3D & GHOST GUNS

WHAT IS A 3D GUN?

3D-printed guns are Do-It-Yourself (DIY) firearms made on demand by using Computer Aided Design (CAD) files and 3D printers. The 3D gun printing technology allows any person, anywhere in the world to make his/her untraceable guns without serial numbers, background checks, waiting periods, permits and other state and federal requirements for gun ownership.

Some 3D guns are made of entirely plastic rendering them virtually undetectable by modern security technology. Other 3D guns others are made of metal.

3D guns are untraceable, mostly undetectable and very accessible.

3D guns in the hands of terrorists, felons, domestic abusers and other prohibited users result in grave public safety, national security and international threat.

WHAT IS A GHOST GUN?

Ghost guns are DIY untraceable guns created from unfinished receivers without serial numbers. A drill press is used to create holes in the unfinished receiver to add other gun parts (such as the stock, barrel, trigger component, and magazine) to make a fully functional gun. Ghost Guns are exempted from federal regulation. Sellers of unfinished receivers and completion parts are not required to be licensed firearms dealers, and buyers are not subject to background checks or waiting periods.

3D guns are ghost guns.

WHY DID THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE HAVE JURISDICTION OVER 3D GUNS?

The U.S Department of State has purview over 3D guns because it's in charge of enforcing the Arms Export Control Act and other arms trafficking regulations. The Arms Export Control Act authorizes the president to control the import and export of defense weapons and defense services and to regulate their import and export.

The Federal Government prohibited the distribution of Computer Aided Design (CAD) files for the automated production of 3D printed weapons by including such files on the United States Munitions List (USML) and making them subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), which are administered by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) within the Department of State.

As of January 23, 2020, the Trump Administration moved the jurisdiction of 3D guns to the Commerce Department.

HISTORY OF 3D GUNS

May 2013: 25-year-old radical libertarian anarchist Cody Wilson from Austin, TX made and fired the world’s first fully 3D-printed gun, the “Liberator” after launching Defense Distributed site (defcad.com) months earlier along with an anarchist video manifesto, declaring that gun control would never be the same in an era when anyone can download and print their own guns. His files were downloaded 100,000 times. The “Liberator” is a single shot pistol made entirely of plastic materials except for a metal nail inserted as the firing pin.

The U.S. State Department demands that he take down the printable 3D gun blueprints or face prosecution for violating the International Trade in Arms Regulations (ITAR) for exporting weapons without a license.

*He now makes and sells the consumer-grade desktop CNC (computer numerical control) “Ghost Gunner” milling machine that can make aluminum lower receivers from an 80 percent lower receivers to make an untraceable AR-15s that skirt state and federal gun regulations. He has made millions selling ~6,000 “Ghost Gunner” machines that cost $1675 each.

November 2013: Solid Concepts released a handgun called “The 1911” made of 3D printed metal parts better equipped for repeat fire. Read more HERE.

2014: Solid Concepts (now owned by Stratasys) announced their second 3D-printed metal gun, “the Reason”. Read more HERE:

November 2014: A machinist from Pennsylvania released plans for a plastic 3D printed firearm with a bullet chamber designed to withstand multiple rounds of firing without cracking or deforming. Read more HERE.

2015: Wilson from Defense Distributed and the Second Amendment Foundation filed a lawsuit against the State Department and several of its officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry claiming that a State Department agency called the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) violated their first amendment right to free speech.

April 2018: The Trump Administration files a motion to dismiss Wilson’s lawsuit arguing that 3D guns can be regulated for export.

June 2018: Then in a sudden reversal, the State Department, led by Trump’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, settled the case with Wilson. Under that agreement, Defense Distributed is authorized to post downloadable instructions for 3D-printable guns starting Wednesday, August 1, 2018 and Wilson was awarded $40,000 for his legal fees.

WHY SHOULD WE BE CONCERNED ABOUT 3D AND GHOST GUNS:

2013: Journalists used Defense Distributed files to make their own 3-D gun then smuggle a 3-D printed gun into Israeli parliament to test the security system.

2013: 23-year-old John Zawahri, who had been kept from purchasing a gun years earlier, used a homebuilt AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle in a rampage in Santa Monica, California, that left five dead.

