Judge extends US ban on 3-D printed guns

By Umar Farooq

WASHINGTON

A federal judge extended a ban on publishing instructions for 3-D printed guns Monday, giving gun-control groups a victory against the Donald Trump administration.

The government reached a deal in June with the Texas-based nonprofit Defense Distributed to post instructions online for the creation of the guns, which were made of plastic and much more difficult to detect.

In response, 19 U.S. states as well as the District of Columbia, sued the Trump administration saying that online instructions would allow access to weapons without proper regulation.

"The resulting settlement agreement, if carried through, threatens to undermine national security and the national defense of the United States by authorizing the posting and downloading of computer files allowing the fabrication of dangerous make-at-home firearms by any person anywhere in the world," the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence wrote in a letter to a judge in Texas.

Judge Robert Lasnik issued a temporary ban July 31st on the distribution of plans to create the weapons a few hours before they were to be released, citing that there were serious First Amendment concerns.

The ban was set to expire Monday but Lasnik extended it until the case is fully resolved.