3d printed guns nothing to worry about

On July 10, 2018, the United States Department of State reached an agreement with the Second Amendment Foundation concerning 3D printable guns.

Under the agreement, the gun-rights group “Defense Distributed” will be allowed to post the files and instructions needed to print their weapons online. These guns appear to be easily accessible and are not restricted by International Traffic in Arms Regulations rules.

Since these guns won’t require registration, licensing, or background checks to obtain, many people are paranoid at the idea. Potentially, every terrorist and criminal who is unable to legally buy a gun could be able to go home and make their own, putting even military grade weapons such as the AR-15 in the hands of dangerous people.

Fortunately, this is not the case.

3D printing is more complicated than just pressing a button on a computer and waiting for the fin- ished product to be spit out. Anyone who wants to print something as complicated as a working gun will need both expensive equipment and the skills to use it. The printers capable of printing dangerous guns range within tens of thousands of dollars, and the massive amounts of high quality material needed only add to that cost. Additionally, these guns must be printed in dozens of individual pieces, and then assembled with other parts that cannot be 3D printed, making them much less convenient than any purchasable guns. To top this all off, even the highest quality 3D printed guns are still less lethal than real guns, since they are only made with plastic or resin instead of metal.

While it is certainly possible for a dangerous person to spend an enormous amount of money, take the time to learn how to use a 3D printer, and create their own gun, it is much more likely for them to find a simpler way of getting significantly more dangerous weapon illegally. As someone with experience in 3D printing, I am not worried about 3D printed guns becoming commonplace, and I don’t believe it is something for the public to worry about.

Nathaniel Paul Jamison

Averill Park