****BREAKING: PA AG GETS INJUNCTION AGAINST SPEC FILES FOR 3D-PRINTED GUNS IN PA****

[BumRushDaShow]

Pa. officials block access to 3D-printed gun files, seek national injunction

Justin Udo
July 29, 2018 - 11:42 pm



PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- There's been growing concern after a Texas-based company announced they had plans to release files over the Internet that would allow 3-D printer users to create their own real life guns. Now, state officials say they have successfully blocked the release of the gun specs to anyone in the Keystone State, and will be aiming for nation-wide injunction.

In a press release, officials say an emergency hearing in federal court was called, and an agreement has been struck between the state of Pennsylvania and Defense Distributed, the company seeking to distribute downloadable gun files. Officials say, Defense Distributed has agreed to make its sites inaccessible to PA users, as well as not uploading any new 3-D gun files.

"Once these untraceable guns are on our streets, in our schools we can never get them back, so we sued to stop them from being able to do this," Attorney General Josh Shapiro tells KYW Newsradio.

The Pennsylvania's lawsuit states that Defense Distributed is seeking to bypass the established legal requirements by instantaneously delivering real, operational firearms to anyone in PA with an internet connection and a 3D printer, officials say. "The threat of untraceable guns in the hands of unknown owners is too daunting to stand by and not take action," said Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf.

https://kywnewsradio.radio.com/articles/news/pa-officials-block-access-3d-printed-gun-files-seek-national-injunction

Link to tweet

TEXT

AG Josh Shapiro
✔
@PAAttorneyGen
· 7h
Replying to @PAAttorneyGen

PA lawmakers have spent decades carefully crafting our gun laws. They've imposed rules about background checks, age restrictions, the licensing process, etc. This would bypass all of that - and once they are out on the streets of PA, we'll never get them back.

AG Josh Shapiro
✔
@PAAttorneyGen

.@GovernorTomWolf, @PAStatePolice & I understand this, we know what's at stake, and we will do whatever is necessary to ensure that people can't just print a deadly weapon on a whim. pic.twitter.com/B2iCY1RsjP
9:30 PM - Jul 29, 2018

The PA Attorney General will be filing for a nationwide injunction this morning!

[appleannie1943]

1. Thank you Govenor Wolf and Josh Shapiro.

[MyOwnPeace]

2. Well,,,,,,,,

I guess AG Shapiro won't be getting any "special envelopes" from the NRA anymore!

Imagine, a government worker actually working for the majority!!

[gademocrat7]

3. Good news.

[Tucker08087]

4. I have gun-violence related PTSD

So I’ve been willfully ignoring these posts. So pardon my ignorance when I ask, “What does the NRA have to say about this?”

[BumRushDaShow]

8. PA just did this late last night

so not sure if the NRA has response as yet but I expect they will be in court.

[Amishman]

5. censorship on the internet rarely works, if the files are released at all then its uncontrollable

I respect what they are trying to do, but once the files are in circulation they will be available on many different sites

[kcr]

6. Possession of certain types of files can and are made illegal

When 3D printers become readily cheap enough and accessible and easy to use, which will eventually happen, this will change the whole game. The pressure for a whole new type of reform will be too much.

[hexola]

9. When? - pretty sure the cheap 3D printers are already here - entry models @ $150

That ship has sailed!

[kcr]

11. I admit I might be a little behind on this stuff, and I'm far from an expert

but I suspect that entry-level models at this time are a bit slow and the quality is a bit suspect. There's a reason why everyone doesn't have one in their home right now. In fact, hardly anyone does.

[hexola]

13. Very popular in hobbies and modeling...they are in homes

This is much further down the road than you think.

[kcr]

16. Hmm. I don't think we're actually arguing that point :)

Yes, I think it's actually quite a ways down the road. My point was basically that the cheaper and easier the technology gets, the more pressure there will be. The argument that it's pointless to ban any kind of 3D tech because it's the internet is wrong. That argument is based on the idea that the internet is this huge, untameable beast of lawlessness and once things are unleashed they're wild and free and there's nothing you can do about it, so there's no point in even trying.

[BumRushDaShow]

15. What hexola has noted is true

I was shocked that the price point has plummeted, from thousands of dollars per unit down to hundreds.

However I expect the type of raw materials to use in the printer could be the more cost-prohibitive thing... i.e., I recall way back when an early manufactured gun was "printed" and tested, it immediately melted upon firing a bullet.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. Here is what I wrote in the LBN post

Obama Signs Bill to Extend Ban on Plastic Guns
President Obama on Monday signed a bill that extends the ban on plastic firearms for another 10 years.

