3D Printing of So-called "High Capacity" Magazines

February 13, 2013

Here's another development in the great gun control debate of our time that I knew was coming. If you've followed the development of 3D printing technology, you may have seen it coming too. My focus was more on the manufacture of firearms themselves. I didn't give any thought to manufacturing your own 10+ round magazines although that is much simpler.

Remember the 90s when there was fear that 'plastic guns' would find their way onto airlines and into the hands of criminals? This article says Congress outlawed them before the technology existed. They do exist. I've seen video demonstrations of them. But they haven't materialized to be weapons for hijacking as was feared.

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/02/13/print-draw-fire-3d-printing-could-muzzle-new-gun-laws/?vgnextrefresh=1

This technology makes gun registration pretty meaningless. They'll never be able to prevent users of the technology for using it for the purposes of manufacturing magazines or firearms. This article points out that the technical designs for magazines already exist and have been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times. This group hasn't developed any plans for firearms but someone will. It can occur internationally, so there's no controlling it domestically.

Worried about "straw purchases"? We should. It's wrong when used to support criminal activity. I'm not convinced it's wrong when you're buying a firearm as a gift for someone else, as many people have done for their family members or significant others or professional peers for recognition purposes. Now you need to worry about criminal enterprise purchasing a relatively affordable 3D printer and manufacturing an endless supply of firearms and magazines. So what's next? Do we have people go through a background check for purchasing the raw (plastic) materials used by these 3D printers?

You may have heard President Obama lauding 3D technology in his State of the Union address last night. He talked of the re-utilization of one warehouse in Ohio to support the development of 3D printing technology. He has approved the development of 3 more sites for this purpose and encourages Congress to develop it further to 15 sites. (I think I have those numbers right - writing this from memory.)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/3d-printing-stocks-up-after-obama-speech-2013-02-13?link=MW_latest_news

If you watch the video clip at the bottom of the 3D printing article, note that these demonstrations using the printed magazines are with fully automatic, actual "assault rifles", not the less capable semiautomatic so-called "assault weapons" that are being targeted by current legislative proposals. Fully automatic firearms are already very heavily restricted by current law and have not been used in any of the exploited mass killings.

Print, draw, fire: 3D printing could muzzle new gun laws 

Where there is a will, there is a way.With sweeping gun control legislation on the horizon that would ban large capacity ammo clips, gun enwww.foxnews.com