Australian Police Move To Make 3D Printed Guns Illegal 551
lukehopewell1 writes "'Untraceable, undetectable, cheap and freely available.' That's how Australian police have described the 3D-printable gun known as The Liberator today as they announce that they will be seeking to make the download, construction and possession of these weapons illegal. In their tests, Police printed the 15 parts required to assemble The Liberator in 27 hours and assembled it within 60 seconds with a firing pin fashioned out of a steel nail. The two guns were test fired into a block of resin designed to simulate human muscle, and the first bullet penetrated the resin block up to 17 centimeters. NSW Police Ballistics division confirm that it would be a fatal wound if pointed at someone."
Make metal ilegal too... (Score:5, Insightful)
It's also used to make guns...
Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:5, Insightful)
A creative enough person could kill another without a weapon, and a weapon could be made from many ordinary household objects.
But this gun is only a gun, an unliscenced, unregulated gun that has proven to be less safe than an actual gun.
I see no problem which what the police are saying here, but it is a very difficult thing to regulate.
Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:5, Informative)
I see no problem which what the police are saying here, but it is a very difficult thing to regulate.
No need of additional regulation, in Australia is already forbidden to make/assemble guns without a license. The actual point they were trying to get across:
“My greater concern is that someone would do this, make one, and then suffer the consequences and kill themselves [after a catastrophic failure]. They don’t want to shoot someone, they’re just fascinated [by 3D printing]. If we didn’t alert someone to what happened to us, we would be considered negligent.
Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:5, Funny)
“My greater concern is that someone would do this, make one, and then suffer the consequences and kill themselves [after a catastrophic failure]. "
Think of it as evolution in action.
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“My greater concern is that someone would do this, make one, and then suffer the consequences and kill themselves
If police don't want people to print guns they should just fill Youtube with videos of plastic guns exploding.
Their current (idiotic) policy is just causing a Streisand effect.
Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:5, Insightful)
I see a problem with making the downloading of plans illegal.
Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:5, Funny)
A ban on anything smaller than a B-cup, for fear of usage as 'child' actors in pornography.
None of us at the porno shops were fooled by their official excuse.
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Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:5, Informative)
Australia "talks" about it, but the US does it and has done it for years. Tracy Lords did almost all porn while under age, and used a fake passport for age verification, the same passport that got her in and out of the US (and obviously, other countries as well). The laws passed "because of" her wouldn't have stopped what she did.
Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:4, Informative)
A creative enough person could kill another without a weapon, and a weapon could be made from many ordinary household objects.
But this gun is only a gun, an unliscenced, unregulated gun that has proven to be less safe than an actual gun.
I see no problem which what the police are saying here, but it is a very difficult thing to regulate.
There's no need to regulate. In fact killing another person is already illegal.
Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:4, Insightful)
But, you don't understand! This is completely different! This is killing somebody with something built with plans downloaded over the internet!! On a computer!!!
Works for US patent submissions, right?
What in the world are they gonna do when the next-gen version of a firearm is invented and the plans widely released/distributed, and that can be made cheaply, quickly, and simply with common materials, and possibly doesn't even use "bullets" as we know them at all? Maybe some sort of electromagnetically-accelerated "micro-needler" or "micro-flechette" weapon, or something accelerated-plasma-based? "Give me a phased plasma rifle in a 40 watt range."
I must say I have a fundamental problem with a government declaring that, under threat of death or imprisonment, I'm not allowed to defend my family, my community, or myself, and with being denied the current and essential tools for that defense. Police do not protect. They draw chalk outlines and *hopefully* find and arrest the suspected perpetrator(s) after the crime/violence has already occurred.
The right to personal self-defense and to the commonly-employed and current tools used to exercise that basic right to defend your life, that of your family, and of fellow-citizens, are primary and essential human rights. Without them, all other rights are meaningless. How does one exercise a right when dead? How free can one be if they have no legal ability to defend their right to continue living?
To remove the ability of people to defend themselves and their families is to make them a slave to anyone stronger, multiple attackers, or anyone who is armed. It gives the elderly, older children, and women a force-equalizer against a large and powerful male attacker. A rape whistle does no good when you're grabbed by the throat and being strangled. Likewise, the police are no help when a deadly threat is imminent and officers are minutes away at best.
I'll just leave this here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa-lNiIDsFM [youtube.com]
Strat
Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:4, Interesting)
It is like this: Clubs and hammers kill more people in the USA than Rifles do. However, Rifles are big, loud, scary things while hammer and clubs are not. Therefore we go after Rifles rather than the criminals.
