The Pros And Cons Of 3D Printed Gun

Introduction In both a magnificent and terrifying display of the innovative potential of technology, on May 2, 2013, the first 3D printed gun successfully fired a bullet. Cody Wilson – the creator of this gun (the “Liberator”) – spent over a year developing this weapon through his company Defense Distributed. Following this event, other 3D printed guns were successfully developed , intense litigation ensued , and the interplay between this technology and the Second Amendment became a hotly discussed issue. Centrally at issue is if, and how, such guns can be regulated, and whether such regulations can pass Second Amendment analyses. In 2008, the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess guns unconnected to service in a militia (and incorporated this to the states in McDonald v. City of Chicago ), opening up the process of defining the limitations to this right. 3D printed guns pose particularly difficult regulatory (and even more difficult enforcement) issues both because they potentially sidestep the

The creator of this firearm was Cody Wilson, founder of the company Defense Distributed. Wilson, a law student at the University of Texas, described himself as a radical libertarian and anarchist. The firearm – the “Liberator” – was printed using the Stratasys Dimension SST 3D printer (which costs about $8,000.00). Perhaps most terrifying is that the only metal component of the gun was the firing pin – which was a common nail. In order to avoid violating the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988, which makes it illegal to make a firearm that is undetectable by metal detectors, Wilson inserted a six-ounce piece of steel into the gun. However, this was merely to avoid illegal activity; the piece of steel was not necessary for the functioning of the