Members of the Washington Chapter of Moms Demand Action pose for a photo outside the federal courthouse in Seattle, Wash. on Aug. 21, 2018 after attending a hearing to support the issuance of an injunction to block the online release of plans for printing 3D guns. A federal judge hearing arguments over whether the Trump administration should be allowed to maintain a settlement with a company that wants to post online plans for printing 3D guns said Tuesday that the issue should be decided by th SEATTLE — A federal judge in Seattle hearing arguments over a settlement that allows a Texas company to post online plans for printing 3D guns said Tuesday the overall issue of such untraceable plastic weapons should be decided by the president or Congress. U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik said he’ll rule by Monday on the legal issues involving the settlement between the company and the Trump administration. He added, however, that “a solution to the greater problem is so much better suited to the other two branches of government.” Nineteen states and the District of Columbia sued the federal government, alleging it reached a “covert” settlement with the company, Defense Distributed , without notifying Congress or the Department of Defense about changes it made to an export act that prohibited 3D gun plans from being posted online. The Austin-based company is owned by Cody Wilson, a self-described “crypto-anarchist” who opposes restrictions on gun ownership. Lasnik granted a restraining order on July 31 that […]

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FILE – In this Aug. 1, 2018, file photo, Cody Wilson, with Defense Distributed, holds a 3D-printed gun called the Liberator at his shop in Austin, Texas. ( SEATTLE — A federal judge in Seattle hearing arguments over a settlement that allows a Texas company to post online plans for printing 3D guns said Tuesday the overall issue of such untraceable plastic weapons should be decided by the president or Congress. U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik said he’ll rule by Monday on the legal issues involving the settlement between the company and the Trump administration. He added, however, that "a solution to the greater problem is so much better suited to the other two branches of government." Nineteen states, including Oregon, and the District of Columbia sued the federal government, alleging it reached a "covert" settlement with the company, Defense Distributed, without notifying Congress or the Department of Defense about changes it made to an export act that prohibited 3D gun plans from being posted online. The Austin-based company is owned by Cody Wilson, a self-described "crypto-anarchist" who opposes restrictions on gun ownership. Lasnik granted a restraining order on July 31 that blocked the immediate release of the plans online. The states want him to make it permanent. Washington state Assistant Attorney General Jeff Rupert argued that the government’s decision to allow the posting threatens public safety and should be reversed. Any felon or terrorist with a laptop and a 3D printer could start making firearms that can’t be […]

Click here to view original web page at States aim to stop internet release of 3D-printed gun plans

SEATTLE (AP) — A federal judge in Seattle hearing arguments over a settlement that allows a Texas company to post online plans for printing 3D guns said Tuesday the overall issue of such untraceable plastic weapons should be decided by the president or Congress. U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik said he’ll rule by Monday on the legal issues involving the settlement between the company and the Trump administration. He added, however, that "a solution to the greater problem is so much better suited to the other two branches of government." Nineteen states and the District of Columbia sued the federal government, alleging it reached a "covert" settlement with the company, Defense Distributed, without notifying Congress or the Department of Defense about changes it made to an export act that prohibited 3D gun plans from being posted online. The Austin-based company is owned by Cody Wilson, a self-described "crypto-anarchist" who opposes restrictions on gun ownership. Lasnik granted a restraining order on July 31 that blocked the immediate release of the plans online. The states want him to make it permanent. Washington state Assistant Attorney General Jeff Rupert argued that the government’s decision to allow the posting threatens public safety and should be reversed. The Trump administration may have permitted Texas-based nonprofit Defense Distributed to publish its 3D-printed gun blueprints to the internet, but that new reality has the president himself expressing some concerns, too. Media: Fox5 Any felon or terrorist with a laptop and a 3D printer could start making […]

Click here to view original web page at States aim to stop internet release of 3D-printed gun plans

A federal judge in Seattle is scheduled to hear arguments Tuesday on whether to block a settlement the U.S. State Department reached with a company that would allow it to post blueprints for printing 3D weapons on the internet. The federal agency had tried to stop a Texas company from releasing the plans online , arguing it violated export regulations. But the agency reversed itself in April and entered an agreement with the company that would allow it to post the plans. The company is owned by a self-described "crypto-anarchist" who opposes restrictions on gun ownership. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia sued and last month secured a restraining order to stop that process, and now they want to make that permanent by having the judge convert the restraining order into an injunction. They fear the plans, if disseminated online, could be used by people who are not legally permitted to buy or possess guns. Critics add that because the weapons aren’t made of metal, they would be undetectable. Cody Wilson, owner of Austin, Texas-based Defense Distributed, has said "governments should live in fear of their citizenry." Wilson’s lawyers have said the safety risk from the 3D weapons claimed by the states is largely exaggerated because many of the files are already online. The U.S. Justice Department argues that federal laws already prohibit the manufacture and possession of undetectable plastic guns, and they say the issues raised in this case are different. The State Department oversees regulations involving […]

Click here to view original web page at States aim to stop internet release of 3D-printed gun plans