Trump’s Deal Allowing 3D-Printed Guns Online Deemed Illegal
- State Department reversed an Obama policy to block publication
- Some states sued claiming 3-D guns would endanger police
A 3D printed gun at a factory in Texas.
Photographer: Kelly West/AFP via Getty Images
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The Trump administration broke a federal law when it reached a settlement allowing a small gun-technology company to post online the digital blueprints for making weapons with a 3D printer, a judge ruled.
The State Department didn’t give the public a proper explanation in 2018 when it reversed an Obama-era position that blocked Defense Distributed from publishing computer-aided design files for guns on the internet, U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik in Seattle ruled on Tuesday.