3D printed guns: Legalised in the United States

3D printed guns have officially become legal in the United States of America.

In 2013, the first 3D printed gun were released in the United States. Since then, a legal battle has been going on in connection with commercialisation and distribution. Last week, in the wake of a long legal battle, Cody Wilson and his organisation Defense Distributed got their 3D weapons models back online with the possibility of being downloaded.

Cody Wilson, was the creator of the first weapon made with 3D technologies in 2013; the “Liberator” which he published online. In less than 24 hours the files, shared by the young man, were downloaded by more than 100,000 people. An act, which was stopped by the US State Department, Wilson was forced to remove it, and the topic has been debated ever since. The issue of 3D printed weapons has given much to talk about in the world, due to the ease of access and manufacturing offered by having the online files ready to download.

Cody Wilson

After almost five years of legal litigation with the Department of Justice, it seems that Cody Wilson and his company Defense Distributed have triumphed. The court agreement states that the government’s ban on these CAD files violated the First Amendment, citing that the government has been inflicting censorship on Defense Distributed’s right of expression. The agreement also found that “non-automatic 50-caliber firearms are not inherently military” which was the main argument against sharing the files.

This is approved just when the North American country is going through a crisis over the possession of weapons after the different shootings and attacks that have occurred throughout the year. In addition to that, since its alleged blockade, the file has still been available and circulated illegally on the Internet’s dark web and torrent website, where 3D models of weapons can have a price as low as than $ 12.

the “Liberator”

“ Not only is this a First Amendment victory for free speech, it also is a devastating blow to the gun prohibition lobby. For years, anti-gunners have contended that modern semi-automatic sport-utility rifles are so-called ‘weapons of war,’ and with this settlement, the government has acknowledged they are nothing of the sort. ” was the statement made by Alan Gottlieb, SAF founder and Executive Vice President, in a press release after the verdict.

3D Printed Guns: Back Online?

After this approval, it is expected that as of August the 1st this year, the Defense Distributed organisation will once again put its 3D weapons models online. The agreement has given Wilson the right to publish his models on the Internet, but has opened up for a new debate; that of home-made weapons and their difficult detection in the United States and around the world.

Wilson’s organisation hopes to be a repository of 3D printed weapons models, with different semiautomatic weapons. This, in addition to being a network in which users can share their models on all types of firearms. Although they are only allowed to share files of semi-automatic weapons. 3D printed guns is something that has alarmed a large part of the citizens, since with this the regulation of the possession of weapons will be almost impossible. Something that does not only alarm the Anglo-Saxon countries but the whole world.

Main issue: “Ghost Gun”

One of the main problem for many is when it comes to regulation and “Ghost guns”. The current system of regulation relies on a gun contain a serial number to identify the weapon and who it belongs to. But 3D printing components makes it possible for people, even though a serial number should be included by law, to reach the ultimate goal of owning a weapon without set number on it. Simply put a “Ghost gun” that can’t be tracked as such.

Do not miss the video about the development of homemade weapons and 3D printed guns here:

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