By Chloe Albanesius
December 10, 2013 2:50PM EST

President Obama on Monday signed a bill that extends the ban on plastic firearms for another 10 years. The president signed the Undetectable Firearms Act extension last night, just hours before it was set to expire. According to Huffington Post reporter Jennifer Bendery, the president - who was in South Africa for Nelson Mandela's memorial service - signed the bill using an "autopen," which allows for remote approval of legislation.

The bill outlaws the manufacture, import, selling, shipment, delivery, possession, transfer, or reception of any firearm that is not detectable by walk-through metal detectors, or has major components that do not generate an accurate image by airport X-ray machines.

The issue made headlines in the last year or two amidst the rise of 3D printers, which some enthusiasts have used to print plastic guns.

Leading the charge was non-profit group Defense Distributed, which launched Defcad, known as the Pirate Bay of 3D printing. Cody Wilson, University of Texas student and Defense Distributed founder, raised $20,000 in a grassroots online campaign to lease a Stratasys uPrint SE, but when word of his plans to print guns got out, the company showed up at his house to pick it up. Later, the State Department forced Defcad to remove its 3D-printable gun files because they violated International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).

https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2428186,00.asp

Interesting paper (PDF) about this here -

Should Government Regulate Illicit Uses of 3D Printing?
BY DANIEL CASTRO

MAY 2013
<...>

POLICY OPTIONS
There are three levels at which government could try to regulate 3D printing: the printed items, the information, and the 3D printers.

First, government can regulate the final 3D-printed products. For example, the government could restrict possession of 3D-printed guns or ammunition. We already have some laws like this in place. The Undetectable Firearms Act, passed in 1988, prohibits gun makers from manufacturing guns that cannot be detected by metal detectors and x-ray machines. This legislation has been extended once, but is set to expire in December 2013.(6) In addition to calling for reauthorization of the ban, lawmakers have proposed legislation to explicitly outlaw the production of such weapons in the home(7). In January of this year, New York Congressman Steve Israel (D-NY) called for new legislation to prohibit consumers from using 3D printing to make high capacity magazines and guns.(8) This type of approach has precedent as laws already restrict ownership of certain types of goods. As with similar efforts to prohibit individual behavior, such as growing marijuana in small amounts at home, enforcement is difficult. However, such measures can be a deterrent.

Second, government can restrict selling, distributing, accessing, or possessing certain information. When domestic intermediaries provide access to restricted information, regulation can be easy. Getting content removed from a website like DEFCAD is straightforward since it is a non-profit based out of Texas and the individuals operating the website are U.S. citizens. Similarly, the government could coerce compliance with a notice-and-takedown regime for any illicit 3D printing blueprints for websites hosted in the United States or by U.S.-based organizations.

But even if the government restricts domestic organizations from selling 3D printing designs for illicit goods (just as it restricts organizations from hosting other types of illegal digital content), it cannot restrict those operating outside of its jurisdiction. If this information is hosted outside of the United States or distributed enough in nature that there is no clear entity to take enforcement action against (e.g. an anonymous peer-to-peer network), then restricting access to this type of information becomes much more difficult. Certainly, other measures can be used, such as blocking access to the sites hosting this content, but past efforts to implement these types of measures during the SOPA/PIPA debate were politically unpopular.

If the government cannot regulate intermediaries from disseminating the information, it can outlaw possession of the information itself. In this case the government would go after individual users simply for having banned information, such as it does for possession of child pornography. Not surprisingly, attempts by government to control access to information often become contentious because of concerns about censorship and violations of free speech. But again, there is precedent. Governments already make it illegal to possess certain types of weapons-related information. For example, regardless of whether it is in a book or on the Internet, it is illegal to disseminate instructions on how to make certain types of explosives or weapons of mass destruction.(9) Still, because this is such a contentious free speech issue, it is not likely that Congress will pursue this path for 3D technology.

http://www2.itif.org/2013-regulate-illicit-3d-printing.pdf

AND TO ADD TO THE ABOVE -
And as a note about "censorship" - the info may be out there but providers can block your access to it (and then it goes on the dark web and becomes a wack-a-mole operation). I.e., the DMCA may come into play at some point and circumventing access. E.g., you can't "publish" child porn and those who do and are found to have it can and have been prosecuted.