What the government has done is said "The internet is illegal, because you can learn how to do things we do not approve of". This is tyranny.
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I hate to point this out, but my *cock* does that....and talk about unforeseen consequences.....Hope it's not the next thing they want to make illegal.
Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:5, Funny)
"Expelling a projectile with enough force to penetrate a human being to the depth of 17 centimeters"
I hate to point this out, but my *cock* does that....and talk about unforeseen consequences.....Hope it's not the next thing they want to make illegal.
Only if you equip it with a high-capacity magazine, or modify it to fire more than one shot per pull.
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:5, Insightful)
> if it were true then every country would have more or less the same homicide rate but the means of murder
> would be different.
I wouldn't expect that at all. You don't think the local homicide rate is effected by local policy? by local culture? by local socioeconomic conditions? How about remote ones?
I think you are spending far too much time looking at how people can kill eachother and not enough at why they do it. Guns don't spontaneously kill people, and thats the whole point and its absolutely true.
Bad policy and socioeconomic circumstances kill people. The drug war, which funds gangs that kills people.
> The homicide rate in the us is 2011 was 4.8 per 100,000. In Ireland 1.3 per 100,000. Note that in Ireland there is
> not an additional 3.5 homicides by blunt instrument because people cant get guns.
1.3 to 4.8 IN 100,000 are virtually the same number. Thats not a big difference. Compare it to what actually kills people and, I wonder why you waste your time on this issue.
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1.3 to 4.8 IN 100,000 are virtually the same number.
No they aren't. 4.8 is approximately 3 times as many dead people. If you compare a random selection of yearly figures from small populations, you could say it's roughly the same. But if you're comparing annual sets of millions, and one is always 3 times the other, it's not the same number at all. Which means you're wrong.
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Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:4, Insightful)
Probably? Actually this doesn't jive in any way with my experience with guns nor does it seem to be the case with any gun owners I have seen or talked to. I think there is too much guessing what other people are thinking and too much sensationalist media.
The vast majority of gun owners would rather not ever have to shoot anyone, regardless of whether they are able and willing if needed. In fact, the only times I have ever heard a gun owner say anything like that it was more "God forbid I ever have to use it, it would be terrible, but, if it comes down to someone elses life or my family, I will do what I have to".
The only exception to this that I have run into have been a couple of people who were embroiled in actual gang culture, but they are hardly the norm, nor are they anyone who is going to even be inconvenienced by the law.
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I actually don't care one bit about events that are so incredibly rare. I have much more important and relevant things to worry about. Shit I drive a car, why would I even think about something so ludicrously unlikely as gun violence when I take my life in my hands every day just to get to work?
Re: Make metal ilegal too... (Score:5, Informative)
Ireland doesn't have a multi billion dollar per year drug trade across open borders with Mexico, which is important considering the vast, vast majority of gun related homicides in the U.S. are directly related to gang violence stemming from organised crime.
A reasonable and fair comparison is between the U.S. and Russia, who also has the same sorts of crime problems. The difference is that Russia has some of the strictest gun laws on earth. Their gun homicide rates (depending in source) are also higher than those in the U.S.
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If you're joking, then awesome joke. Otherwise...
FPSRussia is a persona played by an actor, Kyle Myers. He is American and lives and films his videos in the state of Georgia. His home and his father's ranch were each raided by FBI and ATF agents [huffingtonpost.com] earlier this year.
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guns dont kill pepole is nonsense
It's also incomplete. "Guns don't kill people, people do" is the complete saying.
And it isn't nonsense. It isn't supposed to ignore the fact that a gun is a tool that can be used for that purpose, as you appear to be implying. It is intended to make you realize that, like all tools, any problems that come up lie with the wielder of the tool, not the tool itself.
anyone who believes it is a victim of gun lobby PR
Interesting. And why exactly do you believe that yours is the "natural" position to gravitate towards? With such a bold accusation that I'm a
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They are banning the download of files which contain descriptions of 15 shapes. Australia is a vile pit of censorship and anti knowledge. They already ban guns in Australia, no new laws are needed.
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They already ban guns in Australia, no new laws are needed.
Not this again. We have millions of registered guns in Australia. We like our huntin' too. But handguns and automatic weapons have never been a part of the culture.
Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:5, Insightful)
We have millions of registered guns in Australia. We like our huntin' too. But handguns and automatic weapons have never been a part of the culture.
Agreed. I'm all for free speech and everything but I don't want a gun culture society. We've seen what that becomes with the US. Americans don't see it but everybody else thinks it is madness. Guns are just not necessary in modern day to day living.
I support the NSW police, aka government, on this one 100%. Make the possession of printing instructions for a weapon of this type illegal (as is the possession of certain types of images) but not the printer itself (images in general).
Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:4, Insightful)
I don't think you have a clue what life is like in America if you think the "gun culture" is really that bad. Drive-by shootings and gun violence is incredibly rare, and in fact the incidence of it happening has dropped compared to the past in spite of (not because of) gun control laws that may or may not exist in various parts of America.
Don't go believing the utter distortion and lies you hear in news reports and Hollywood movies. They are intentionally distorting trivial things that ordinary people living ordinary lives rarely experience. In America, you might see some guns if you happen to go over to a neighbor's house and they show you their gun collection, if you happen to go hunting with them, or as a side-arm for a security guard or police officer. That is about it. Drive-by shootings are reported in the news because they are rare things, not because they are everyday happenings.
I think you would find life in Wyoming (a state with very relaxed gun control laws) mostly no different than you would find in NSW for the most part, other than the accent of what people are speaking and perhaps a slightly warmer and humid climate in Australia. You would certainly see about the same number of guns in ordinary commerce and work life for most of the same professions.
Re: Make metal ilegal too... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:5, Insightful)
The police aren't banning 3D printing. They're not banning the material used in 3D printing. They are banning 3D printed guns.
I see a problem with the police banning anything in the first place. That decision should be made by democratically elected lawmakers, not the police.
Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:5, Insightful)
No they're not. 3D printed guns are already banned, they're just reiterating it.
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In other news, "the world" recently found to consist of only the UK and Australia.
Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:4, Funny)
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Hands carry weapons, hands are weapons --- we should outlaw the use of hands. There is a line, and I think they chose a pretty good starting point for their line with this.
Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:5, Insightful)
My Black and Decker drill has never exploded, which is what the NSW police are warning people about.
As you'd expect from today's Slashdot, the title and summary of TFA are deceptive.
Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:4, Interesting)
By the way, if I didn't want people to have these guns, that is exactly what I'd be telling people publicly: "This gun is likely to explode in you hand, killing you, your wife, your kids and your dog. And it will kill random kittens around the neighbourhood as well."
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One historical fix when cannon still had problems with exploding was to wrap the barrels (or portions) with wire. I suspect that would be an equally good fix here, if a good engineer were to work out the details. Fairly strong steel wire is easily available, and easily applied with no tools beyond snips to cut the wire.
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If that's your "argument" against gun control, there'd never be any point banning anything, would there?
Matter of fact, you're right. There is little point in banning things vice actions. In generally it matters not what I own it matters what I do with it.
On the face of it it doesn't seem outside the realms of possibility that bringing in gun control might also make it easier (possible) to seize those weapons and prosecute those who own them.
One would have to see the prosecution of those who merely own something, vice those who do something bad with what they own, as a good thing to see that as an advantage. Unsurprisingly, I don't see that as a good thing.
Did Australian gun control increase or decrease gun crime/murders?
I do not know. I also don't find the question particularly useful or interesting. A more useful or interesting question would be what was the
Re:Make metal ilegal too... (Score:4, Insightful)
Killing stuff is very useful. Chances are you wouldn't be here if not for tools and entire industries dedicated to the task.
Guns are simply another gadget that allows for self-reliance.
Most people that like to be hysterical about firearms are insulated from the conditions that make them most dangerous.
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You can make a firearm out of raw metal stock and have that be untraceable too, so I really don't understand that argument either.
Yes, you could put watermarks and other sort of stuff like is done sometimes with printed documents (laser printers that put serial numbers into letters they are printing or other things that identify the printer). Then again, such security measures can be overcome with software if you were determined to file off those kind of things too.
The real complaint here is a loss of poli
Oh, well... (Score:2)
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It's a sad situation when the law enforcers decide what the laws are.
Re:Oh, well... (Score:5, Insightful)
It's a sad situation when the law enforcers decide what the laws are.
They don't and they can't, they are only suggesting. Deciding what the laws actually are is the job of the Murdoch press.
Re:Oh, well... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Oh, well... (Score:5, Informative)
It's a sad situation when the law enforcers decide what the laws are.
