SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
from the when-the-second-meets-the-first dept.
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.
"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
(Score: 4, Interesting) by takyon on Wednesday August 01 2018, @11:56AM (2 children)
I don't really care too much about printed plastic or metal guns. But I damn well don't want to see the technology and the sharing of digital plans/blueprints/instructions/code restricted.
What are these looming restrictions really for? People have been able to make their own guns for a long time, it was just harder. And as long as they don't sell them or use them to commit a crime, it's unlikely anybody would notice or care. What's the big idea of this restraining order preventing people from sharing blueprints? It's no different than a ban on distributing open source software. And we can easily tell what will be restricted next if this isn't stopped. The government will ban chemical printers and the instructions needed to print drugs. We could see a ban on sharing certain genetic sequences or genomes because somebody could be making a scary bioweapon. And we could see a ban on any kind of hardware or software work that could result in the creation of a strong AI, because only government should be allowed to create Skynet. Finally, the only thing that would make these bans airtight would be a far greater amount of surveillance and hardware backdoors than we have today. Maybe they should ban computers that don't have a Management Engine while they're at it.
The value of the Defense Distributed troll (in the best sense) Cody Wilson is that he will test the limits of the Constitution. He shouldn't have to jump through hoops, but maybe he can force a Supreme Court ruling in favor of sharing digital plans. But the CNN story indicates the plans already leaked/were shared via other sites (they seemed to be user uploaded anyway). clearly the ban was going to be ineffective. DEFCAD was just an interesting centralized (potential) hub for them. If you really want to share something and stick it to the U.S. politicians, you can throw it up on BitTorrent, or just host it outside of the U.S. [soylentnews.org] Such as in an eeevil country like Russia, or another country in their sphere of influence that doesn't give a fuck. Case in point: Sci-Hub / Library Genesis. If Russia eventually ditches Putin and normalizes relations with the West, an ironic "bastion of freedom" could be suppressed as Hollywood, science publishers, et al. regain control of the situation.
A vague Trump Tweet is not much to go on, but it looks like the NRA opposes DEFCAD. Very illuminating. Let's see the breakdown on whether NRA members support or oppose restricting a freedom to share gun designs, simply because some of the big NRA gun industry donors *might* lose some amount of future profits. Keep in mind that a printed weapon remains a niche thing and could break apart while you're shooting it.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Fnord666 on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:29PM
That is true right now, but the fabrication process is only going to get better over time. I think DEFCAD's opponents are playing a longer game.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by MostCynical on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:32PM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halting_State [wikipedia.org]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_34_(novel) [wikipedia.org]
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex