With all the noise about 3D printed guns, let’s talk about what they are and are not. 1/
First, homemade guns are not a new thing. Gunsmiths and hobbyists have been making their own firearms for centuries. The internet is not ushering in some dangerous new era of home gun production. 2/
You don’t need a 3D printer or expensive tools to make a gun. You can make your own slam-fire shotgun with some pipe and a nail. Parts you can buy from Home Depot. And it’s arguably more effective than 3D printing a gun. 3/
“But isn’t this illegal?” No. In the US, a firearm is defined by the Gun Control Act of 1968 and the National Firearms Act. Providing it complies with those regulations, *is* legal to make your own gun, regardless of method or materials. No serial number required. 4/
But what 3D printed guns do offer is automation of the process. They remove *some* of the barriers to making your own gun. But, unlike some would lead you to believe, it’s not as simple as clicking print. 5/
It takes a significant amount of time and effort to learn how to use a 3D printer, the modeling software, what materials are suitable for what job, etc. 3D printed guns are not going to take over the mainstream firearms market. 6/
Yes, anyone with the know-how and internet now has access to firearms. But that's already the case, and let’s face it, with the current technology 3D printed guns kind of suck as actual firearms. Without stronger components they can’t withstand the energy of larger explosions. 7/
What’s most interesting about 3D printed guns are the files themselves. They contain the instructions for making the guns, as well as exact dimensions for each part. They are the blueprints. 8/
These blueprints can be adapted to almost any form. Want to use the measurements to make one by hand? Go for it. Want to adapt them for use in a CNC mill? Congrats, you have a metal gun. 9/
The government is not trying to regulate 3D printed guns themselves, they are trying to regulate the blueprints. The information that allows you examine and replicate the design of a firearm. 10/
Finally, this is not about guns. This is about political power. Like it or not, small arms are the seat of all political power. Access to small arms means access to political power. 11/
It’s important to look at the origins of the existing regulatory framework. It started as a response to the Black Panthers, who would conduct armed patrols of their neighborhoods in an attempt to curb police abuses. 12/
The armed Black Panther patrols would stand the minimum legal distance away from a police encounter and peacefully observe. This, understandably, unnerved the police force. 13/
When this offended the sensibilities of the existing power structure, the Mulford Act was proposed and passed by the California Legislature in 1967. It banned carrying loaded weapons in public. 14/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulford_A…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulford_A…
This was a direct attack on Black Panther organizing. Their cop-watching patrols were an exercise in direct political action and the authorities certainly felt the pressure. 15/
Every other piece of gun legislation passed after the Mulford Act (the GCA and NFA) was a power grab by the ruling party with the goal of stifling dissent under the guise of public safety. And consciously or unconsciously, that’s at the root of the 3D printed gun debate. 16/
They can make these files illegal, but as we know, once it’s on the internet it’s there to stay. The government is trying to play gatekeeper with the information you have access to. Don’t give them that power. 17/17
