California State Senator Kevin de Leon holding what he calls a "ghost gun." |
A gun rights advocate has invented a 3-D printer that will allow amateur gunsmiths to create AR-15 assault rifles without serial numbers or the hassle of a background check, WIRED reports.
Earlier this year, Cody Wilson demonstrated that anyone could use a 3-D printer to print a gun.
“If 3-D printing means anything, if the digital revolution and 3-D printing revolution have any interesting terminus, it’s because we will all have access to greater means of production — just like these cameras and computers that we have enable us to become cultural producers outside of the monopoly schemes of the legacy players, so too with material things, and that must, of course, include guns,” Wilson told We Are Change.
“To not think that it included guns, to be surprised by that, means that you’re just kind of drinking the Kool-Aid,” he added.
According to Wired, his new project in DIY gunsmithing is even more ambitious — now, he is using a PC-connected milling machine, dubbed “the Ghost Gunner,” to print the component of an AR-15 rifle called the “lower receiver.”
The lower receiver is the most heavily regulated component of the AR-15, as it is the body of the gun that connects all of the assault rifle’s other parts. For $1,200, Wilson’s company, Defense Distributed, will sell anyone a computer-numerically-controlled mill that will allow them to print the lower receiver.
They can then purchase the other, less relegated elements of the AR-15 — such as the stock, magazine, and barrel — from online gun shops and create a fully functional automatic weapon that contains no serial number and required no background check. Such weapons are sometimes referred to as “ghost guns” — hence, the name of Wilson’s mill.
So essentially this technology allows individuals who really do not want anybody to know which weapons they have, or how many, to simply manufacture them on their own.
And gee which sort of individual might find that idea REALLY attractive?
Honest, upstanding citizens who only want to take the weapons to the firing range on Sundays to express their God given 2nd Amendment rights?
Or perhaps nefarious individuals who would like access to weapons that cannot be traced forensically back to a buyer, gun shop, or manufacturer?
Yeah, I am going to guess the latter.
Now which way will the NRA go on printed guns.. Will they stand up gun owners and openly welcome 3D printed items, or will they fight against it to protect gun manufacturers whose business will be impacted by it. Hey, NRA, you're fucked either way.
ReplyDeleteI think Todd will buy one of these printers .... then the family members can be well armed for the next brawl.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is its like a cheap plastic toy compared to a hand crafted wooden toy made with attention and care. One will last you a lifetime and maybe beyond, the other tends to implode in your hand.
ReplyDeleteI wish someone would point out the anti-poverty issue that connects with all this gun craziness. Poor people can't afford $1200 weapons. Right wing gun nuts hate poor people, brown people, and anyone who can't afford or doesn't want a gun. That's bigoted and anti-American. I have no idea why anyone who makes less than $80k per year is a Republican, and yet so many poor whites vote with the Tea Party. Makes my brain hurt.
ReplyDeleteWha?
DeleteYep, and they vote!
DeleteI see a 'shoot-m-up bang bang' coming to the streets of America! And, the cops across the nation will not be able to stop it - shit they'd probably just egg it on!
ReplyDeleteAmerica is a screwed up mess just because we elected a POTUS 'twice' that is black! Plus, he is a man that is doing a good job in his position in spite of all the obstruction he has received from the Republicans in the U.S. Congress! The 'good job' that President Obama is doing can no longer be denied by the Republicans and it is driving them friggin' nuts! They know they don't have a leg to stand on! And, I suspect many are going to be defeated (Republicans) in the upcoming elections (November) in spite of 'their' polls!
Anyone desiring, needing, or wanting a well functioning manufactured gun for legitimate or illegitimate purposes, can get the actual quality manufactured product either legally or illegally, with (or without-illegally) serial numbers, much cheaper and easier than this. And it wont blow up in your face on the first shot. For all practical purposes, these are a joke.
ReplyDeleteRepublicans believe in sound bites and sound bite answers for everything. You know: a 4-step gospel program, a gun solution-for-any-type-of-problem, and hateful bumper sticker 'remedies' for all the rest. JMO: they've all spent so much time at a shooting range that their brains are full of lead. No, seriously: there IS no safe lead exposure, and inhaled lead dust (impossible to avoid, no matter what shooting range you go to) goes directly to the brain, where it quickly affects both behavior and IQ levels. Many people joke about the paint-chip eaters, but this is not a joke: this is a serious public health hazard. No one who values their health or their brain (which governs all health 'decisions' that the body makes) should go to a shooting range, indoor OR outdoor. This is not an anti-gun statement: this is merely a health statement. By the way, that lead dust you pick up there will settle into your lungs, bloodstream, clothes, shoes, hat, and wallet (and whatever other things you have on or around you). If you want to spend your older days in sickness and/or dementia, have at it. But there IS a reason why we see such poor health, low IQs, and inability to reason in the shooting crowd, and this deadly and life-changing exposure is at the top of the list. http://www.ewg.org/research/lead-pollution-outdoor-firing-ranges-poisonous-pastime
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