Defense Distributed and their 3D files?

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I know there was settlement a few weeks ago that if I recall correctly basically said that the files could be distributed. Did it end there? The head of the company has been in the news recently for going against court orders. In addition to being arrested in Taiwan for something not gun related, it would seem. I'm having a hard time finding what actually has happened.

What's going on? Are these files illegal, or not?
 
The files are not illegal, and and they've actually been out and available for years. Just not from defense distributed's website. If you make one of the guns, just be sure you are complying with all state/federal laws (the untraceable gun law is one that also bears mentioning as it is not often something home builders think about) and everything should be fine and legal.

What happened to the head of the company has more bearing on the planned legal challenges angle than it actually does on the legality of the parts/code for the 3D printed firearms.
 
Ummmm... What's the untraceable gun law? Never heard of it, and google doesn't help, it would seem. Well, google just likes to give useless articles in liberal rags instead of the actual law...

This is mainly a curiosity, as I don't even have a 3d printer, just curious about them. So what is blocking them from distributing, if the files are legal?
 
The first thing that comes up in google when I search for “untraceable gun law” is the Wikipedia page for the Undetectable Firearms Act.
 
Hmmm.... Found the wiki page, but maybe an add-on to my search engine filtered it to a page further back? Still had to type in the proper name.
 
Sorry guys, yes I was referring to the Undetectable Firearms Act and just botched the name.

All that means is if you decide to print the Liberator or another 100% polymer gun, put a block of metal inside it (as the plans should allow for).
 
Well, the cat is clean out of the bag, no matter what. As soon as the plans were on torrent, they went to the darknet where they'll never be erased.

The "non-detectable" law gets brought up often (and needs to be). Mind, it reads like it only applies to manufacture for sale firearms. That aspect of US law probably, might, could, maybe, perhaps, warrant modification.

The antics of the present lead actor in this drama do not change the facts. However, as with most first efforst, there is more circus than substance involved. Hugo Borchardt insisted to his dieing day that no other pistol was technologically superior to his design (sales of Georg Luger's design notwithstanding).
 
I do believe that several states got a judge to issue a temporary restraining order to halt the files from being downloaded, but the company's owner found a loophole and was emailing the files or sending them in a thumb drive.
 
cnemeth said:
I do believe that several states got a judge to issue a temporary restraining order to halt the files from being downloaded, but the company's owner found a loophole and was emailing the files or sending them in a thumb drive.
Click to expand...

Only partially correct. The order was in reference to his specific company not being able to distribute the files for free. It based its argument on free distribution, leaving selling the files conveniently not at issue. DD had a "pay as much as you want" price for a download, which was effectively a donation to their legal fund.

The order also said nothing about other people/websites/companies distributing or downloading the files. It was very narrowly tailored to one company.

It's not a loophole to abide by the letter of the order. Unless you think the "gun show loophole" is actually a thing.
 
Telekinesis said:
Only partially correct. The order was in reference to his specific company not being able to distribute the files for free. It based its argument on free distribution, leaving selling the files conveniently not at issue. DD had a "pay as much as you want" price for a download, which was effectively a donation to their legal fund.

The order also said nothing about other people/websites/companies distributing or downloading the files. It was very narrowly tailored to one company.
Click to expand...

Fantastic. Thanks, that was the answer I was looking for. Do you have a link for the specific injunction?
 
cnemeth said:
I said loophole cause that made sense 5 minutes after I woke up. Sorry for making such a grace offense
Click to expand...

It's not a grace offense, but it gives people the wrong impression about a group operating legally. It also could make someone who has downloaded the files think that they may be breaking the law, when that's not the case. Accuracy is important ;)

Mauser Lover, here's a PDF of the order.

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/cho.../3D-printed_guns_preliminary_injunction.0.pdf


And here's a good source for legal documentation about the Defense Distributed cases. I'm not sure if the order has been posted here yet, but there's quite a bit of info.

http://joshblackman.com/blog/about-josh/defense-distributed-v-u-s-department-of-state/
 
Goodness gracious, that's going to be a bit of reading (the blog). Thanks! That's (the PDF of the restraining order) what I was looking for!
 
This just hit the news few days ago:

A puppet technician with the Broadway production of The Lion King was using a 3D printer to print a gun at the theater, police say.

Officers were called to Manhattan's Minskoff Theater on Friday, where they say they found 47-year-old puppet technician Ilya Vett in the process of printing a handgun.

New York City police Officer James Taylor says that when he arrived at a production and prop room for the musical, he saw a 3D printer producing a hard black plastic object "shaped like a revolver in that the object has a hand grip and a pointed, snub-nosed nozzle" and "an empty space where it is customary for a cylinder holding live rounds of ammunition to be placed."

Printed guns have been in the headlines recently, as several states moved to block a Texas-based company from posting and selling plans for the guns online. Last month, a federal judge in Seattle granted a preliminary injunction preventing the publication of online blueprints for the guns.

Vett was arrested and charged with attempted criminal possession of a firearm. According to the criminal complaint, he told a detective that he was making the gun as a gift for his brother, who lives upstate and has a firearms license. Vett said the 3D printer was his own and he had brought it to work because his own workshop was too dusty, the complaint says.

The defendant reportedly explained that he found the plans for the gun online and downloaded them to a memory card. The card was inserted into the printer, which police say was powered on, moving and in operation when they arrived.

--https://www.npr.org/2018/09/24/651158206/lion-king-puppet-technician-arrested-after-allegedly-printing-3d-gun-at-theater​

This guy is from my home town. I don't know him, but I know people who do. I wish him the best, but I have the feeling that this will not turn out well for him.
 
Heck in a crummy NetFlix movie I just watched, a guy printed a 3D gun and it came with a loaded magazine ready to shoot!:uhoh: They never say much about the ammo, projectile, primer and powder, There is a You Tube of a guy making an AR from recycled beer cans. He is real machinist and made a real AR but with $20,000.00 worth of machinery.
All much to do about nothing.
If someone has the money to buy or access to a 3D printer, I would think they could get a real gun, for a lot less.
 
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