A first-of-its-kind law in New York could force 3D printers sold for homes and business to come equipped with technology blocking them from making guns.The new requirement, also under consideration in California, attempts to thwart the latest technique for producing untraceable “ghost guns” that have turned up in crimes, but there are questions about whether the technology could work, and concerns about its effect on personal privacy and constitutional rights.About one-third of US states have already taken steps to ban or regulate build-it-yourself firearms that lack serial numbers and evade the background checks required to purchase guns from federally licensed dealers. What makes the new effort unique is that it targets the equipment used to produce the firearms, not the people who make them.
A person holds a 3D-printed handgun frame at the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, in Martinsburg, West Virginia, on in March 2, 2023.
The blocking technology being pushed in two of the nation’s most populous states has the potential to set industry standards for 3D printers. It could also serve as a model for other Democratic-led states wanting to add to their gun regulations, which often already ban certain semiautomatic weapons and allow firearms to be temporarily confiscated from people deemed to pose a threat to themselves or others.Since 2012, the number of 3D printers worldwide has grown from an estimated 30,000 to more than 3 million, while the industry’s value has multiplied from about US$2 billion to US$26 billion annually, Association of 3D Printing executive chairman Bill Decker said. Although high-end printers cost thousands of US dollars, some 3D printers could be bought for as little as several hundred dollars.