November 2017: Kevin Janson Neal massacred five people and wounded nine others in Tehama County, California, using two semi-automatic rifles he built himself. A criminal protective order and a separate restraining order that had been placed on Neal in January—he was charged with assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly stabbing and beating two neighbors he held at gunpoint—meant Neal wouldn’t have passed a background check if he’d tried.

April 2018: In Delaware County, Upper Darby police arrested a high school student in April 2018 after he threatened to shoot up his school. The Upper Darby Police Superintendent said the suspect, who was a foreign exchange student, assembled a handgun using parts he bought online.

May 2018: A Pennsylvania State Trooper shot and killed a man outside a Walmart in Lehigh County, near Allentown, when the suspect pointed a .40 Caliber Glock at him. State Police said the suspect in that case bought the parts for the gun online.

June 2018 to June 2019: At the federal level, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco recovered 42 ghost guns in Philadelphia between June 2018 and June 2019.

September 2018: An employee in the Paradigm software company building in Washington state stood up from his desk and started shooting coworkers with a ghost gun hurting four people.

February 2019: Eric McGinnis from Texas was sentenced for using 3D technology and ghost gun parts to build his own untraceable AR-15 assault rifle. McGinnis who referred to himself as “Eric the Ruler” was unable to legally purchase a firearm from a federally-licensed gun dealer when the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) flagged him as a prohibited purchaser due to a protective order against him from an "act of family violence" against his girlfriend. He had a 'hit list' of U.S. lawmakers.

April 2019: Fresno police (California) patrolling southeast Fresno seized a “ghost gun” from a suspected gang member during a traffic stop.

May 2019: The Waterbury police (Connecticut) arrested a man who had a 3D-printed gun with a bullet in the chamber. He didn’t have a pistol permit and they found two bags of heroin on him.

August 2019: The semi-automatic assault-style rifle that an ex-con used to shoot three California Highway Patrol officers — one fatally — was a homemade "ghost gun" designed to skirt the state's strict ban on such weapons. It is at least the third semi-automatic assault-style rifle assembled from parts used in a high-profile shooting in California since 2013. The shooter, 49-year-old Aaron Nathaniel Luther, had a criminal record dating back to 1992. He spent a decade in state prison after a conviction for the attempted second-degree murder of a police officer as well as three counts of burglary, according to court records.

November 14, 2019: A ghost gun was used by a 16-year-old to kill two students and injure three others at the Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California.

January 1, 2020: On New Year’s Day, a 54-year-old Rhode Island woman was killed with a 3D/ghost gun.

March, 2020: People Are Panic-Buying Untraceable ‘Ghost Guns’ Online in the Coronavirus Pandemic: Ghost guns are typically sold as kits online and marketed as 80% complete, but they evade federal regulation because they’re not classified as real firearms by the ATF.

July 2020: Davud Sungur, a 20-year-old George Mason University student was arraigned for building homemade guns and parts to modify weapons to become fully automatic in his family’s Fairfax City, Virginia home. He was arrested in March after allegedly selling eight guns to undercover Fairfax County police officers. He also had a 3-D printer at his home and was able to make a plastic piece known as a “drop in auto sear” to modify a weapon.

July 2020: Three Farmingdale New York residents were arrested after police said weapons, ammunition, narcotics and bomb-making equipment were found in their house. Daniel Petrizzo, 33; Tiffany Pawson, 32; and Eddie Fernandez, 35, each face weapon, drug and conspiracy charges. Police officers found 22 "ghost" guns, thousands of rounds of ammunition, lab equipment, solid and liquid chemicals that could be used to create high-powered explosives, and a book titled "The Preparatory Manual of Explosives Fourth Edition, Volume 1”.

VIOLENCE POLICY CENTER-INCIDENTS INVOLVING 3D-PRINTED FIREARMS

There have already been several incidents that illustrate the potential dangers of making 3D-printed guns widely available. Read more HERE.

ACTIONS NEEDED TO PERMANENTLY #Ban3Dguns & #BanGhostGuns

CLICK HERE TO SIGN THIS PETITION TO IMPLORE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, GOVERNORS AND STATE LEGISLATORS TO #Ban3Dguns and #BanGhostGuns.

ON THE STATE LEVEL:

Work with your Governors and State Representatives to ban 3-D and Ghost Guns in your state.

