Significant gains are being made in the 3D printing world, with retailers like Staples preparing to start selling mainstream models online for around $1,300. As the reality of printing your own guns at home nears, it also means that more risks will also likely emerge.
One of those risks is the production of weapons. Now, the world’s first gun made with 3D printer technology has been successfully fired in the US and the controversial group which created the firearm, Defense Distributed, plans to make the blueprints available online. And, at least for right now, it’s perfectly legal.
Donna Sellers, from the ATF, told BBC News that the 3D-printed gun, as long as it was not a National Firearms Act weapon (an automatic gun, for example), was legal in the US. She said: “[In the US] a person can manufacture a firearm for their own use. However, if they engage in the business of manufacture to sell a gun, they need a licence.”
