Local News

Kelly asks State Department to stop the ability to print 3-D gun blueprints

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., a member of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, joined with colleagues as they urged Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to take action before Wednesday, Aug. 1, to prevent the publication online of blueprints for a 3D printed gun.
 
Kelly wrote to Pompeo demanding he reverse his position that would allow the company Defense Distributed the ability to publish the blueprints outside of background checks and licensing processes. The guns will be untraceable by law enforcement.
 
Kelly represents Homewood and Flossmoor in Congress. 
 
In the letter, task force members say: “Widespread publication of 3-D-printed gun blueprints would be extremely dangerous because individuals prohibited by law from having guns could easily arm themselves. Convicted felons would be able to skip the dealer licensing system, bypass a criminal background check and print a gun at home using commercially available technology. Firearm traffickers would be able to print unserialized guns, which are untraceable by law enforcement. And terrorists would be able to make guns entirely out of plastic and sneak them through metal detectors.”
 
On Friday, July 28, a federal district court judge in Austin, Texas, denied an emergency motion by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Everytown for Gun Safety and Giffords, a group founded by former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords. The judge said they failed to prove that they were actually a legitimate party to the case.
 
According to published reports, the single-shot pistol is mainly made out of ABS plastic, which is the same material Lego bricks are made from. The firing pin and a piece of metal included to comply with the Undetectable Firearms Act are the only metal parts. 
 
The reports said that on July 19, the U.S. State Department reached a settlement with the Second Amendment Foundation on behalf of Cody Wilson and his company, Defense Distributed, to strip the official rules upholding the ban on posting the plans. The agency plans to transfer oversight of firearm exports to the Commerce Department, which does not impose prior restraint on public speech.
 
In 2013, the agency had said the plans could violate laws governing international traffic in arms regulations. The government also had won several rounds of litigation with Wilson and his company since 2015.

News by email

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.
Name

Free weekly newsletter

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.
Name
Most read stories this week