US government attempts to quash 3D printed gun plans

America is a strange country with regards to its gun laws. Governments and actors seem to not want anyone to own a gun legally, despite the fact that the USA is the biggest weapons dealer(and glorifier through Hollywood movies) in the world, while large portions of the public argue that they should be allowed to protect themselves against the millions of illegal guns and their wielders that live and operate within the United States. A great example of this latter point being exercised, was the downloading of plans that allow the 3D printing of a fully workable gun by over 100,000 people – which the government there is now attempting to stop.

This isn't Enemy of the State though, where the government can simply chase after the one tape that's out there, this is 2013. Once something is on the internet, it's there forever. While the government has managed to have the original plans removed from the gun designer's website, it's already proliferating through Reddit and torrent search sites. Those plans will forever be available to those that want to find them.

Creator Cody Wilson, seen here testing “The Liberator” at a target. 

On top of that, it's not something you need to worry too much about, as 3D printing a gun still requires access to a 3D printer, which even for the smallest and lowest quality is over a thousand dollars. I imagine with a little digging in some of the shadier parts of America, you could find a real gun that works perfectly – without the need to find gunpowder to make your own bullets – for much, much less hassle and financial investment.

Despite that though, the bureaucrats need to be seen to be doing something, so they've threatened the original makers of the plans, Defence Distributed, that they could face weapons trafficking charges, since technically they provided blueprints for weapon creation to those outside of the country – without a license of course. If you're the American government you can sell plans and real guns to whoever you want.

One thing that is likely to worry more than just the government though, is the fact that the gun is made of plastic, which means metal detectors and a lot of airport security checks wouldn't pick it up. It's a little like John Malkovich in, In the Line of Fire.

KitGuru Says: I'm all about the 90s government conspiracy movies today aren't I?

[Thanks Telegraph]

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