Nothing special about the 3D printed plastic gun: unauthorized manufacturing (or even assembling) a firearm of any kind in Australia is already prohibited (so no, this is not a case in which the police would decide what the laws are. As they aren't in control of the downloads, they can't have a say in banning the download either).
What the TFS fails to mention: the NSW police guys seems genuinely more worried about someone hurting oneself in an attempt to fire one (the first gun printed by the NSW police exploded during tests) :
“My greater concern is that someone would do this, make one, and then suffer the consequences and kill themselves [after a catastrophic failure]. They don’t want to shoot someone, they’re just fascinated [by 3D printing]. If we didn’t alert someone to what happened to us, we would be considered negligent.
“Don’t try it, no matter what end of this gun you can be on, you could die. Do not download, do not manufacture The Liberator,” the Commissioner concluded.
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Recall http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Transaction_Reports_and_Analysis_Centre [wikipedia.org] that looks at all bank/cash transactions in Australia.
Its a room with a few racks of computers given the population size of Australia.
How many submarine cable landing sites in Australia? In theory every request via BT could be looked at for that ~file "checksum".
That would get around average file renaming or the nee
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Re "As they aren't in control of the downloads, they can't have a say in banning the download either)" ...
How many submarine cable landing sites in Australia? In theory every request via BT could be looked at for that ~file "checksum".
In practice, you didn't hear of Tor and/or proxy SSL/HTTPS services, did you?
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Trusting the police. Fashionable up until the 1960s or so.
Please note that this world is quite large. Depending on your place of residence, your mileage will vary: in some places, trusting the police may have never been in fashion, while in others it's still a safe bet.
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Because cops never lie, amirite?
In the context of this very issue, what exactly would be the point of lying? Making/owning a gun in Australia without license is already illegal.
BTW, I'm pretty sure Oz already has various departments for consumer protection and safety. It's not their job.
Yeah, sure, the NSW police would better keep their mouth shut, their test and the risks they discovered are not at all relevant... after all, the police isn't meant to protect anyone, much less for protecting a consumer, they'll lie to you most of the time and they only have in mind how to bust you and spend the taxes you pay... Clearly, nothing more than a band of
Re:Oh, well... (Score:4, Informative)
But they can't in NSW, evidently .... The police will need to petition the federal government for the law
Bzzzzt. Wrong.
Subject only to s109 of the C'th Constitution, the NSW Parliament is a legislature of plenary power, meaning it can pass laws about anything and everything (in contradistinction with the Federal parliament which is a legislature of enumerated power). If the NSW parliament enacts a law saying it is illegal for people born in Botswana to walk down the Champs-Élysées wearing purple underpants, that would be a valid law of NSW (good luck enforcing it though) providing that it does not conflict with any C'th law (s109).
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The NSW police would have to petition the State Government to get the laws changed.
Having said all of that, the laws in Australia that relate to firearms give the police quite broad powers. And IMHO, the appropriate steps for police/governments around the world is to legislate 3D printable weapons regulations that relate to the other laws in their jurisdictions.
We c
Re:Oh, well... (Score:5, Informative)
You may well be right
Well it's kinda what we were taught at Law School. And btw that should be "plenary power vs enumerated powers", sorry for the inaccuracy.
I don't know the constitution well enough
The (federal) Constitution would not tell you this anyway.
The NSW police would have to petition the State Government to get the laws changed.
Exactly. However previous poster's "sentiment" was, "they can't in NSW ... they would need to petition the federal government," which is simply wrong.
IMHO, the appropriate steps for police/governments around the world is to legislate 3D printable weapons regulations that relate to the other laws in their jurisdictions.
In NSW the manufacture and possession of firearms is already governed by the Firearms Act 1996 (NSW) [austlii.edu.au]. Both unlicensed manufacture and possession are offences. The definition of "firearm" under section 4, to wit,
would seem wide enough to capture this weapon. The only thing new is the downloading of the "design" (actually machine instructions).
The Police are not seriously seeking substantial legislative change here (though they may get some "we are doing something about this" no-effect amendment). This is a consciousness raising exercise.
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In NSW the manufacture and possession of firearms is already governed by the Firearms Act 1996 (NSW)
Define "manufacture". Depending on the definition of it, obtaining plans/dies for the purpose of manufacturing *is* part of manufacturing. So maybe they are saying that they think the definitions under the law cover downloading patterns.
