Yes, Anyone Can Print a Gun at Home. But Not a Very Good One.
Schematics went public online five years ago. There’s a reason we haven’t seen a surge in crimes committed with plastic weapons.
Plans for the Liberator handgun were published five years ago and have been illegally available online since.
Photographer: Robert MacPherson/AFP, via Getty Images
Those who were waiting to get their hands on some 3D-printable firearm schematics are in for a disappointment: After eight states and the District of Columbia filed a joint lawsuit in federal court, a nationwide temporary restraining order was granted to stop the files from being posted by a Texas nonprofit called Defense Distributed.
The distribution of blueprints for 3D-printable guns had previously been classified as illegal munitions export, but this May, the State Department announced a plan to amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations regime to move the regulation of certain technical data to the jurisdiction of the Commerce Department. In response, 21 state attorneys general sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, saying that the decision was “deeply dangerous and could have an unprecedented impact on public safety.”