States aim to stop internet release of 3D-printed gun plans
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, Defence Distributed, without notifying Congress or the Department of Defence 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.