One thing I do agree with that annoying douchebag on, is that you can’t put the genie back in the bottle. If 3D printer gun models are out there (and I don’t doubt they are) it’s going to be very difficult to stop that information for spreading.

Printable guns are another scare tactic. We are talking about guns that can only fire small caliber rounds and that still require at least a few metal components. There is no such thing as a totally untraceable, all plastic gun. Technically, if there were such a thing, it would be illegal under existing law.

Ghost guns are another freak out buzz word. It's a grey area that is quasi legal as long as you only make it for yourself. If you plan on making them and selling them, you are fucked.

Hell, I can go down to Lowes and buy materials to make a higher caliber zip gun that is actually going to be deadlier than a plastic printed one. With a cork, some glue,plastic vanes, a nail, and a shotgun shell I can make a grenade. With some matches, pipe from Lowes, a firecracker fuse, and threadlocker I can make a pipe bomb.

The point being, you can make damn near anything deadly with some work and access to everyday components. If you want to frighten a gullible populace with a scary plastic 'gun' to further your agenda against guns in general, it's child play to do so.

Good point, but not exactly right.
Plastic guns, yeah, not so scary here in the U.S. where anyone can get an unregistered gun in hours, but in other countries where guns are rare, this gives criminals access to better weapons than the general public, or in many cases better than average police carry.
Also-
There are both 3d printers that can print metal and the guy putting the plans out has a business making small cnc milling machines that can mill guns from his plans in steel. That means these guns can be exactly the same quality as licenced manufacturers make. I would bet there are or will be plans for fully automatic weapons as well.

*controversy

Adding video to channels (Controversy) - requested by MrFisk.

True, I did not consider international applications.

Milled steel would sort of defeat the scare tactic of a "totally invisible, undetectable" gun.

Anything fully automatic would immediately fall under NFA and be extremely illegal if not held to the strict standards in the Act.

Granted, steel makes them detectable, but they're still ghost guns, invisible as far as being able to trace them goes.

Yes, full auto would likely be illegal, but that wouldn't stop many people from making them given the ability....some would be encouraged by that, feeling they were sticking it to the man.

The tricky thing about full auto is that most people avoid it primarily because of the severe penalties. Simply owning one that isn't registered and taxed is opening yourself to up to 10 years in federal prison plus a fine of up to 250k. If you commit a crime with one, they will hit you for the crime and the NFA penalty.

It isn't difficult at all to modify most current semi auto rifles into full auto. Heck, some of the older ones like the SKS can actually duplicate full auto fire by accident via slamfire. People don't do it because of the heavy penalty if you get caught, but it 'is' doable.

Of course, that doesn't take into account international concerns over automatic weapons, where access is usually limited to the military style rifles.

As an aside, you will see people here exploit loopholes like the bump stock to simulate full auto because they can't be subject to the NFA. Personally I think that is a bigger issue than printable guns, at least in the US. I think we still have something like 400-500k of those still floating around. To me it is far more of a 'sky is falling' issue than plastic printed guns, but that's just me.

I think there are 3 real issues with 3D printed guns that are genuinely new dangers worth being concerned about.

1. They completely avoid background checks.

2. They're untraceable to a gun seller.

3. They could lead to relatively inexpensive and unregistered fully automatic weapons.

It does seem that plastic guns are not worth worrying about because they're so terrible. But, metal shaping CNC Mills aren't that expensive and can do a decent job of printing guns at home.

I can't really buy the argument that no one will be interested in printing out machine guns because of the existing criminal penalties. If someone is planning a murder or bank robbery or terrorist attack, they're already expecting a life sentence if they're caught. And, even if they plan to get away with it, a gun that can do the job really well, has no history to trace, and can be destroyed or disposed of right after could just make the crime easier to get away with.