In 2016, California Governor Jerry Brown made untraceable firearms illegal with Assembly Bill 857, requiring anyone who manufactures or assembles a homemade firearm to first apply for a unique serial number or other marking from the state Department of Justice, which must then be affixed to the weapon. The bill also prohibits the sale or transfer of any self-assembled firearms but not “80% receivers”. Gov. Brown vetoed AB1673, a bill that would have extended the definition of “firearm” to include unfinished frames or receivers. View Assembly Bill 857 HERE.
New Jersey passed its ghost gun bill in 2018. View the bill HERE.
Connecticut Against Gun Violence led the initiative to ban 3D and ghost guns in Connecticut in 2019. HB 7219: AN ACT CONCERNING GHOST GUNS bans guns without serial numbers and regulate those which are sold in a form requiring the purchaser to finish assembly or that are homemade or 3-D printed.
The Washington Legislature passed Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s agency request bill HB 1739, prohibiting the manufacture or possession of untraceable, undetectable 3D-printed guns. The bill also prohibits sending a printable gun file to a person who is ineligible to possess firearms. The bill designates undetectable firearms as contraband. The measure was signed by Gov. Jay Inslee on May 7, 2019.
New York introduced a bill to ban ghost guns in 2019. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/s2143 On January 2, 2020, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the 18th proposal of his 2020 State of the State agenda — banning untraceable "ghost guns" by requiring firearm parts be sold only to authorized buyers, requiring the same eligibility requirements as a completed firearm and that all major parts receive a serial number.
On February 6, 2020, Govern Tom Wolf calls for a ban on ghost guns in Pennsylvania.

Contact your Attorney General to ask them to:

Protect your state by seeking a temporary/permanent injunction to stop Defense Distributed from publishing, exporting and/or distributing printable-gun computer files to IP addresses in your state. The New Jersey Ex Parte order can be viewed HERE.
Join the 19 states (CT, MA, NY, MD, NJ, OR, PA, WA + California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia) + Washington, D.C. that have filed a lawsuit against the UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE; MICHAEL R. POMPEO, in his official capacity as Secretary of State; DIRECTORATE OF DEFENSE TRADE CONTROLS; MIKE MILLER, in his official capacity as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Trade Controls; SARAH HEIDEMA, in her official capacity as Director of Policy, Office of Defense Trade Controls Policy; DEFENSE DISTRIBUTED; SECOND AMENDMENT FOUNDATION, INC.; AND CONN WILLIAMSON. The lawsuit can be viewed HERE.
Join the 21 other state attorneys general in a letter criticizing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Attorney General Jeff Sessions for settling the federal lawsuit against Defense Distributed and urge them to withdraw from the settlement before the company publishes the computer files permanently. The multistate letter can be viewed HERE.
Send a letter to DreamHost to inform them that the website https://defcad.com/ (“Defcad Website”), operated by the company Defense Distributed, is violating their Acceptable Use Policy. The DreamHost letter can be viewed HERE.

ON THE FEDERAL LEVEL:

Contact your Congressional Representatives---including Republican Members of 116th Congress, to cosponsor and support the following federal legislative proposals to regulate 3-D and ghost guns.

As of JULY 20, 2020:

S.3743 — 116th Congress (2019-2020) Untraceable Firearms Act of 2020 Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (Introduced 05/14/2020) Cosponsors: (15)

H.R.3553 — 116th Congress (2019-2020) Untraceable Firearms Act of 2019: To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to ensure that all firearms are traceable, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep. Cicilline, David N. [D-RI-1] (Introduced 06/27/2019) Cosponsors: (38)
S.1831 — 116th Congress (2019-2020) 3D Printed Gun Safety Act of 2019: This bill makes it unlawful to intentionally publish digital instructions for programming a three-dimensional printer to make a firearm. Sponsor: Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] (Introduced 06/13/2019) Cosponsors: (29)
H.R.3265 — 116th Congress (2019-2020) 3D Printed Gun Safety Act of 2019: This bill makes it unlawful to intentionally publish digital instructions for programming a three-dimensional printer to make a firearm. Sponsor: Rep. Deutch, Theodore E. [D-FL-22] (Introduced 06/13/2019) Cosponsors: (50)
S.459 — 116th Congress (2019-2020) Stopping the Traffic in Overseas Proliferation of Ghost Guns Act: To protect the American people from undetectable ghost guns, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ] (Introduced 02/12/2019) Cosponsors: (5)
H.R.1134 — 116th Congress (2019-2020) Prevent Crime and Terrorism Act of 2019: This bill prohibits the President from removing various items from the U.S. Munitions List, which lists weapons and related equipment that are subject to export controls. Items that the President may not remove from the list include combat shotguns, silencers, flame throwers, electric armor, and various types of ammunition and weapons components.
Sponsor: Rep. Torres, Norma J. [D-CA-35] (Introduced 02/08/2019) Cosponsors: (17)
H.R.869 — 116th Congress (2019-2020) Undetectable Firearms Modernization Act Sponsor: Rep. Dean, Madeleine [D-PA-4] (Introduced 01/30/2019) Cosponsors: (31)

