State To File Lawsuit To Ban Sale Of 3D Printed Guns

NEW YORK – New York State Attorney General Barbara Underwood announced Monday that she will file a lawsuit against the Trump Administration to ban the distribution of 3D printed guns.
In a statement, Attorney General Underwood said it is “simply crazy” to allow criminals the access to make untraceable and undetectable guns using 3D printers. “We won’t stand by as New Yorkers’ safety is jeopardized by this abrupt about-face by the federal government.”
Several over States will join New York in federal court in this lawsuit including, Washington, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Maryland and the District of Columbia.
The controversy began in 2015 when a lawsuit was filed between Defense Distributed, an organization that specializes in open-source, downloadable 3D printed guns and the U.S. Government, in response to the U.S. State Department coming down on a ruling that successfully removed instruction manuals for building 3D printed guns from the web, arguing the manuals violate firearm export laws. The government also stated during the hearing they were “particularly concerned” these guns could be used on a global scale to cause harm to the American people.
The case was finally settled on June 29, 2018, in which the federal government reversed its ruling and made downloadable guns available for public distribution in any form, giving the general public with 3D printers access to build 3D printed guns.
The New York Attorney General argues the reversal of this decision by the Trump Administration violates the Administrative Procedure Act. The lawsuit claims the Trump Administration did not “legally” obtain approval from the Department of Defense, while failing to give Congress 30 days’ notice on the reversal.
The lawsuit also claims the settlement is in violation of the Tenth Amendment by infringing on states’ rights to regulate firearms. New York has in place meant to keep firearms out of the hands of dangerous individuals. That system is jeopardized by the Trump Administration’s action and will be undermined by the distribution of Defense Distributed’s downloadable plans.