Making guns at home: Ready, print, fire | The Economist

By EmmaZahn on Sat, 02/16/2013 - 11:36am |

LAST autumn Cody Wilson, a law student at the University of Texas, leased a Stratasys 3D printer. He wanted to print a gun, and more—he and the group he founded, Defense Distributed, wanted to develop blueprints for 3D printing of guns and gun parts, and distribute those blueprints online. Mr Wilson’s motives are overtly political; he wants to “[expand] a free sphere of action...in contradistinction to a planned regulatory scheme...The file is the message. Anyone can have it, anyone can print it, anyone can use it.” Stratasys was not amused. Mr Wilson says they reclaimed their printer before he had even set it up.

URL:

http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2013/02/making-guns-home?fsrc=scn/tw/te/bl/readyprintfire