The gun control issue just got a lot tougher

[ecoli]

http://boingboing.net/2012/07/28/report-of-working-3d-printed-g.html#disqus_thread

 

Why bother having gun control when a determined individual with enough resources to buy a 3d printer can just print out a gun from a few specs sheets (without a serial number)

 

A scary application of 3d printer tech or just an extension of an existing problem of gun totin' 'merica?

[Greg H.]

You don't need a 3d printer to make a gun. People have been making improvised weapons out of spare parts since at least WWII - some of them surprisingly accurate.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Improvised_firearm

 

As to your question - gun control isn't the problem. Rabid over-zealous gun control, on the other hand is. Reasonable (yes, I know, that's a subjective term) gun control coupled with responsible gun ownership is what is needed.

[CharonY]

AFAIK you can basically get everything for building a gun legally, except for the receiver part. I do not know how hard (or easy) to manufacture one of those. 3D printers could make it easier, though currently the polymer material could makes tricky if you do not know how to properly make adjustments.

I was also wondering whether it is possible to utilize elements e.g. from replicas together with parts that can also be legally acquired to rebuild a functioning weapon.

Edited July 30, 2012 by CharonY

[ecoli]

Points well taken, but I think the point is that 3d printer tech should improve so that any shlub with a printer can run something off. Obviously its not there yet, but normally when people talk about 3d printers, the issue is copyright infringement, not public safety.

[CharonY]

Also, the death of manufacturers of tabletop game miniatures (well, that is obviously a copyright infringement issue, but these bastards have already eaten so much of my money that I feel compelled to single them out).

Edited July 30, 2012 by CharonY

[ecoli]

Also, the death of manufacturers of tabletop game miniatures (well, that is obviously a copyright infringement issue, but these bastards have already eaten so much of my money that I feel compelled to single them out).

 

 

HaHa Yes! Games Workshop owns my junior high school pocket money and much of my bar mitzvah gifts. Damn warhammer 40k figures are just sitting in my closet now.