Downloadable Guns

Imagine looking through a shopping website. You see something you want to get, click on the details page, decide that it's the one, and then download a file. This file isn't a receipt. This file goes into this hollow cube lying next to your computer. You load up the file and go for a multi-hour walk. When you return, the cube contains the item you were looking at. This isn't science fiction- it's 3D printing.

3D printers, as one might have guessed, are devices that allow the use of special digital design software and some material to make a physical object. While expensive for personal use, 3D printers are being used to create 3D art models, plastic car parts, metal tableware, rocket parts for NASA, and human organs. With the correct setup and material, be it plastic, metal, or human cells, one can make almost anything with a 3D printer and a "physible", a digital model, including fully operating firearms.

On May 6, 2013, a company called Defense Distributed released, online, the plans and model files for the world's first public "physible" gun, the Liberator. Of the gun's 13 parts, 12 of them were able to be printed using a 3D printer and commercially available plastics. At this time, the United States government has demanded that Defense Distributed take the plans off their website, which they have. The United States government has very good reason for its actions; this influx of unregulated firearms is not only widely accessible, but legal. Under the United States constitution, every citizen is allowed to own firearms- this includes building one's own. The use of a 3D printer falls under this category, allowing any citizen with a 3D printer, some plastic, and an internet connection to legally own his or her own unlicensed firearm, threatening every possible attempt at gun control. Attempts have already been made in California to create a bill to prevent the printing of firearms, but, at the time of writing, this bill has been overturned, and no legislation stands to prevent the widespread manufacture of personal weaponry. For now, the world will have to wait to see if society learns to live in a world where firearms are easy to obtain, or if the governments of the world will find a way to restrict them. For the time being, take care not to aggravate your local nerd; he may be packing.