Contact the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (202) 648-8510 or e-mail them at fipb@atf.gov to urge them to reclassify ghost gun kits and receivers as firearms.

Ask your supporters to call Donald Trump at 202-456-1111 to ask him to ban 3D and ghost guns.

MITIGATE 3D FILE SHARING ONLINE:

Regrettably, Cody Wilson breached the settlement with the State Department by releasing the files on August 27th and copycat websites and FB group pages are popping up.

If you find any websites or social media pages/people that/who are sharing the 3D gun files then please contact us at info@newtownaction.org so that we can report them to Facebook, Google and other online entities.

GUNS DOWN-ENGAGE 3D PRINTER MANUFACTURERS:

Ask manufacturers of 3D printers to prohibit people from printing homemade guns on their machines. Take action HERE.

OUR OPEN LETTER TO DONALD TRUMP:

50+ gun violence prevention organizations released THIS OPEN LETTER calling on Donald Trump to intervene.

STATE LAWS:

Texas: (Bills have been filed by Rep Terry Canales & Rep Rafael Anchia)

Connecticut: https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/CT-lawmakers-take-aim-at-gun-laws-13571071.php : Law passed in 2019.

Washington: http://mynorthwest.com/1230090/ghost-gun-ban-washington-state-2019/? : Law passed in 2019.

Maryland: https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-gun-control-20190131-story.html : HB0740 failed in 2019.

Pennsylvania: (Rep Madeleine Dean) https://www.philly.com/news/gun-control-d-printed-undetectable-dean-congress-20190131.html

Rhode Island: (Sen. Cynthia Coyne) https://www.wpri.com/politics/ri-state-senator-proposes-ban-on-3-d-printed-guns/1775768061 Gov. Gina Raimondo has signed a bill banning so-called “ghost guns” in Rhode Island on June 23, 2020.

New York: Senate Bill S2143A in committee. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/s2143

RECENT ADVOCACY EFFORTS:

July 24, 2018: Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was taken at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14th and the Founder of Orange Ribbons For Jamie, Newtown Action Alliance (NAA), Jr Newtown Action Alliance and NoRA spent the day on Capitol Hill to alert Congress that the State Department settled Wilson’s lawsuit and to urge all to take immediate action to stop the release of 3D downloadable files.

Fred attends the House Democratic Caucus meeting to discuss the clear and present domestic and foreign threat resulting from Trump Administration’s settlement with Wilson.

After numerous meetings with Senators and House Reps, it was determined that an emergency injunction from state attorneys general was needed to immediately stop the release of the 3-D blueprints on August 1st. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, MA AG Maura Healey and CT AG George Jepson were contacted.

July 25, 2018: Senators Bob Menendez and Ed Markey ask Mike Pompeo about the Defense Distributed settlement at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee public hearing. Watch THIS video of Mike Pompeo committing to reviewing the 3D-printed gun policy.

Senator Richard Blumenthal works to finalize the Untraceable Firearms Act of 2018.

Senator Bill Nelson works on his legislation to stop 3-D guns and Rep. Cicilline agrees to sponsor a house bill.

Leader Chuck Schumer works to elevate this issue in the media.

