Judge: Plastic guns territory of Congress or Trump

SEATTLE — A federal judge in Seattle hearing arguments over a settlement that allows a Texas company to post online plans for printing 3D guns said the issue of untraceable plastic weapons should be decided by the president or Congress.

U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik said Tuesday that he’d rule within a week on the legal issues involving the settlement between the company and the Trump administration. He added, however, that “a solution to the greater problem is so much better suited to the other two branches of government.”

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia sued the federal government, alleging it reached a “covert” settlement with the company, Defense Distributed, without notifying Congress or the Department of Defense about changes it made to an export act that prohibited 3D gun plans from being posted online.

The Austin-based company is owned by Cody Wilson, a self-described “crypto-anarchist” who opposes restrictions on gun ownership.

Lasnik granted a restraining order on July 31 that blocked the immediate release of the plans online. The states want him to make it permanent. The restraining order expires on Aug. 28.

Washington state Assistant Attorney General Jeff Rupert argued that the government’s decision to allow the posting threatens public safety.

Lasnik made it clear that he was frustrated that he only had a few days to make decisions on “probably the most significant case that I’ve handled as a United States District Court judge.”