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US Court of Appeals Upholds that 3-D Printed Gun Schematics are Protected by the First Amendment

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by Svpernaut, Jul 12, 2018.

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  1. Svpernaut

    Svpernaut Contributing Member

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    Legal Press Release: http://joshblackman.com/blog/2018/0...ch-settlement-in-defense-distributed-lawsuit/

    Wired Article: A Landmark Legal Shift Opens Pandora’s Box for DIY Guns

    According to the US Court of Appeals, and relentlessly agreed to by the US Department of Justice and the US State Department, the distribution of 3-D Printed Gun plans and schematics is protected by the First Amendment.

    "Significantly, the government expressly acknowledges that non-automatic firearms up to .50-caliber – including modern semi-auto sporting rifles such as the popular AR-15 and similar firearms – are not inherently military."​

    I have long said that advancements in 3-D printing will make gun control laws and efforts obsolete within the next few decades, so we better get to work fixing why people commit violence, rather than the how.

    The clock is ticking, and technology always finds a way.
     
    #1 Svpernaut, Jul 12, 2018
  2. juicystream

    juicystream Contributing Member

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    We can't fix why. Everybody would if they could. Instead we'll just talk about fixing something that can't be fixed.

    Eventually, maybe that is true for 3D printing, but those guns are significantly less reliable than the ones that are factory made. And right there in your post, is that they are allowing it because the government allows those guns.
     
    #2 juicystream, Jul 12, 2018
  3. Svpernaut

    Svpernaut Contributing Member

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    But you can fix why the vast majority of gun violence occurs. The crime data is easily accessible at FBI.gov. The overwhelming majority of gun deaths are related to the failed war on drugs, and mental health (suicides, mass shootings, etc.)... and inner city crime is directly tied to poverty and a lack of education.

    If anti-gun advocates spent their political capital on battles they have a chance of making a difference with, we'd be in a different place than we are now. Rather than focusing on the impossible task of trying to overturn the 2nd Amendment, and having gun owners turn in their guns, they should focus on areas that they can make a difference.

    There are more guns in America than there are people, and 3-D printing will insure that to always be the case.
     
    #3 Svpernaut, Jul 12, 2018
  4. Ottomaton

    Ottomaton Contributing Member
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    FWIW,

    It is, and will remain, nearly impossible to make a 3d printed rifled gun barrel that doesn't immediately explode on use. I've looked into making them. It seems trivial but is technically extremely challenging, even with a machine shop full of tools.

    3d printing metal basically sinters little metal pits together. It's not nearly as strong as the single blocks of specialized alloy that guns are carved from.

    I don't see anything worse in this than what is in the Anarchist' s Cookbook, and it didn't create a mass movement of people blowing stuff up.
     
    #4 Ottomaton, Jul 12, 2018
    B-Bob, cml750, Rashmon and 1 other person like this.
  5. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Contributing Member

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    Guns can have a democratizing influence in the sense its easily accessible to all classes, creeds and unfortunately...mental dispositions. This ruling is consistent with the current majority mindset of the partisan right Roberts Court.

    I might not agree with autos and semi-autos without restriction (might as well give up enforcing criminals who counterfeit money), but until there's a ground breaking shift in attitudes, I can still respect the consistency.

    This is a red herring because the NRA will scream SLIPPERY SLOPE until the ink runs out on their keyboards.

    There's been too many little kids shot up at several different schools and too many different "compromise legislation" DOA in its aftermath that would make the Brady Bill look even meaner and eviler than it really was.
     
    #5 Invisible Fan, Jul 12, 2018
  6. Major

    Major Member

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    LOL. The same people that fight endlessly against any attempt to restrict guns are also the ones that implement policies that impoverish the inner city and push the tough-on-crime drug war. BTW, there's no need to overturn the 2nd Amendment to reduce gun violence - that's one of the dumbest red herrings of all red herrings.
     
    #6 Major, Jul 12, 2018
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  7. Bobbythegreat

    Bobbythegreat Member
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    Ah yes, and that's why those "inner city" types have been ruled by the same party for nearly 60 years now....which people is it again that are implementing policies that keep them poor?
     
    #7 Bobbythegreat, Jul 12, 2018
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  8. cml750

    cml750 Member

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    I was told something very similar by someone I trust who has experience with this.
     
    #8 cml750, Jul 12, 2018
  9. SamFisher

    SamFisher Contributing Member

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    good to know theres been no gun related news for the last 5 years until this last development helpfully pointed out to us by the incredibly prescient gun policy wonk @Svpernaut
     
    #9 SamFisher, Jul 12, 2018
  10. Svpernaut

    Svpernaut Contributing Member

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    The real power is actually in the tri-axis CNC machines and the 3-D files themselves. Current industrial 3-D printers can print semi-reliable weapons, but the real power is in the advancements in automated aluminum machining. Also, there is no need to 3-D print a barrel, because you can buy an untraceable barrel from thousands of retailers. The lower receiver is all that is tracked.

    Like it or not, this was groundbreaking news. The US Government has now unequivocally stated on the record that the "Assault Style Rifle" labeling thrown around by anti-Second activists and lawmakers is completely inaccurate.

    "Significantly, the government expressly acknowledges that non-automatic firearms up to .50-caliber – including modern semi-auto sporting rifles such as the popular AR-15 and similar firearms – are not inherently military."
    ​
    The really interesting thing is, that all of this came about because the goverment over-reached. I have no problem with people being anti-gun, and I have no problem with people thinking that the 2nd Amendment should be overturned. That is your right, rally your troops and make it happen - we live in a democracy after all.

    I do however, have an issue with the government trying to suppress freedom of speech. Obama's Justice Department overstepped it's bounds, and now we have the US government on record saying what Second Amendment Defenders have been claiming for decades.

    This story is about far more than guns, it is about technology, and how we must adapt to, and interpret it. Information can and is inherently protected, even if it can be dangerous. True freedom of speech comes at a price.
     
    #10 Svpernaut, Jul 15, 2018
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