July 26, 2018: Congressman Ted Deutch (FL-22) led 40 Members of Congress in THIS letter calls on House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (VA-06) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (CA-39) to hold a hearing on the U.S. State Department's recent settlement with Defense Distributed allowing the online publication of blueprints to produce 3-D printed guns. The letter was co-signed by Reps. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Alcee Hastings (FL-20), Lloyd Doggett (TX-35), Bill Pascrell, Jr. (NJ-09), Michael Capuano (MA-07), Joseph Crowley (NY-14), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Raul Grijalva (AZ-03), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23), Hank Johnson, Jr. (GA-04), Niki Tsongas (MA-03), Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01), Robin Kelly (IL-02), Katherine Clark (MA-05), Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Debbie Dingell (MI-12), A. Donald McEachin (VA-04), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Seth Moulton (MA-06), James McGovern (MA-02), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Albio Sires (NJ-08), Danny Davis (IL-07), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), Mike Thompson (CA-05), Charlie Crist (FL-13), Brendan Boyle (PA-13), Colleen Hanabusa (HI-01), Sander Levin (MI-09), Adam Schiff (CA-28), Brad Sherman (CA-30), Scott Peters (CA-52), Stephanie Murphy (FL-07), Thomas Suozzi (NY-03), Jim Cooper (TN-05), Maxine Waters (CA-43), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), and Peter A. DeFazio (OR-04).

Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) Ed Markey (D-MA), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Ben Cardin (D-MD) sends THIS letter to Mike Pompeo to suspend the special treatment given to Defense Distributed and asks for a written explanation and briefing on the reason behind the decision to settle Cody Wilson’s lawsuit.

The New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal sends a cease and desist letter to Defense Distributed.

The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Everytown for Gun Safety and Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence files a lawsuit against Defense Distributed.

50+ gun violence prevention organizations release THIS OPEN LETTER calling on Donald Trump to intervene.

July 27, 2018: U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman in Austin, Texas dismisses the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Everytown for Gun Safety and Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence request for a temporary restraining order blocking Defense Distributed on procedural grounds.

Wilson breaching the settlement, uploads ten 3D gun files on his website and by Sunday night, his 3D files for AR-15s were downloaded 1,000 times.

July 29, 2018: Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro and Governor Wolf successfully block access to new 3D downloadable gun files in Pennsylvania at an emergency hearing on Sunday night.

July 30, 2018: Eight states + D.C. (@AGOWA Bob Ferguson/CT @AGJepsen/@MassAGO Maura Healey/@AGBecerra/@NewYorkStateAG Barbar Underwood/MD AG @BrianFrosh @NewJerseyOAG Gurbir Grewal/@ORDOJ Ellen Rosenblum/@PAAttorneyGen Josh Shapiro/DC AG @AGKarlRacine) filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration to stop a settlement and rule changes that would Defense Distributed to post files online to allow individuals to print guns using 3D printers.

Attorneys General from 21 states sent a letter asking Mike Pompeo and Jeff Sessions to withdraw from the settlement immediately.

NoRA’s Alyssa Milano’s Op-Ed is published on CNN to increase awareness. Read it HERE.

July 31, 2018: NJ Attorney General Gurbir Grewal‏ won in the courts in the state. Wilson agrees not to post any NEW 3D printable guns until their September hearing.

With only hours left, Seattle Federal Judge Robert Lasnik grants Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s Request for Temporary Restraining Order for the Trump Administration to keep plastic gun software for 3D printers off the internet. The lawsuit argues that: 1. “If the federal government were not permitted to regulate the dissemination of the downloadable guns, it argued, “they could be used to threaten U.S. national security, U.S. foreign policy interests, or international peace and stability. 2. The Trump Administration action is arbitrary and capricious, also in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. 3. The settlement violates the Tenth Amendment by infringing on states’ rights to regulate firearms.”

Senators Schumer, Markey, Blumenthal, Nelson and Menendez introduce their bill to stop 3D & ghost guns.

Though the House is out of town until September, Reps. Rep David Cicilline (D-R.I.) Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) introduced a bill during Tuesday’s pro forma session to prohibit the manufacturing or possession of a 3-D printed guns.

Donald Trump tweets “I am looking into 3-D Plastic Guns being sold to the public. Already spoke to the NRA, doesn’t seem to make much sense.”

NoRA sent communication to 3-D printer manufacturers to engage them.

August 1, 2018: Fred Guttenberg from Orange Ribbons for Jamie contacted Sheryl Sanberg from Facebook to ask her to help mitigate the released files from being shared and the FB team will be establishing a policy on how to deal with these files. Google and Twitter have been contacted as well.

A copycat website CodeFreeSpeech.com pops up. Canadian host was contacted and the website is taken down.

Senator Ed Markey Intends to Put Hold on State Department Nominee Until President Trump Reverses Dangerous 3D Gun Policy. View the press release HERE.

Wilson tells CBS This Morning, “What I ‘m doing is legally protected. I will go to the appellate level. I will go to the Supreme Court. I will waste all my time.” (This is why we must #StopKavanaugh!). Read the article HERE.

August 2, 2018: CodeFreeSpeech.com is online again. Wilson claims the lawsuits will not hold water. Read the article HERE.

August 3, 2018: U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) will join law enforcement, advocates and Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin in urging passage of federal legislation he has introduced to protect the public from untraceable, undetectable and downloadable 3D “ghost guns” in Hartford, Connecticut.

According to THIS Reuter's Story, "California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia were added in a Thursday court filing to the list of eight mainly Democratic-controlled states and the District of Columbia who sued the U.S. government in federal court."

Washington State AG Bob Ferguson tweeted that the preliminary injunction hearing in 3D-printed guns case is now set for 8/21. It appears the temporary restraining order (TRO) will be in effect until August 28th. View the updated TRO HERE.

Rep. Ted Deutch introduced the 3D Printed Gun Safety Act (mirrors Senator Nelson's bill) with @RepMaloney @RepSchneider @RepDWStweets to block publication of files that print 3D guns.

August 6, 2018: Google agrees to help mitigate the 3D gun files from spreading since 3D downloadable files and ghost guns in the hands of prohibited users result in tangible world harm/danger.

August 7, 2018: NoRA sent this coalition letter signed by hundreds of celebrities, activists, elected leaders, and groups is expected to be sent to Mike Pompeo.

August 9, 2018: Attorney General Maura Healey joined the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, Massachusetts Major City Chiefs of Police, and Massachusetts District Attorneys Association, to issue THIS PUBLIC SAFETY NOTICE that details the serious violations of state law arising from the creation of these undetectable guns. The public safety notice serves as a reminder that the creation, transfer, or possession of a weapon made with a 3D printer can subject an individual to serious criminal or civil liability under Massachusetts law.

August 9, 2018: The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence filed an Amicus brief in US District Court in the Western District of Washington in Seattle in support of the States' Attorneys General assertions.

August 10, 2018: Attorney General Maura Healey today led a coalition of 22 state attorneys general in sending a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions demanding that the Department of State take immediate action to remove from several websites downloadable plans for 3D-printed guns that were illegally posted online.

View the letter HERE.

August 14, 2018: Leading 3D printing companies NextFab, Sculpteo & Materialise are trying to get ahead of the issue of 3D gun blueprints. Some companies are using gun-blocking software to deter people from printing functional guns. Read more HERE.

August 15, 2018: The Trump administration urged the federal judge to not stand in the way of public access to blueprints for making guns using 3D printers. Read the article HERE. Meanwhile Jeff Sessions made a pledge that the DOJ would prosecute those who make 3D undetectable guns. Read the article HERE.

Shopify, the Canadian provider of online stores for more than 600,000 businesses, for bans the sale of some semi-automatic firearms and 3D-printed guns. Read more HERE.

August 16, 2018: The Brady Campaign led a group of GVP and international advocacy partners to send a letter to Secretary Mike Pompeo to demand that the State Department take following action:

(1) Issue cease and desist orders to any and all parties attempting to share blueprints of 3-D guns

online, including Illinois State Representative Allen Skillicorn and the Firearms Policy Coalition and

Firearms Policy Foundation of Sacramento, CA.

(2) Instruct your department to comply with Brady’s Freedom of Information Act request, calling for

documents about the sudden change in approach to the Defense Distributed lawsuit. That request

was submitted on July 16, 2018, and is now overdue. Brady has not received a single responsive

document to date. If the State Department does not comply with its legal obligations regarding this

request, Brady will be forced to file a lawsuit.

(3) Meet with us to discuss the risks posed by the internet publication of 3-D printed gun blueprints and ways the Administration can protect national security and public safety.

Leading 3D printing companies @NextFab_PHL @sculpteo & @MaterialiseNV are trying to get ahead of the issue of 3D gun blueprints. Some companies are using gun-blocking software to deter people from printing functional guns. Read more HERE.