[Tarc]

10. A geo-based ban like that is trivial to bypass, this is silly

Real action needs to be taken where this business is actually headquartered. This is, at best, symbolic.

[BumRushDaShow]

12. The company agreed to do this

but yes, it is a bit meaningless for the individual who knows how IP addresses work and how to get around it. But the average person is clueless.

[BumRushDaShow]

14. Additional related info

3D-printed guns could soon pose challenge to regulators
Jul 29, 2018 2:48 PM EDT

<...>

Can the U.S. regulate “ghost guns”?

The rise of the “ghost gun” presents a regulatory challenge, but a few local and state governments are already taking measures to restrict the manufacturing and usage of these DIY guns.

In New Jersey, state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal sent a cease-and-desist letter to Wilson last Thursday, threatening legal action should his company make the gun designs public. “The files you plan to publish offer individuals, including criminals, codes that they can use to create untraceable firearms–and even to make assault weapons that are illegal in my state,” he wrote.
“While we’re paying attention to this novelty item, we’re doing an injustice to the bigger picture and bigger cause.” — Andrew McClurg, law professor at the University of Memphis

Back in 2013, Philadelphia became the first U.S. city to ban 3D-printed firearms, around the same time Wilson first fired The Liberator. And in California, Governor Jerry Brown passed a law in 2016 requiring those who make 3D-printed firearms to apply for a serial number from the Department of Justice; the law takes effect this year. The state has also introduced legislation mandating 3D-printed guns must contain a piece of stainless steel, so they don’t evade metal detectors—a de facto modernization of the federal Undetectable Firearms Act.

At the federal level, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has demanded the government reverse its June decision. At a press conference on July 22, he said, “The danger that could happen can be enormous. To have crazy people have easy access, to have terrorists have easy access to this kind of website and allow them to make plastic AR 15s undetected — so-called “ghost guns” — justifies the imagination,” according to the . On July 23, Schumer’s fellow lawmakers, including Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions asking him to explain the government’s recent settlement decision.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/3d-printed-guns-could-soon-pose-challenge-to-regulators

[hexola]

17. I wonder where traditional gun makers are on this issue?

You'd think this would be like Alcohol and Marijuana...conflict of interests!

[Recursion]

19. I'm sure they'd love to stop having to actually make the guns

and just sell the designs to people.

[Calista241]

24. I suspect they're somewhat ambivalent.

there are inherent negatives to a 3D printed gun, and those negatives will persist for decades, if not longer.

Reliability, accuracy, and long term dependability are key aspects of owning a gun for a gun owner. Plastic guns that come from 3D printers are and will be limited use weapons, as least for the foreseeable future.

A hunter wants to be able to dependably hit a target at range. Same thing with your gun range plinkers. They all want to hit a target up to a moderate range repeatedly and dependably. These types of gun owners go through hundreds of rounds in a shooting outing. Unless they want to buy 100 guns for such an experience, they're SOL.

[Recursion]

18. It's a valiant effort, but walls against data rarely work

Here's hoping, though.

[peggysue2]

20. Hats off to Wolf but . . .

this needs to be an national injunction because the whole idea is absolutely INSANE. The PA Attorney General is doing exactly the right thing.

As if there weren't enough guns in the country or enough yahoos to shoot things up.

Nothing like self-destructive decisions to add to the toxic mix we find ourselves in. Oy!

[BumRushDaShow]

21. The AG is filing for a national injunction this morning.

Not sure how that will go but we shall see.

[peggysue2]

22. And good for him, too

Hopefully he's successful because the whole issue is nuts.

[BumRushDaShow]

23. Kick!

[fescuerescue]

25. They should burn those servers. That kind of knowledge should be restricted

Any server that contains that information should be burned at about 451 degrees.

I'm glad that PA residents have been protected.

[inwiththenew]

26. That genie is already out of the bottle

Hate to rain on his parade but those files have been out on the download sites for some time now. I mean gigs worth of them. I know they are not officially on Defense Distributed site but they aren't hard to find.

[BumRushDaShow]

27. The Timothy McVeigh blow-up-a-government-building-with-a-truck plans are out there too

along with all kinds of other illegal shit... But that doesn't mean that restrictions to access stuff like that through legitimate sites can't be regulated. Getting stuff through the dark web is a whole other issue akin to the "underground" / "under-the-table" world (but electronic).

Cigarettes can't be sold to minors online and the verification systems are pretty much useless. However if an undercover agent posing as a minor attempted to buy them from a site that didn't have some sort of verification system in place, the site can be in violation and liable.