A Seattle judge has ordered that the deal the federal government made for the release of blueprints for 3D printable guns be blocked.
BREAKING: Federal judge issues temporary restraining order stopping release of downloadable blueprints for 3D-printed guns
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 31, 2018
Here’s more on the ruling:
A federal judge in Seattle has issued a temporary restraining order to stop the release of blueprints to make untraceable and undetectable 3D-printed plastic guns.
Eight Democratic attorneys general filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to block the federal government’s settlement with the company that makes the plans available online. They also sought a restraining order, arguing the 3D guns would be a safety risk.
U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik issued the order Tuesday afternoon.
The company behind the plans, Austin, Texas-based Defense Distributed, had reached a settlement with the federal government in June that allows it to make the plans for the guns available for download on Wednesday.
The restraining order puts that plan on hold for now.
I get the issues here – these guns are untraceable and could pose a danger, but I just don’t see how you can stop technology. This is basically a free speech issue – the freedom to transmit the information in a blueprint. And in a country with hundreds of millions of guns, I doubt a few thousand cheap plastic guns will make much of a difference…