Cody R. Wilson's dreams apparently took a hit when the U.S. State Department ordered Defense Distributed to pull down the Blueprints for the world's first 3D-printed gun from the Internet. However, there is, as always, a friend for the rebel and here, the peer-to-peer Pirate Bay network has come to assist the plastic gun initiative and is now offering the gun files on its website.
The blueprints for the 3D printed gun named The Liberator, developed by the 25 year-old Austin-based law student, have been downloaded 100,000 times ever since it was uploaded on Defcad, a file-sharing site run by Defense Distributed.
However, upon widespread outcry against the technology and its public accessibility, the State Department issued a letter to the Defense Distributed, directing them to take down the CAD files, citing a potential violation of export control laws. "DEFCAD files are being removed from public access at the request of the U.S. Department of Defense Trade Controls. Until further notice, the United States government claims control of the information," the high-tech gunsmithing group posted a message on its website. "DEFCAD has gone dark at the request of the Department of Defense Trade Controls. Take it up with the Secretary of State," Wilson's not-for profit organization tweeted later.
Leading the chorus of protest is New York Congressmen Steve Israel and Chuck Schumer who issued a call to extend the ban on plastic firearms. "Security checkpoints, background checks, and gun regulations will do little good if criminals can print plastic firearms at home and bring those firearms through metal detectors with no one the wiser. When I started talking about the issue of plastic firearms months ago, I was told the idea of a plastic gun is science-fiction. Now that this technology appears to be upon us, we need to act now to extend the ban on plastic firearms," Israel said in a statement.
Senator Charles Schumer demanded a new legislation to ban 3D-printable guns. "A terrorist, someone who's mentally ill, a spousal abuser, a felon can essentially open a gun factory in their garage," Schumer said in a press conference. Lawmakers in many states including California, New York and DC are already considering passing regulations that would outlaw 3D printed weapons.
However, many feel that the fears about 3D-printed guns are overblown. "In terms of the implications for guns laws, we think it's incredibly overblown," said Ladd Everitt, director of communications for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. Everitt, an ardent anti-gun violence advocate, argued that anyone intending a mass shooting can acquire a gun in a matter of minutes and they would not care too much about whether their purchase is tracked because they're usually suicidal or expect to get caught. "Could someone considering a terrorist (or criminal) act buy a 3D printer, download the files, experiment [with them] and go through the full process to make one gun, not knowing how many times it will fire? Probably not," he said to CNET.
In fact, the advocate of 3D printed gun, Cody Wilson himself acknowledged that that using 3D printers to make guns "is the most ridiculous way of making a gun part [because] it's so brittle, so expensive, and so impractical."
