The Washington Post has an article about a new public safety problem--plastic guns created by 3-D printers. And while this seems like science fiction, the article indicates that it is possible for people to use 3-D printers to create plastic guns in their own home that are not capable of being detected by metal detectors and which can in fact fire bullets. According to the article:
At a media briefing Wednesday, senior officials of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said they had built and tested the Liberator, a printed handgun designed by Defense Distributed, a Texas organization. Cody Wilson, its co-founder, is a former law student leading a campaign for do-it-yourself firearms.
In one test, ATF officials fired eight rounds from the Liberator. Other tests and simulations showed that the weapon was capable of firing with enough power to injure vital organs.
The Liberator’s designs were downloaded more than 100,000 times in just two days before federal officials demanded their removal in May. The risk, officials said, is not that street criminals will use printed weapons in their day-to-day operations. Rather, ATF officials are concerned about individuals slipping plastic guns past metal detectors and into schools, sporting events or government offices.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
It seems to me that all of the gun public safety measures that we have could be made obsolete if anyone is able to make their own gun at home with a 3-D printer. It would mean that once again people would be vulnerable to others seeking to cause them harm in places previously thought to be safe due to the presence of metal detectors, such as airports and courthouses.
The threat caused by these weapons could become even greater next month.
. . . [A] law banning undetectable firearms is set to expire early next month. Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) is pushing a bill to reauthorize and update the law to account for 3-D printing technology. ATF officials, he said, have consulted on his measure, but it’s stuck in committee and its prospects appear dim. There is a similar effort in the Senate.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Let us hope that Congress comes to its senses and passes a law banning these types of weapons. But given their past behavior on gun issues, I am not optimistic.