3D Guns

Continuing on with the trend of 3-D printing, this post is about the much debated ability of what exactly one should be able to print.  With such easy access to 3D printers and sharing templates to print out, many people are wondering about being able to print out guns. The world's first 3D printed gun was printed out in 2012.

But even this one was not full plastic. It also contained a metal chamber to hold the actual bullets. What legally made it a firearm was the receiver of the gun.

The YouTube news channel VICE did a particularly interesting documentary looking into this issue.

One of the main groups they focused on was DEFCAD.  DEFCAD and other websites including Defense Distributed (a non-profit digital publishing and 3D printing firm), are giving the public free access to these files. There is no need for a license or background check of any kind.  Just about anyone can get their hands on these and use them for whatever purpose they want.

Defense Distributed has also created a tumblr page entitled WikiWeapons. It documents their printing of 3D weapons while at the same time showing the hurdles they are being forced to encounter. Knowing what this group is doing, the United Stand Department of State has sent them warning letters and their bank terminated their account, along with PayPal suspending their account. There is much opposition to this group because they are one of the most vocal about being able to have the freedom to print out their own weapons.

This question of safety of the guns themselves has also been looked at by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. The State Department has also begun getting involved, forcing websites to take down the designs of particular guns. But once something is out on the internet, it is never really gone.