Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

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

posted by chromas on Wednesday August 01 2018, @09:09AM   Printer-friendly
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

Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
[Updated] Defense Distributed Releasing Gun Plans, President Trump "Looking Into" It | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 76 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by takyon on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:20PM (8 children)

    by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:20PM (#715622) Journal

    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.

    Remains to be seen. Very vague tweetage.

    And you can't think of a reason why a (partially) gun industry backed organization would want to ban printed weapons? I've already thought of 2.

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +2  
       Insightful=1, Interesting=1, Total=2
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
    Total Score:   4  

  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:29PM (4 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:29PM (#715625) Journal

    I've already thought of 2.

    Let's see those reasons.

    • (Score: 5, Informative) by takyon on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:42PM (3 children)

      by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Wednesday August 01 2018, @12:42PM (#715634) Journal

      Printed weapons are a challenge to gun industry profits (doesn't have to be true now or at any point in the future, they just have to cynically believe it might).

      Printed weapons are unsafe for their users (profitable meatbags who buy guns *and* donate to the org). The NRA says "firearm education and safety is paramount" [nra.org]. If they don't believe printed weapons can be used safely, they may be willing to look the other way while politicians put in place a "common sense (printed) gun control". Even though doing so would be short-sighted at best (and Cody Wilson made some pretty reliable printed guns IIRC).

      This has little to do with the gun industry specifically, but the NRA might support a printed gun ban simply because the tools undermine existing regulations and it's a battle they have little interest in fighting. It's not like the NRA doesn't support certain aspects of "gun control". [nraila.org]

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]

      • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday August 01 2018, @05:07PM (1 child)

        by bob_super (1357) on Wednesday August 01 2018, @05:07PM (#715795)

        We all know that "madman mows crowd with gun" helps to raise sales, but what happens to the bottom line when the headline is "printed gun blows up in user's face" ?
        Is the NRA going to seed bad plans on the web to cause mistrust? If yes, how good are they at scaring their potential customers away from printing without scaring them away from guns?

      • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday August 02 2018, @01:23AM

        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 02 2018, @01:23AM (#716007) Journal

        Printed weapons are a challenge to gun industry profits (doesn't have to be true now or at any point in the future, they just have to cynically believe it might).

        That's a circular argument not a reason why they would "cynically believe it might".

        Printed weapons are unsafe for their users

        That's a typical problem with homemade weapons.

        If they don't believe printed weapons can be used safely

        "If".

        This has little to do with the gun industry specifically, but the NRA might support a printed gun ban simply because the tools undermine existing regulations and it's a battle they have little interest in fighting.

        The NRA has a more than 80 year history of such expediency (for example, supporting bans on silencers and sawed off shotguns) in order to get what they want (relatively low federal-level restrictions on firearm manufacture, ownership, and usage). But what's so dramatic about printed firearms that they'll get political capital for supporting a ban? It's already illegal to use plastic/X-ray transparent firearms, for example.

        And we still have the matter that it's not a reason to want to ban printed firearms, but rather any marginally useful technology that happens to be high FUD. 3-D printing neither has the necessary level of FUD nor in the long run, the marginal utility.

        The problem with banning printed weapons is first, that sooner or later such printing technology will see widespread application in firearm manufacture (not necessarily of critical high stress components like barrels or firing pins). Poorly designed regulations can inhibit firearm manufacturers and users from adopting state of the art technologies for normal firearm production. Second, as already noted, there's the First Amendment matter. One of the more loathsome federal-level regulations of the past twenty years, ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) was used to suppress mere distribution of a firearm design. This is a greater threat than any ban on firearm types because it sets a precedent on banning distribution of ideas about firearms, a far more intrusive restriction on firearm-related freedoms than the usual gun control regulation.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @06:15PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 01 2018, @06:15PM (#715837)

    I suppose you could count the advertising in their magazine, but that really isn't going to support a lobbying effort. Magazines are not all that profitable. (cost of paper, printing, mailing...)

    Fundamentally, the NRA is member-supported. Millions of people have joined.

    It's not evil corporations. It's not Russian collusion. There really are millions of ordinary Americans who love their 2nd amendment so much that they are willing to part with some money for it.

    • (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]:

      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]:

      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?

      • (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?