US blocked from allowing 3D printer gun blueprints to be posted online
A US judge has shot down controversial White House moves to allow blueprints showing how to make 3D guns to be posted on the internet.
Robert Lasnik, of the US District Court in Seattle, said the State Department violated federal laws when it okayed the plan back in July 2018.
The lengthy legal battle started in 2012, when Defense Distributed (DD) first posted blueprints for a 3D-printed plastic pistol.
More than 100,000 copies were downloaded, and it wasn't long before State Dept. officials told the non-profit firm it was violating International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
They also said at the time that sharing the blueprints "could cause serious harm to US national security and foreign policy interests."
However, DD then argued that the government was violating its First Amendment rights and the pen-pushers caved in, reports Yahoo.
Trump administration officials then controversially reached a settlement with the firm that allowed it to continue sharing its 3D-printed gun files.
However, Judge Lasnik has now ruled the sudden U-turn violated federal procedures adding the State Department did not give a “reasoned explanation” for its change of mind.
He said in - a 25-page legal order - that the federal government “must do more than simply announce a contrary position."
Tuesday’s ruling, which is likely to be appealed, stoked the long-running debate over the issue of 3D printed firearms.
In America, it's fine to build guns for your own personal use, although the difficulties and costs of crafting guns in garages has limited this to a hobby for only the most dedicated gun nuts.
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The 3D guns are made entirely of plastic apart from a metal firing pin and an additional sheet of metal required by law so the weapon would still set off metal detectors.
The printing process works by dripping tiny beads of hot plastic on top of one another, following a pattern laid out by the blueprint diagram.
If you have a 3D printer and access to the web you could - until the ruling - download the file, press start and let the gun build itself.
