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?
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.
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.