Judge hears arguments over 3D-printed gun plans

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 Tuesday the overall issue of such untraceable plastic weapons should be decided by the president or Congress.

U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik said he’ll rule by Monday 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.

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

Any felon or terrorist with a laptop and a 3D printer could start making firearms that can’t be seen by a metal detector, leaving airports, courthouses, jails and many government buildings and schools—vulnerable, he said.

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.”

He added, “I really hope and wish that the executive branch and Congress would face up to this.”

The restraining order expires on Aug. 28.

The states suing are Washington, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia.

Associated Press ■ Cody Wilson, with Defense Distributed, holds a 3D-printed gun called the Liberator at his shop in Austin, Texas. A federal judge in Seattle heard arguments Tuesday on whether to block a settlement the U.S. State Department reached with the company that allows it to post blueprints for printing 3D weapons on the internet.