Staring Down the Barrel Of 3D Printable Firearms
THE ISSUE: The potential emergence of untraceable 3D-printed plastic handguns.
More great news for our gun-happy culture: Any wannabe domestic terrorists, bank robbers, domestic abusers or neighborhood nut jobs will be able to own a firearm simply by printing it out (“Pre-emptive 3D gun strike,” Aug. 2).
Of course, there would be no need to worry about the nuisance of a background check.
In the event that gun violence does increase, I suppose we can always hope for printable plastic bullet-proof vests. Vin Morabito Scranton, Pa.
I don’t understand the fuss over 3D-printed guns. When I was a teen in Brooklyn in the 1960s, what we called a “zip gun” was common on the streets.
All you needed was a piece of steel tubing, a block of wood, some common scraps of metal and a couple of rubber bands.
It was deadly at short range, and no expensive 3D printer was required.
When I look at the plastic guns that can be printed today, they appear crude, cumbersome and look as dangerous to the shooter as they are to the target. Some explode on the first or second round fired.
That said, responsible firearm ownership is a Second Amendment right. I believe in legal ownership of safe and reliable firearms by responsible and law-abiding citizens.
I don’t believe in the proliferation of homemade printed guns or zip guns. Thomas Bonacuso Brooklyn
Unlicensed 3D-printed guns will definitely fall into the hands of those who want to cause harm.
President Trump on Twitter said that he was looking into it and had “already spoke to NRA.”
So he’s going to the NRA for advice? Trump is the president. We didn’t vote for the NRA. Craig Slosberg White Plains
Guns are prevalent all over this country. They are used to kill innocent people. People are dying in schools, restaurants, and malls — not in a war or on a battlefield. The power to inflict harm on others is urgently becoming an epidemic.
Now there is the potential for 3D-printed guns that anyone can make and use, and they are untraceable. Shikeb Siddiqi The Bronx
Who is the brainiac who came up with the idea of a 3D-printed gun? Don’t we have enough guns, legal and illegal? Isn’t there enough gun violence, with so many innocent citizens, including children, being killed?
With this new easy-toassemble weapon, we’ll face a scary new reality. Sam King Manhattan