Trump Comes Out Against 3-D Printed Guns

Sentence you will rarely, if ever, see: I agree with he who must not be names. I wonder how much the 3-D printing business will be boosted by these plans.

President Trump appeared to voice his opposition to 3-D printed guns being sold to the public, in a tweet this morning, saying that he had already spoken to the National Rifle Association about the issue and that it did not appear to make much sense...

I am looking into 3-D Plastic Guns being sold to the public. Already spoke to NRA, doesn’t seem to make much sense!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 31, 2018

As The Daily Caller notes, the issue of 3-D printed guns has reached a fever pitch in recent days after a Texas non-profit organization won the right to post the plans for such weapons online for public consumption.

The downloadable plans range from rudimentary handguns to rifles similar to an AR-15. The plans can be used by anyone with a 3D printer and minimal outside materials to create an untraceable firearm.

A selection of 3-D printed gun files already available on the Defense Distributed website, Defcad.com.

Several states have intervened to ask the Trump administration to federally ban such firearms.

“These downloadable guns are unregistered and very difficult to detect, even with metal detectors, and will be available to anyone regardless of age, mental health or criminal history. If the Trump Administration won’t keep us safe, we will," said Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D), who represents one of the eight states suing the Trump administration.

The fight over 3-D printed guns stems back to 2013 when the U.S. Department of State banned the Texas non-profit from posting plans for such firearms online because it was in violation of export control trade practices.

The non-profit argued that the ban stifled its freedom of speech and eventually forced the government to back down. The plans will be posted online Aug. 1.

As The Hill reports, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer chimed in, saying that Trump’s tweet was a display of “incompetence and dangerous governing.”

Your administration approved this. What kind of incompetence and dangerous governing is this?
And to check with the NRA? Holy moly. https://t.co/MyctYPoci0

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) July 31, 2018