August 21, 2018: Seattle Federal Judge Robert Lasnik set a follow-up hearing for Aug. 21 in his courtroom in downtown Seattle.

August 22, 2018: Amazon banned the sale of a gun book on Wednesday night for an unexplained violation of the company's rules. The listing for The Liberator Code Book: An Exercise in Freedom of Speech, which had been available on Amazon since Aug. 1, was removed from Amazon's website. Read the article HERE.

August 27, 2018: Seattle Federal Judge Robert Lasnick converted his original TRO to a preliminary injunction, which will remain in place until the case is resolved.

From Judge Lasnik’s order:

“Finally, the federal defendants argue that the States will not be harmed at all because the United States is committed to enforcing the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988. While the Court appreciates the earnestness with which this commitment was made at oral argument, it is of small comfort to know that, once an undetectable firearm has been used to kill a citizen of Delaware or Rhode Island or Vermont, the federal government will seek to prosecute a weapons charge in federal court while the State pursues a murder conviction in state court. The very purpose for which the private defendants seek to release this technical data is to arm every citizen outside of the government’s traditional control mechanisms of licenses, serial numbers, and registration. It is the untraceable and undetectable nature of these small firearms that poses a unique danger. Promising to detect the undetectable while at the same time removing a significant regulatory hurdle to the proliferation of these weapons - both domestically and internationally - rings hollow and in no way ameliorates, much less avoids, the harms that are likely to befall the States if an injunction is not issued.”

RELEVANT ARTICLES/BLOG ON 3D GUNS:

Trump administration sets into motion return of online 3D gun blueprints: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/01/14/3d-printed-gun-blueprints-could-soon-go-back-online/

Americans can legally download 3-D printed guns starting next month: https://www.cnn.com/…/3d-printed-gun-settlement-…/index.html

A LANDMARK LEGAL SHIFT OPENS PANDORA’S BOX FOR DIY GUNS: https://www.wired.com/…/a-landmark-legal-shift-opens-pando…/

What You Need to Know About the 3D Printing of Guns on Demand | Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence: http://www.bradycampaign.org/blog/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-3d-printing-of-guns-on-

THE DANGERS OF 3D-PRINTED GUNS: https://giffords.org/2018/07/the-dangers-of-3d-printed-guns/

The Age of the Downloadable Gun Begins by Steve Israel: https://www.nytimes.com/…/3d-printed-guns-trump-terrorists.…

Chuck Schumer warns of 3-D printed ‘ghost guns’: https://nypost.com/…/chuck-schumer-warns-of-3-d-printed-gh…/

“Download this gun”: 3D-printed semi-automatic fires over 600 rounds: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/03/download-this-gun-3d-printed-semi-automatic-fires-over-600-rounds/

Now there are bullets that won't break your 3D-printed gun: https://mashable.com/2014/11/06/bullets-3d-printed-gun/#CESpfSVIpOqm

Plastic 3D guns printed at home will raise threat level for everyone, especially Congress https://usat.ly/2MdGSvy

RELEVANT ARTICLES ON GHOST GUNS:

Website where people can buy ghost guns parts: https://www.ghostguns.com/

Ghost guns: How criminals circumvent firearm laws: https://www.kob.com/investigative-news/ghost-guns-how-criminals-circumvent-firearm-laws/4997115/#.W1Ymx6G88U0.twitter

Ghost Guns: Untraceable firearms in hands of hobbyists, felons and children: http://wjla.com/features/7-on-your-side/ghost-guns

Sales of DIY firearm kits appear to be booming after the Parkland shooting: https://slate.com/technology/2018/03/sales-of-ghost-guns-appear-to-be-booming-after-parkland.html

Build-it-yourself ‘ghost guns’ bypass California’s tough laws: https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Build-it-yourself-ghost-guns-bypass-12368674.php

I MADE AN UNTRACEABLE AR-15 'GHOST GUN' IN MY OFFICE—AND IT WAS EASY: https://www.wired.com/2015/06/i-made-an-untraceable-ar-15-ghost-gun/

Ghost guns create a haunting problem for Pennsylvania: “At the federal level, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco recovered 42 ghost guns in Philadelphia between June 2018 and June 2019.”: https://fox43.com/2019/12/16/ghost-guns-create-a-haunting-problem-for-pennsylvania/

3D & Ghost Guns