IANAL, downloading and printing the parts need not to constitute manufacture... after all, one may consider them art/sculptures.
Putting them together is something different. NSW firearm act, Sect 50A [austlii.edu.au]
(1) A person who manufactures a firearm is guilty of an offence under this subsection unless the person is authorised by a licence or permit to manufacture the firearm. Maximum penalty: imprisonment for 10 years.
(2) A person who manufactures a prohibited firearm or pistol is guilty of an offence under this subsection unless the person is authorised by a licence or permit to manufacture the prohibited firearm or pistol. Maximum penalty: imprisonment for 20 years.
...
(5) In this section:
"manufacture" a firearm includes assemble a firearm from firearm parts.
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You left out the part where the new laws and powers are abused by police for harassment and corruption without actually achieving any of the stated effect.
Yes, like the escalating "
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The right to petition Federal Parliament has been one of the rights of citizens since federation, and it is the only way an individual can directly place grievances before the Parliament.
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Petitions [aph.gov.au]
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Wha...? In short: [Citation needed] (not saying that's not so, but I'd like to see it).
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(it's still illigal to change your own light bulb in victoria).
Maybe I missed a joke, but it is illegal to change you own light socket or switch in Australia, instead of calling a licensed electrician.
But there is nothing to stop you buying the parts from the local hardware store, and I never heard of anyone being prosecuted.
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Thankfully, changing your own light globe is perfectly legal.
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http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/weird/the-worlds-strangest-laws/story-e6frev20-1111114208087 [dailytelegraph.com.au]
http://www.dumblaws.com/laws/australia [dumblaws.com]
http://www.weekendnotes.com/the-3-best-illegal-things-to-do-in-melbourne/ [weekendnotes.com]
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I just did and it didn't say anything about changing bulbs.
And that's the ticket right there. Electrical work is defined in the first section of the act: [i]"electrical equipment work means repair, alteration or maintenance of electrical equipment"[/i]. The act never actually defines what alteration of electrical equipment is so the only remaining place to get that definition is the Australia Standards, specifically AS3000 which mentions that modification of electrical equipment does NOT include the intended use of an electrical socket.
In Australia where the law is
Re:Oh, well... (Score:5, Informative)
Shamelessly omitted from the summary:
What’s interesting about the second device they tested, however, was the “catastrophic failure” of the weapon. Translation? It exploded. The plastic gave way to the brutal force of an exploding .38 caliber bullet and the barrel exploded.
[...]
The NSW Commissioner said that the realist in him believes that you can never stop the spread of The Liberator — and he’s right — but at least they can tell people how dangerous they are.
“My greater concern is that someone would do this, make one, and then suffer the consequences and kill themselves [after a catastrophic failure]. They don’t want to shoot someone, they’re just fascinated [by 3D printing]. If we didn’t alert someone to what happened to us, we would be considered negligent.
It (Score:2)
You could poke an eye out with that
It's not illegal already? (Score:5, Informative)
OK maybe the downloading part is not yet covered, but I'm pretty sure in NSW unlicensed manufacture is already an offence, as is possession obviously.
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Re:It's not illegal already? (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm sure the NSW police department dosn't have a gun manufacturing licence; But since when do police obey the rules any way.
Yup a license is required [austlii.edu.au] and yes it's possible (probable?) they forgot to procure one first (mind they probably would get one if they asked nicely). Shame you were not a journo at the press conference.
Re:It's not illegal already? (Score:5, Informative)
Gunsmiths also perform repairs and maintenance, and I'm fairly certain Occupational Health and Safety regulations that require repairs to be done by a qualified individual apply to the police.
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I like how it's phrased as "downloading of the weapon".
Until it can fire a bullet, it's not a fucking weapon. When it's a series of scribbles on a piece of paper, it's not a fucking weapon.
Just like with porn. (Score:5, Funny)
I remember the old days of people hosting bulletin boards on their Commodore 64's. If the sys op was kind ... or if you had something to share, you'd get to download the stash of dirty pictures in glorious 8 bit color. Then they passed laws against it and now you can't find porn on line anymore.
sigh (Score:2)
You'd want the "Liberator" in the hands of any crazies you happened to face. It's still dangerous, but the odds are better.
Ammunition (Score:2)
...is harder to get in Australia so improvised weapons are not going to be as much use as in the US.
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Ammunition ... is harder to get in Australia
I wouldn't [ebay.com.au] bet [gizmodo.com] (second link to show that the charges may be powerful enough).
