Looking at the caliber (so to speak) of printing available from the pricy 3d printers my kids' schools have (not the lower end consumer models people can buy for home use) I am not clear how much of a risk this all poses (never mind the impossibility of restricting info on the internet).

Wilson sells a CNC router that can be used to make guns out of metal.
It can also be used to retrofit existing firearms.

This will be a big help in arming our well-regulated militia

Although I somewhat agree with the sentiment of the suit, I'm not sure this is a game changer for Washington. You can already buy an 80% lower for the AR platform & a jig to finish it with a handheld router. No FFA or background check on that, and legal in WA State.

Prior restraint of information. This suit is DOA.

The Liberator is a political statement, not a functional weapon. It is more or less a plastic zip gun. It fires a single shot before reloading (which is cumbersome) and is likely almost as dangerous to the user as the target. Anyone who calls it scary has no direct personal experience with the current state of consumer/prosumer 3D printing.

The original restriction strikes me as an abuse of ITAR, which was created to restrict trade in weapons and the technology for advanced weapons, not political statements.

@2 Several companies sell CNC milling machines and routers in the same price range that are also capable of manufacturing an AR-15 lower receiver or other regulated gun parts. The only difference is that they don't run their mouths about making guns the way Cody Wilson does.

The fear of 3D-printed guns is way overblown. I'm opposed to them, just as I'm opposed to the easy access to far too many weapons in this country, but 3D-printed guns aren't really a significant problem.

Most 3D printers use some sort of plastic composite material. This leads to the fear that they could make a 3D-printed plastic gun that can sneak through metal detectors. But so far, nobody has been able to design such a gun that doesn't self-destruct the first time you try to fire it. At best, if you're lucky, you might get one shot off before the plastic gun breaks apart. More likely, you'd blow your hand up. Even the best high-temperature thermoplastic is a shitty material to make a gun with. It simply can't stand up to the pressure. You could theoretically make a mostly-plastic gun with maybe just the barrel and firing pin made of metal, but then it would be detectable by airport screening, just as conventional guns are now. And even if you have a completely plastic gun, the bullets are still detectable. So the fear of plastic guns making it through airport screening might make good sci-fi, but not real life.

There are 3D-printers that can use metal. So you could make a 3D-printed metal gun. But then it would be of zero use trying to sneak past metal detectors. And a 3D-printed metal gun would likely cost thousands of dollars to make. You can buy a wide variety of good quality conventional handguns legally for less than $500, so there is little point in going to the trouble and expense of making a metal 3D-printed gun. The biggest problem with 3D-printed metal guns is that they could be made clandestinely without any sort of registration or serial number, but they would cost a lot of money. It is still easier and cheaper to buy black-market conventional guns.

So while I think they should be banned, I don't think we should be panicking over the theoretical ability to make a 3D-printed gun.

Flood the internet with a flawed design that causes the gun to explode when you fire it. Problem solved.

@10: Even for the woman who fires it at her ex who is under a restraining order and coming at her with a hatchet crazed out on PCP?

Problem not solved.

Raindrop dear, thank you for your inane and highly theoretical scenario.

Holy Crap!
Does Ferguson realize that plastic water guns can be bought on the street for a buck?!?
TOTALLY metal detector proof,
and in the hands of THOUSANDS of Seattleites, some as young as 5!!
Please, AG Chicken Little; DO SOMETHING!!!

@16:

Ah, poor lil troll - you came here and made up an account just to post what will possibly be the most patently stupid comment this week - water gun! LOL! But, in all seriousness: have you ever tried to load a .32 or .45, or heck, even a .22 cal bullet into a toy water pistol? How diddums work out for you?

@10: Most of these designs already do that on their own. Plastic (even thermoplastics) can't handle the heat or force generated by a bullet.

Also, doing so intentionally would be a serious crime.

Fear of these shitty zip guns is laguhably unfounded. You can make a better gun with the parts at your local Home Depot, with plans that have been readily and freely available online for decades now.

Yet, how many times can you think of when a homemade gun was used to commit a crime?

It's nothing but virtue signalling .

These plans have already been available online for years and the sky hasn't fallen.

Just a waste of taxpayer dollars.

17
Ah, poor lil Chris - you came here just to post about what will possibly be the most patently stupid comment this week -
The point is that the water pistol poses about the same level of risk to the public as the 3D printer "gun".
But heck, someone might get water in their eyes! Ouch!!
No doubt Bob is drawing up the suit now and Sawant is furiously printing city funded posters.
Justice!