States to sue over 3-D printable guns

ARGUMENT: ALLOWS CRIMINALS EASY ACCESS TO WEAPONS

Settlement with US government allows company to legally publish designs. Washington

Several US states said they would jointly sue the Trump administration in a last-ditch effort to block the public from being able to download blueprints for 3-D printable guns.

The blueprints were set to go online today, following a June settlement between the US government and Texas-based Defence Distributed that allows the company to legally publish the designs.

The states will ask a federal judge to issue a restraining order and an injunction to block the publication, Washington State Attorney-General Bob Ferguson said at a news conference in Seattle.

Washington state, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Oregon, Maryland, and the District of Columbia are working on finalising the lawsuit.

The states behind the lawsuit argue that publishing blueprints would allow criminals easy access to weapons. Gun rights advocates say fears about 3-D printed guns are largely overblown, based on current technology.

A series of mass shootings in the United States has brought a long-simmering debate over the country’s gun laws to the fore, with Democrat lawmakers increasingly calling for greater restrictions.

Defence Distributed had challenged an earlier government ban as a violation of its First and Second Amendment rights to free speech and to bear arms. It says on its website that it plans to release the plans by today.

In a statement on Monday, the State Department said that the decision to settle the case was made in the interests of the security and foreign policy of the United States and in consultation with the Justice Department.

The Justice Department declined to comment.

But the administration of US President Donald Trump had failed to adequately explain why it settled the case and allowed the publication of the blueprints, said Ferguson.

“Our Congress has carefully crafted laws to protect us and, in one moment, without any consultation with experts, the administration undoes it,” he said.

The US State Department had previously banned the blueprints as a national security risk. – Reuters