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[Updated] Defense Distributed Releasing Gun Plans, President Trump "Looking Into" It

posted by chromas on Wednesday August 01 2018, @09:09AM   
from the when-the-second-meets-the-first dept.

takyon writes:

Trump says public availability of 3D-printed guns 'doesn't seem to make much sense'

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is "looking into" the availability of plans for the 3D printing of guns, writing on Twitter that he had already been in touch with the NRA on the issue.

"I am looking into 3-D Plastic Guns being sold to the public. Already spoke to NRA, doesn't seem to make much sense!" the president wrote on Twitter Tuesday morning.

After a years-long legal battle, Defense Distributed, a Texas-based group, has announced plans to release instructions on Wednesday for guns that can be created by a 3-D printer, including a handgun and parts for a semi-automatic assault rifle. Although plans were not supposed to be available until Wednesday, instructions have already begun to appear online for download, CNN reported Tuesday.

From Defense Distributed's still barebones website:

August 1, 2018

Defense Distributed relaunches DEFCAD after reaching a settlement agreement with the US Department of State, concluding a multi-year federal lawsuit. The age of the downloadable gun formally begins.

The DEFCAD website is now up (as of July 31) but files supposedly can't be downloaded until August 1.

Even our resident Trump supporters/enthusiasts can bash him for even thinking about encroaching on our digital gun liberties.

Also at The Hill.

realDonaldTrump updates (Breitbart, BBC, ABC):

"U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday afternoon that bars Cody Wilson from sharing 3-D gun print files online August 1.

The order provides time for Democrats to continue pressing President Trump to intervene and prohibit future publication of files all together."

Previously: Landmark Legal Shift for 3D-Printed Guns

Related: The $1,200 Machine That Lets Anyone Make a Metal Gun at Home
Japanese Gun Printer Goes to Jail
Suspected 3D-Printed Gun Parts and Plastic Knuckles Seized in Australia
FedEx Refuses to Ship Defense Distributed's Ghost Gunner CNC Mill
Man Who Used CNC Mill to Manufacture AR-15 "Lowers" Sentenced to 41 Months
Ghost Gunner Software Update Allows the Milling of an M1911 Handgun

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Original Submission

• Re:they really aren't industry-backed Re:they really aren't industry-backed (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @08:59PM (1 child)

  by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @08:59PM (#715905)

  > It's not evil corporations.

  dateline January 2013 [businessinsider.com]:

  *SPOILER* (click to show) *SPOILER* (click to hide)

  Since 2005, the gun industry and its corporate allies have given between $20 million and $52.6 million to it through the NRA Ring of Freedom sponsor program. Donors include firearm companies like Midway USA, Springfield Armory Inc, Pierce Bullet Seal Target Systems, and Beretta USA Corporation. Other supporters from the gun industry include Cabala's, Sturm Rugar & Co, and Smith & Wesson.

  The NRA also made $20.9 million — about 10 percent of its revenue — from selling advertising to industry companies marketing products in its many publications in 2010, according to the IRS Form 990.

  Additionally, some companies donate portions of sales directly to the NRA. Crimson Trace, which makes laser sights, donates 10 percent of each sale to the NRA. Taurus buys an NRA membership for everyone who buys one of their guns. Sturm Rugar gives $1 to the NRA for each gun sold, which amounts to millions. The NRA's revenues are intrinsically linked to the success of the gun business.

  The NRA Foundation also collects hundreds of thousands of dollars from the industry, which it then gives to local-level organizations for training and equipment purchases.

  dateline December 2012 [theatlantic.com]:

  *SPOILER* (click to show) *SPOILER* (click to hide)

  In recent years, the group has become more aggressive about seeking donations, both from individuals and corporations, and that in turn has led it to become more deeply entwined with the gun industry. In 2010, it received $71 million in contributions, up from $46.3 million in 2004. Some of that money came from small-time donors, who've received a barrage of fundraising appeals warning of President Obama's imminent plot to gut the Second Amendment and confiscate Americans' firearms. But around 2005, the group began systematically reaching out to its richest members for bigger checks through its "Ring of Freedom" program, which also sought to corral corporate donors. Between then and 2011, the Violence Policy Center estimates that the firearms industry donated as much as $38.9 million to the NRA's coffers. The givers include 22 different gun makers, including famous names like Smith & Wesson, Beretta USA, SIGARMS, and Sturm, Ruger & Co. that also manufacture so-called assault weapons.

  Some of that funding has given the NRA a direct stake in gun and ammo sales. As Bloomberg noted in its January article, Sturm, Ruger & Co. launched a campaign to sell one million guns, and promised to donate $1 of each purchase to the group. Since 1992, MidWay USA, which retails gun supplies including ammo and controversial high-capacity magazines, has allowed its customers to round up each of their online and mail orders to the nearest dollar, and automatically donate the extra to the NRA. Together with other companies that have joined the effort, MidWay has helped collect more than $9 million for NRA. MidWay's owner, Larry Pottfield, also happens to be the the group's largest individual donor.

  > It's not Russian collusion.

  That's something the Department of Justice is investigating [mcclatchydc.com]. Do you have some information that they need to know? Will you share that with us?

  Parent

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• Re:they really aren't industry-backed (Score: 2) by Arik on Thursday August 02 2018, @03:00AM

  by Arik (4543) on Thursday August 02 2018, @03:00AM (#716049) Journal

  That pisses me off. Both Crimson Trace and Ruger make good equipment, I hate to have to boycott them.
  
  

  --
  If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?

  Parent