California may outlaw 3-D printed guns

[struggle4progress]

Proposed legislation in California aims to ban guns made using 3-D printing, after an organization Defense Distributed fired a handgun made with the technology, and said it would distribute its drawings online.

California state Senator Leland Yee on Tuesday announced his plan to introduce legislation to prohibit the use of the technology used “to create such untraceable and anonymously-produced guns.”

While impressed with 3-D printing technology and its possibilities, Yee said in a statement it must be ensured that the technology is not used for the wrong purpose with potentially deadly consequences. “I plan to introduce legislation that will ensure public safety and stop the manufacturing of guns that are invisible to metal detectors and that can be easily made without a background check ...

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2038245/california-may-outlaw-3d-printed-guns.html

[Tx4obama]

1. 3D-Printed Gun's Blueprints Downloaded 100,000 Times In Two Days

3D-Printed Gun's Blueprints Downloaded 100,000 Times In Two Days

DU thread here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022816834


It might be hard to put the genie back into the bottle now.

[dkf]

2. Lol. How is he going to do that? Ban 3d printers?

[Chan790]

3. Good.

Next step, make the sanction for possessing such a gun so severe that people just won't risk it.

[davidn3600]

5. That works well for murder doesn't?

Death penalty has put an end to murders in America.

[Chan790]

10. Well, no...

but Japan's sometimes-30+ year prison sentences for illegal gun possession have done wonders for gun crime in Japan in less than half a century. In the early 1970s, Japan had a rate of firearm ownership and and guns-per-capita to rival the current US rate and a high rate of firearm murders...now guns are so rare and the sentences so stiff that the Yakuza have switched to beating people with sticks. I favor that approach with all illegal gun ownership.

Besides which I'm not talking about anything close to a full-ban on guns...I'm talking about making owning this type of gun illegal and the sentences severe much like it's illegal for me to own a zip-gun or pipe bombs. Sure, it's perfectly legal to own the instructions...nobody has shown up to confiscate my copy of The Anarchist Cookbook either...but if I follow the directions and make me a zip-gun, pipe bombs, thermite and napalm...I'm going to have to explaining to to do to a possibly-not-so-nice federal agent.

Name me one good reason why you'd need to own a single-shot all-plastic gun that is invisible to metal detectors and x-ray machines...I can only think of one and that's to be able to get it past security checkpoints. Let's stop pretending you have an absolute right to own such a thing because nobody does.

[Floyd_Gondolli]

11. I agree

We should all just throw up our hands and give up.

[Gravitycollapse]

4. "How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, That has such people in't!"

This is why we can't have nice things.

[loli phabay]

6. i want one these printers not to make a whole gun just after market parts ie stocks

I would love to be able to build a longe range rifle to my own specs by myself around a tried and trusted base model.

[justanidea]

7. Plastic guns are already illegal under Federal law.

The only reason Defense Distributed was able to make one is due to the "prototype testing" exeption.

The only way to restrict something like this is to ban the creating/possession of the files, which I imagine would be a 1st amendment issue.

[Pelican]

8. Good luck with that...

[closeupready]

13. +1.

[Junkdrawer]

9. Good. At least these things won't be brandished about as much as if they were legal...

Obviously, it doesn't completely solve the problem, but it's better than nothing.

[Pelican]

14. So...

... If it's tucked in a waistband and you can't see it... you feel better?

[warrior1]

12. good