The dumbest part is: it is perfectly legal to make a gun for 99% of Americans. The entire ‘ghost gun’ attack angle is doomed to failure.
And it isn’t just 3D printing; the New York bill includes all computerized manufacturing; it very explicitly includes CNC machines, for example. They are taking down entire manufacturing sectors to go after an unwinnable goal.
I remember when the news talked about ghost guns that they’d always bring up this CNC machine that would build AR lowers, the part that is legally “the gun”. I’m pretty sure it was the ghost gunner.
I read into it and got on forums. There was a poster who bought the machine and, because of legal reasons, had to get his friends to come push the start button so that they were making their own guns and not the poster making guns for others. Apparently, he got visited by the ATF, but basically got told he’s walking a fine line.
I can make my own ghost gun with a hand drill and a template you can buy online. a motivated person will always be able to find a way to do things, but its actually easier to just find someone to sell you a cheap illegal gun if you’re gonna commit a crime than to go through the whole trouble of building one yourself.
I dunno why they don’t just outlaw manufacturing your own firearms without a license…
The don’t want to send a case to the Supreme Court that would rule on the side of homemade firearms.
It’d probably be wildly unconstitutional?
Donald Trump holding government office in USA is wildly unconstitutional too.
They would prefer to outlaw manufacturing anything without paying rent seekers.
Seems that way. Next up is licensing fees for printing certain models. Basically they’d like to get as far as when Picard says “Tea, Earl Grey, hot” the replicator says “Brought to you by Lipton. Taste good, feel good. You have 49 remaining replicator credits.”
Seems like a stupid thing to go after considering Americans have been killing themselves with guns before 3D printers were widely available.
I find it quite hard to believe it would be able to detect innocuous, dual-use, off the shelf components spread out over a dozen prints.
Even US export controls can’t prevent that, only delay and cause irritation.
you can download gun breakdown files online for use in videogames, you can even crack games that already exist with those files present. you can also just model them yourself for free in blender. theres literally no way to stop literally anyone from making their own guns. the unabomber made one in his shack with spare parts and basic tools decades before 3d printers were a thought in the publics minds.
if there is a will, there is a way
Unabomber made bombs, it’s in the name.
I like how now all of a sudden we forgot that you can make a gun out of hardware store plumbing… this seems like an intentional way to make sure that people can’t make things without paying the oligarchs. I think the fact that we are getting close to being able to make 90s level tech in garages is scaring the tech bros.
this seems like an intentional way to make sure that people can’t make things without paying the oligarchs. I think the fact that we are getting close to being able to make 90s level tech in garages is scaring the tech bros.
Nah, I suspect it’s a way for the politicians to look like they’re doing something about gun violence without, y’know, actually doing anything about gun violence. Or just generally to distract from what they’re doing on other issues. “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” stuff.
Realistically, it’s both.
