
Defense Distributed’s 3D-printing gun files are back online - bacondude3
https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/30/21199519/defense-distributed-defcad-3d-printed-gun-library-launch-vetting
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david_w
The idea behind plastic guns is philosophical.

The government should not be able to forbid a person form effectively
defending his or herself ; it's a natural right which can't be taken away by
any government. 3D printed guns gives you back that right if your state has
taken it away i.e. China. They are hard to detect so this is another plus ion
the same vein as the first.

This is the point of the project as I understand it, as per the project's
creator.

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djaque
Why won't these articles die? It's pure sensationalism since no sane person
would 3D print a gun which in all likelyhood would just blow up in your hand.

You have always been able to do effectively the same thing for less money and
with more reliability using some pipe at a hardware store. However, when
someone adds the phrase "3D printing" it becomes a huge issue that people want
to regulate. It's incredibly frustrating

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snypher
There are plenty of functional 3D printed AR-15 lower receivers. The upper
receiver and barrel is where the explosion happens, and these are not
restricted parts, or recognized as a firearm as such, so can be purchased
freely and manufactured as a commercial product from eg. steel.

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djaque
OK, good point. Looking them up, it's effectively a fairly simple hunk of
metal. However, they are restricted parts.

It reminds me of a story from a friend about how strange some laws about gun
registration are in the US. He was telling me of one model of gun which became
restricted, but existing instances were grandfathered in. To get around this,
before the ban went in place companies manufactured "unmachined lower
recievers" which were literally just hunks of aluminum or steel with serial
numbers on them. However, because they are registered firearms those specific
chunks of metal are heavily regulated and can't be taken on planes without
being locked up for instance.

