The State Department has asked Defense Distributed to take down its controversial 3D-printed gun blueprint. “I immediately complied and I’ve taken down the files,” said the group’s Cody Wilson. “But this is a much bigger deal than guns. It has implications for the freedom of the web.”
This has definitely been our most well-received download. I don’t think any of us predicted it would be this much.Defense Distributed-affiliated developer Haroon Khalid • Discussing the success of the controversial group’s 3D-printed gun blueprints, which have been downloaded 100,000 times since they were released over the weekend. The distribution method isn’t without controversy, either: The group’s files are being hosted on Kim Dotcom’s Mega service. One member of Congress, Rep. Steve Israel, wants to ban such devices.
Defense Distributed has come out with a new gun magazine, which they kindly named after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who just signed a ban on large gun magazines in the state. “He [Cuomo] wants to be associated with these magazines,” Cody Wilson, the 24-year-old law student leading the group’s efforts, told TPM. “Lets make that association permanent.”
Background checks and gun regulations will do little good if criminals can print high-capacity magazines at home. 3D printing is a new technology that shows great promise, but also requires new guidelines. Law enforcement officials should have the power to stop high-capacity magazines from proliferating with a Google search.Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) • In a statement regarding the planned introduction of legislation which bans using 3D printing to print high-capacity magazines — something which a liberty-minded tech group called Defense Distributed has been all over in recent weeks with their Wiki Weapon project. The group actually had a fairly blunt response to Israel’s legislation: “Good f@&!ing luck.” This may be a first — an attempt to regulate 3D printing by a governmental body — so this will be interesting to watch.
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