As a longtime member of the 3D-printing community, I'm alarmed by new legislation targeting the digital files, platforms, and machines that create weapons. It raises a powerful question: Who decides what can be made?
While 100% is currently unpractical, you can actually print 95% of a gun for 22lr. You need a nail for a fireing pin a barrel insert, and spings you can get from a nerf gun. That said, you could use the same to convert a nerf gun.
I’m also not talking about the single shot proto gun you’ve seen, I’m talking about a scaled model of a 1911. Guns are so fucking simple and regulation is like trying to prevent lock picking.
You can make single shot weapons from pretty much 100% plastic with just like a nail as the firing pin. But those aren’t really effective weapons at all, and you can make a better shotgun with some pipes from the hardware store.
Even if you could make fully functional firearms with 3D printers, this is still stupid. 3D printers for hobbyists were originally all hand built with common electronic parts and if more states pass regulations like this, DIY is going to be the new trend again where everybody builds their own printers instead of buying one and it’ll just get easier and easier and the government won’t be able to regulate that at all.
And, honestly, I’m all for that future, and sort of excited for it. The regulations are moronic and dumb, but just like digital surveillance and information suppression laws like age verification, it’s just going to make the darknet and none regulatable things more popular, which is great, in my opinion. I yearn for the day where the commoner gets online and Tor or I2P is their first choice of connection. Where the government has no control over the citizen and what they think, do, or say online or in their own private life.
For the same reason that it would be better to regulate polluters than to expect individuals to recycle their waste en masse. Regulating this at an individual level is demonstrably less effective, given that the recovery of self-created guns used in crimes has increased significantly in recent years.
Whether anti-gun 3D-printing algorithms will even work isn’t certain yet, but I’m all for giving it a try and forcing people to risk acquiring said weapons via legit manufacturers and shops which may be more traceable or risk the black market.
This is so stupid.
My understanding is that you can’t make a gun from 100% 3D printed plastic parts. Why don’t you just regulate those final parts makers?
While 100% is currently unpractical, you can actually print 95% of a gun for 22lr. You need a nail for a fireing pin a barrel insert, and spings you can get from a nerf gun. That said, you could use the same to convert a nerf gun.
I’m also not talking about the single shot proto gun you’ve seen, I’m talking about a scaled model of a 1911. Guns are so fucking simple and regulation is like trying to prevent lock picking.
You can make single shot weapons from pretty much 100% plastic with just like a nail as the firing pin. But those aren’t really effective weapons at all, and you can make a better shotgun with some pipes from the hardware store.
Even if you could make fully functional firearms with 3D printers, this is still stupid. 3D printers for hobbyists were originally all hand built with common electronic parts and if more states pass regulations like this, DIY is going to be the new trend again where everybody builds their own printers instead of buying one and it’ll just get easier and easier and the government won’t be able to regulate that at all.
And, honestly, I’m all for that future, and sort of excited for it. The regulations are moronic and dumb, but just like digital surveillance and information suppression laws like age verification, it’s just going to make the darknet and none regulatable things more popular, which is great, in my opinion. I yearn for the day where the commoner gets online and Tor or I2P is their first choice of connection. Where the government has no control over the citizen and what they think, do, or say online or in their own private life.
For the same reason that it would be better to regulate polluters than to expect individuals to recycle their waste en masse. Regulating this at an individual level is demonstrably less effective, given that the recovery of self-created guns used in crimes has increased significantly in recent years.
Whether anti-gun 3D-printing algorithms will even work isn’t certain yet, but I’m all for giving it a try and forcing people to risk acquiring said weapons via legit manufacturers and shops which may be more traceable or risk the black market.
Its a silly strawman.