AGs sue to block 3D guns

The top law enforcement officials from five states sued the federal government on Monday to block distribution of the material used to make untraceable 3D-printed guns, arguing it would make cheap weapons available to terrorists and criminals.

The lawsuit, filed by the attorneys general of New York, Washington, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Maryland and the District of Columbia, aims to block the company Defense Distributed from posting on the internet instructions for making a homemade gun.

“It is, simply, crazy to give criminals the tools to build untraceable, undetectable 3Dprinted guns at the touch of a button,” New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood said. “We won’t stand by as New Yorkers’ safety is jeopardized by this abrupt about-face by the federal government.”

Underwood was referring to a federal lawsuit by Defense Distributed, which specializes in spreading open-source plans for 3D-printed firearms, filed against the State Department after it blocked online distribution of the company’s gun-making plans on the internet.

After losing arguments in West Texas district court and again in federal appeals court, the company was on the verge of conceding defeat on its case when the Trump Administration agreed to give in to the gun company.

“As the chief law enforcement officers of our states, we believe the settlement terms and proposed rules are deeply dangerous and could have an unprecedented impact on public safety,” the AGs wrote in a joint letter to the Department of State and Department of Justice. “In addition to helping arm terrorists and transnational criminals, the settlement and proposed rules would provide another path to gun ownership for people who are prohibited by federal and state law from possessing firearms.”

A phone call to Defense Distributed was not immediately returned.