminish, shorten," borrowed from Anglo-French abreger, going back to Late Latin abbreviare, from Latin ad- + breviare "to shorten, abridge," verbal derivative of brevis "short"

As you can see, it has nothing at all to do with bridges or paths.

The legal definition is "to diminish or reduce in scope". As in: the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be diminished or reduced in scope.

Re:Another judge legislating from the bench

[tricorn]

It isn't a Second Amendment case, it's First Amendment, very similar to Bernstein v US DoJ .

I don't see why this is even an issue. If a state wants to prevent this, they should pass their own laws, as some have done.

In most states, it is perfectly legal to make your own gun, it does not need to be registered or have a serial number, and you can't transfer it to anyone.

It isn't legal to make an undetectable gun regardless of how you make it. There are easier ways to make an untraceable gun. Putting "3-D printer files" (or CNC milling files) on the internet shouldn't be legally different from publishing a book on how to make your own gun out of stuff you can buy at the hardware store with ordinary household tools.

If someone is going to make their own illegal guns and sell them, restricting the distribution of plans, even if 3-D printers become much cheaper, easier to use, and more capable, isn't going to slow them down at all.

Restricting the plans for the parts that aren't even controlled seems even more clear.

I don't own any guns. I just think this is a dangerous precedent.

I STILL don't get it.

[fish_in_the_c]

What grounds are there for stopping this information from being published? I mean, you need complicated machines and a lot of knowledge to actually use it don't you? If you have that much knowledge how hard can it be to come up with the plans yourself? Even so, I can find information on how to build bombs a plenty, destroy sensitive infrastructure , avoid surveillance ,and kill people with various types of poisons and weapons, some of which I can outright buy on the internet.
So WHAT is danger is this preventing , other then making those lobbing for gun restrictions looks like loonies? I mean , there must be 5000 better ways to protect people from Gun violence, why spend your time and resources? What is the gain?

Re:I STILL don't get it.

[ArchieBunker]

Judges and politicians are old and have no clue how the internet works much less 3d printers. This is like saying blueprints of firearms are illegal.

Re:I STILL don't get it.

[EvilSS]

The original case was based on ITARS (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) and the fact that the US Gov didn't feel that a domestic website could prevent any exfiltration of the files outside the US. There is nothing illegal about the files, it's international distribution (or the possibility of it) that is at the core of this. Personally I think it's stupid and that all the hand wringing is creating a Streisand effect around it more dangerous than if they had just let it be in the first place.

Too late

[callahan2211]

The code is already out there. Ultimately, the SCOTUS will rule that code is free speech.

Oh c'mon

[Anonymous Coward]

it needlessly endangered our children, our loved ones and our men and women in law enforcement.

I would so much rather a criminal attempt a public shooting with a flimsy piece of shit that's as likely to explode in his hand as it is to hurt someone else than with a rifle with a modified lower receiver. These stupid trinkets are not an issue, actual firearms are easier and cheaper to obtain than a damn 3D printer. Priorities, people.

Inflammatory article by a disingenuous author

[mysidia]

preliminary injunction continuing a prohibition on the Trump administration proposal to make available blueprints for so-called ghost guns, untraceable weapons

The Trump administration makes no such proposal to make available blueprints for so-called ghost guns.

Defense distributed plans to do this all on their own; The administration simply acknowledges the rule of law that
under the constitution that congress is not allowed to have a prior restraint on the release to 1st amendment Free Speech rights;
that is, the US government has no lawful authority to interfere with Defense Distributed publishing plans.

The same is true of the states as well; the mere fact that they found a judge to issue an unlawful order restraining the
publication does not mean that it is the Trump Administration's preference that DD release their plans, let-alone a proposal.

The ignorant left.....

[Anonymous Coward]

"The Trump Administration's actions were dangerous and incompetent"

So are the thoughts of the left wing idiots for ignoring the real issue of ignoring people breaking the laws and mental health! Instead they want to blame an object for killings. Blame the person pulling the trigger, they control the gun and the outcome! Criminals don't care about laws! If someone wants to kill, they will do so no matter what using whatever they want!

Re:DUMB!

[andydread]

if you get the gun through the metal detectors how are you going to use it if you can't get the bullets through metal detectors? Do you know anything at all about how guns work?

Doesn't matter...

[Karmashock]

... The technology is inherently uncontrollable. They can't stop pictures of naked children getting raped and you think you're going to stop gun blueprints? You can't stop pirated video games or bomb recipes...

This cannot be stopped.

All the judges and lawyers are doing is demonstrating their impotence.

It cannot be stopped.