Gun control discussion

[Catty1]

Saw a news report on a 'printable, plastic' gun that was successfully fired.

It was made on a used 8,000 dollar 3-D printer, some plans off the internets, about 40 dollars worth of material and about 6-8 hours of time.

The only metal part was a nail, used as a firing pin.

The people who developed it will put a chunk of steel in it to trigger airport alarms. Right now they are made of lego plastic - they're good for about 2 uses and they break. At the moment, 3D printers can't print big items. This was made in Austin, Texas. Somehow that does not surprise me.

It's made by Defense Distributors, a non-profit. http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/05...united-states/

Sad thing is this process can be used to build new ears, noses etc for people who lose them due to accidents or illness. There are good and bad uses for everything.

[RICHARD]

The people who developed it will put a chunk of steel in it to trigger airport alarms. Right now they are made of lego plastic - they're good for about 2 uses and they break. At the moment, 3D printers can't print big items. This was made in Austin, Texas. Somehow that does not surprise me.

It's made by Defense Distributors, a non-profit. http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/05...united-states/

Sad thing is this process can be used to build new ears, noses etc for people who lose them due to accidents or illness. There are good and bad uses for everything.

The chunk of steel is an 'option' and doesn't affect the use if the weapon.

[Catty1]

I know, RICHARD. One can only hope that most people who might use this type of printer can't read the blueprints...

[Lady's Human]

These printers are just more proof that gun control is a farce. You'd have an easier time nailing jello to a wall. Criminals are going to get weapons. Why disarm the populace and make it easier for them?

BTW, you don't need to be able to read blueprints to use these printers, it's as easy as downloading a file and hitting print.

[Catty1]

These printers are just more proof that gun control is a farce. You'd have an easier time nailing jello to a wall. Criminals are going to get weapons. Why disarm the populace and make it easier for them?

BTW, you don't need to be able to read blueprints to use these printers, it's as easy as downloading a file and hitting print.

Oh ok, the head of DD was saying that he put the "blueprints" out there, but he could have been speaking figuratively. And yes, after that interview there was much discussion about gun laws etc.

They could always track who has those 3D printers - I mean, I think most folks would want the warranty on them! Even if they were sold or given to someone else, mandatory printer registration would give a bit of a trail to follow if necessary.

[Lady's Human]

Oh ok, the head of DD was saying that he put the "blueprints" out there, but he could have been speaking figuratively. And yes, after that interview there was much discussion about gun laws etc.

They could always track who has those 3D printers - I mean, I think most folks would want the warranty on them! Even if they were sold or given to someone else, mandatory printer registration would give a bit of a trail to follow if necessary.

Why trace an innocuous object like a printer? Create another black market? Someone with a mill, a lathe and a little skill could make guns in their home as it is if they were determined to.

It's not the tool, it's the sick individual behind the trigger you have to worry about.

We keep non-violent offenders in jail for comparatively heavy sentences for possession and possession with intent, but people who get jailed for violent crimes serve light sentences.

There's a whole bunch of things wrong with society, the availability of firearms of whatever sort isn't the problem. Banning firearms to reduce violent crimes is like putting a bandaid on a severed limb, stepping back, posing for the cameras and saying "there, all better, we fixed the problem!"

[RICHARD]

Why trace an innocuous object like a printer? Create another black market? Someone with a mill, a lathe and a little skill could make guns in their home as it is if they were determined to.

It's not the tool, it's the sick individual behind the trigger you have to worry about.

We keep non-violent offenders in jail for comparatively heavy sentences for possession and possession with intent, but people who get jailed for violent crimes serve light sentences.

There's a whole bunch of things wrong with society, the availability of firearms of whatever sort isn't the problem. Banning firearms to reduce violent crimes is like putting a bandaid on a severed limb, stepping back, posing for the cameras and saying "there, all better, we fixed the problem!"

Does anyone still make zipguns? Homemade guns! I saw one made from a car antenna and rubber bands, the other made from billet steel- both were ingenious designs and the car antenna model was easy to make.

The steel gun was made from one piece of steel by a guy that worked in a machine shop and unless you knew what you were looking at, you'd never realize it was a gun.

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Now that there is a 'plastic gun' you have to look at all the problems it brings.

Just like a Xerox machine, there will be ways to track who buys it - either through sales/repair records.

Just like the sale of the meds that make meth, you probably will have to show some kind of ID to buy materials to make a gun?

You'll have to register the down loads of the program and how will they be tracked? The same way pirated music is tracked and those laws enforced?


Then you have to look at the viability of making a gun that probably won't last more than a few shots, has to be reloaded after each shot and may blow up in your face.

Although a disposable plastic gun makes certain crimes easier, I would not want to get into a shootout with one.

Something about watching Wile E. Coyote having a gun blow up in face that makes me hesitate.