Schumer Wants to Outlaw 3D-Printed Guns

After company unveils blueprints for one that actually fires
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted May 6, 2013 9:29 AM CDT
Schumer Wants to Outlaw 3D-Printed Guns
In this May 17, 2012 file photo, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Chuck Schumer is pushing for legislation banning guns made with 3D-printers, in the wake of a Texas organization's announcement that such things now actually exist. Defense Distributed, a nonprofit run by self-proclaimed "free-market anarchist" Cody Wilson, turned quite a few heads last week by announcing that it would be releasing blueprints for a printable gun that can fire real bullets, the New York Daily News explains. "How do governments behave if ... any and every citizen has near-instant access to a firearm?" the organization's site muses. "Let's find out."

Schumer yesterday called that scenario "stomach-churning," noting that the plastic guns could slip unnoticed through metal detectors. "A terrorist, someone who's mentally ill, a spousal abuser, a felon, can essentially open a gun factory in their garage," he said. "It must be stopped." Schumer's legislation would renew a ban on undetectable weapons in general, along with plastic high-capacity magazines, CBS New York reports. (More Chuck Schumer stories.)

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