3-D Printed Gun Ban Fails In Senate 414
An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from The Daily Dot:"On Monday evening, a bill aimed at thwarting the production and distribution of plastic 3-D printed weapons was blocked by Senate Republicans. ... The debate over the new legislation centered around the 1988 Undetectable Firearms Act, which bans the production and distribution of weapons that skirt 'walk through metal detectors.' The act has been renewed on two occasions since its passage. It was due to expire again on the 9th of December. The House voted to renew the bill last week. The rise of 3-D printing has made this year's renewal more complicated in the Senate. Many lawmakers, particularly Democrats, feel the current Undetectable Firearms Act inadequately addresses the rising threat posed by printed plastic weapons."
Re:New Bill =/= Passing House Approved Bill (Score:4, Informative)
You might want to try reading that again.
From the summary: "Many lawmakers, particularly Democrats, feel the current Undetectable Firearms Act inadequately addresses the rising threat posed by printed plastic weapons."
From your linked article: "President Obama signed the 10-year extension of the Undetectable Firearms Act "
Re:New Bill =/= Passing House Approved Bill (Score:5, Informative)
It's because the summary misrepresents what it's linked article actually said. The important quote is:
On Monday evening, only days before the one-year anniversary of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the Senate extended the Undetectable Firearms Act but failed to pass modifications that would address the growing prevelance of plastic firearms.
Basically the original act was extended but a modified version failed to pass.
Re:Already Banned (Score:5, Informative)
It's actually a lot more insidious than that. According to the GOA:
Unless it existed before December 10, 1988, the plastic gun ban absolutely bans any gun that is not as detectable in a "walk-through metal detector" as a Security Exemplar (18 U.S.C. 922(p)(1)(A) and (6)).
The “Security Exemplar” is a piece of metal that the ATF uses to calibrate how much steel a manufacturer needs to put in the gun to make it beep in the metal detector. Other than the fact that it has to contain 3.7 ounces of steel and look sort of like a gun, anti-gun Attorney General Eric Holder can determine, by regulatory fiat, the characteristics of the Exemplar.
He can determine whether you test guns with a "top flight" metal detector -- or a crummy one. He can determine how many times (or thousands of times) a gun has to pass in order not to be banned.
In addition, every "major component" of every firearm has to pass through an airport x-ray in such a way that its shape is "accurately" depicted (18 U.S.C. 922(p)(1)(B)).
The problem is that the language of the law is so amazingly vague that the BATFE could use it to outlaw just about any gun currently on the market if they so chose.
Re:Manufacturing firearms (Score:4, Informative)
Not in the U.S. in most localities.
Any person who is legally able to purchase and own a firearm may manufacture their own, so long as it is not intended for re-sale --- the BATF has been very stringent on that last point of late, so it's pretty much impossible to transfer a personally-manufactured firearm.
Please note that the BATF is only interested in the last 20% or so of a firearm, so one may make and sell partially-finished (up to 80%) receivers w/o any need for an FFL.
Re:Good (Score:5, Informative)
First, let's assume that we can categorize people into two categories: honest and criminal.
A ban on "plastic" guns from a 3D printer will do exactly what?
1) It will stop the honest people from making their own 3D printed guns. These are the people who obey the law. Since these people are the ones who obey the law, who cares if they have a plastic gun? They will not do anything bad anyways. For the record, the number of guns used in crimes is something like 0.001% of the total guns out there. Similar argument for gun owners.
2) If a criminal wants to commit crimes with a 3D printed gun, do you really think that they will actually obey the law banning plastic guns? If so, you are a special kind of stupid.
So, this law will do absolutely NOTHING to stop crime with "plastic guns" that can be printed in your own home.
I should also like to point out that even a plastic gun will NOT shoot plastic ammunition. Bullets are made of metal -- and should be readily detected by any decent metal detector.
Re:How? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Already There (Score:0, Informative)
Don't feed the Eurotrolls.
They're from a continent that has way too many people in way too small a space that hate each other way too much and have hated each other for a thousand years or more. They don't understand how the US works because its, oddly enough, too peaceful here. The "American Dream" wasn't really about prosperity, it was about convincing the masses of immigrants to conform to a local lifestyle and leave their former traditions behind. So, now, the population is largely homogenous. Hell, there's no real political difference anymore, just manufactured, marketing-driven "party lines". So, since everyone is pretty docile, we trust the population to have and use guns and not go on insane rampages. And the fact that it still makes huge national news when someone does go on a rampage tells me that it's not an everyday occurrence, and we are shocked by it.
The US's lax gun laws would not work in Europe. And Europe is not the US, which offends many Europeans' sensibilities. They'll get over it, probably when some thousand-year-old nationalistic grudge is brought to bear on them by one of their neighbors. Meanwhile, we have our guns, and the Eurotrolls have nothing valid to say about it because they just don't understand.
Yet another useless Act... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Not just journalism (Score:2, Informative)
Stalin killed most of the Soviet army's officers in the days leading up to WWII because he was afraid of shadows.
Please can the hyperbole. It make you look like an even bigger idiot. Hard to do with your posting history.
Re:Good (Score:5, Informative)
Re:How? (Score:4, Informative)
Ummm. It is already completely illegal to sell a gun without being a licenses manufacturer (read "company with deep pockets). Nobody in their right mind would actually sell a plastic gun due to the liability issues involved. Gets smuggled past a metal detector = massive law suits from relatives of victims = no more company.
First, the law was first passed once the first Glocks came out with a polymer frame. All Glocks have been VERY detectible with any metal detector, as the barrel and slide are all solid metal. So this law was passed out of complete ignorance and an irrational fear for something that, quite simply, was not a problem in the first place. Yes, the law makers that want to tightly regulate guns do not actually know much about them -- what a surprise.
Now, this law is trying to be applied to home printers. Really, all you will have to do is buy the printer and set it up. Download the design files, and run them through the printer. Add ammo and shoot. Assuming that your printer is good enough, and that the files are formatted for your particular model of printer, then making your own gun should be pretty easy -- well within the reach of anybody with a few thousand to blow on a printer. Currently, there might be software issues, but I am sure that printing will get easier as time goes on, not harder.
As to there being little public benefit in plastic guns, there is little benefit to the law itself. People who intend to do bad things with guns are not going to be stopped by yet another law. Honest citizens will do anything wrong even with a plastic gun.