Death by pointing? (Score:5, Funny)
I hope you would have to actually shoot someone for it to be fatal.
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I hope you would have to actually shoot someone for it to be fatal.
Nope, it sucks so much that 1 times out of three it explodes in the shooters hand when fired. So it could well be fatal even when fired into a sand bag... fatal to the shooter himself, that is.
Of course, over time, the design will improve, and 3d printers will improve too, so eventually it will be just like any other gun: fatal only to the intended target, but still undetectable and difficult to regulate!
counterproductive (Score:3)
3d-printing of guns: the quickest way to create legislation regulating the sale of bullets.
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3d-printing of guns: the quickest way to create legislation regulating the sale of bullets.
Yeah, so quick it happened decades ago.
They will need to make hardware stores illegal (Score:5, Informative)
It sounds like the police have never heard of PA Luty. http://thehomegunsmith.com/ [thehomegunsmith.com] check out some of the designs folks. You could make a MACHINE GUN that would be fully functional from nothing more than parts you bought at a hardware store. It would cost you about 200 bucks or so in tools and parts.
Re:They will need to make hardware stores illegal (Score:4, Informative)
OH NO, don't let the criminals blow themselves up. (Score:2)
I wish them (Score:2)
smart (Score:2)
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27 Hours? Waste of time. (Score:3)
Police printed the 15 parts required to assemble The Liberator in 27 hours and assembled it within 60 seconds with a firing pin fashioned out of a steel nail.
27 hours for a .38? You could make a dozen 12 gauges [youtube.com] in that time, and really get your rampage on. Let me know when they start regulating black pipe and twine.
They haven't figured it out yet. (Score:4, Informative)
Its over. The guns are going to flow.
Doubtless they'll try something with bullets. But making your own bullets isn't that hard either.
There are a dozen over the counter chemicals that could be purchased, mixed, and cooked to create explosives similar to gun powder. And then all you're dealing with is the bullet jacket, bullet, and primer. I've seen hunters that refill their own ammunition. They pick up the spent cartridge and save them. Then when they've got nothing better to do they wash them off, replace the primer, fill the cartridge with more powder, and squeeze a new bullet into it. The jackets don't even need to be made out brass or metal for that matter. A fully paper cartridge is entirely possible.
And beyond that, the machines that can print in metal are dropping in price as we speak. Still far beyond the means of the end user but you could say the same thing of the plastic prototype printers in the 1980s. In 30 years we will probably have 3d printers printing in metal.
And that doesn't even address the assembly capability and subtractive machining capability of many machines.
If 3d printers scare you, I can buy a metal lathe that can make gun parts out of steel for not much more then a thousand dollars. The technology isn't that complicated. Put block of steel in vice... tighten vice... wait for drill to remove all unwanted material. Remove finished part. The parts have to be designed to accommodate the limitations of a 2 axis lathe but if we're just going for a functional gun... it works.
Its actually surprising we don't have more home made guns throughout the world. It is really quite simple.
Why not make killing people illegal? (Score:5, Insightful)
Surely it would be better to make killing people illegal and not try to legislate what people can construct at home in 60 seconds after a 3D printing is completely.
If killing people is already illegal, then why do they think that if they make something illegal that can be done secretly and completely undetectable in the privacy of one's home is going to prevent any crime? Surely the criminal that is intent on using a gun illegally isn't going to shy away from downloading plans and printing them.
amendments ..... (Score:5, Insightful)
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Rubber band guns are not fatal but they are guns... Water guns (loaded with water) are not fatal but are guns... So tell me again what was your point?
Errr... I bet he's shitless scared about photo-shooting as well... you know? One may be killed by having a bullet ricocheting from a photo.
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The reason being is the law has no right to take away my freedom.
The law does this all the time - there's a huge list of things you aren't allowed to do. I hear you can get away with a whole load of things in some countries though... maybe you should move there?
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Personal manufacture though is your right and the government should not be given the power to force changes in these weapons just so that there job becomes easier.
Personal Manufacture is your right, ah, unless that is stated in the laws of the land (and it isn't in Australia) then I call bullshine on that.
This may come as a surprise but we have fairly good gun control in Australia, people who hunt are allowed to own guns, all gun owners are licensed (except for illegal guns of course) and gun violence is fairly uncommon (it has flared up a bit of late, a few drive bys and shootings, but every time someone gets shot that is a national news item so yeah, not at all com