The World’s First 3D Printed Gun Sparks Controversy

(Newswire.net — September 21, 2015) Las Vegas, NV — Our world, thanks to technology has changed beyond comprehension, sometimes for the better and some cases for the worst.

The growth of 3D printing technology, which is being touted as the future of manufacturing, is one example of an area causing concern.

On Saturday, the world’s first gun made with 3D printer technology was fired in Dallas, Texas – and it sent alarm bells ringing.

The gun, created by Defense Distributed, was a year in the making, and worryingly, the group intend to make the blueprints available online, allowing any criminal with the ability to recreate the firearm.

Naturally, anti-gun campaigners are lobbying against stopping this happening.

The gun, created by Cody Wilson, a 25-year-old law student at the University of Texas, said his plans to make the design available were “about liberty”.

“There is a demand of guns – there just is,” he told the BBC. “There are states all over the world that say you can’t own firearms – and that’s not true anymore.”

“I’m seeing a world where technology says you can pretty much be able to have whatever you want. It’s not up to the political players anymore.”

The issue of technology making things more accessible for the average person to recreate is an issue that is set to become even more prevalent as time goes on.

Victoria Baines, from Europol’s cybercrime center, said that while criminals will likely pursue the traditional route of gaining a firearm at present, this is set to change.

“As time goes on and as this technology becomes more user friendly and more cost effective, it is possible that some of these risks will emerge,” Baines explains.

Jim Graham — who along with his team are hosting the highly anticipated webinar, Kickstarter Millionaire, which trains people on product launching by inviting members into the ‘war room’ of an 8-figure product launch – says that technologies using 3D printers could present a problem and already are being monitored by cybercrime agencies around the world.

“The idea behind this technology is great as it means as printers get cheaper, consumers will be able to download designs and print them out the items as home,” Graham explains.

“But with any new technology comes potential problems – for example, we’ve already seen criminal organizations using it create card readers that are inserted into bank machines. And that is just one example of how this new technology is being used for the wrong purposes – there is sure to be more.”

This is something that Leah Gunn Barrett, from New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, concurs with.

“These guns could fall into the hands of people who should not have guns – criminals, people who are seriously mentally ill, people who are convicted of domestic violence, even children,” Barrett says.

Given that there has been 87 school shootings since Sandy Hook and recently, the world was shocked when a reporter and cameraman were fatally shot during a live broadcast in Virginia, is making a blueprint available online of a firearm really a good idea? No wonder there is outrage from anti-gun campaigners.

 

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