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A Federal Judge Launches a Futile, Unconstitutional Effort to Block Blueprints for 3D-Printed Guns
If there’s a hall of fame for futile, symbolic, and ultimately unconstitutional federal court orders, the temporary restraining order just issued in Seattle blocking Defense Distributed and the Second Amendment Foundation from posting blueprints for 3D-printed guns deserves at least a plaque, if not a full display. The court’s order temporarily overturns a Trump administration legal settlement that reversed an Obama-era policy designed mainly to limit the spread of the relevant files abroad, not here at home. I love NPR’s sardonic Twitter response:
NPR
✔ @NPR
· 16h
Just in: A federal judge in Seattle has issued a temporary order preventing the distribution of online 3-D blueprints of guns.
NPR
✔ @NPR
It’s unclear how the temporary order can be enforced. The plans were already placed online days ago and downloaded thousands of times and posted online elsewhere.
7:04 PM - Jul 31, 2018
NPR gets it. Let’s be clear about what has just happened. A federal court has issued a prior restraint on speech (it’s attempting to block the spread of information; it is not blocking the lawful home manufacture of firearms) that is already thoroughly and completely moot. The files are out. They’re all over the internet. They’ve been copied and reproduced. The judge’s order can’t change that fact.
Earlier today I published a lengthy explainer of the factual and legal issues surrounding the 3D-printed gun controversy. I’d urge you to read the whole thing
but the bottom line is easy to understand. First, home manufacture of weapons is clearly lawful, and it has been common practice in the United States since before the founding of the nation. Second, it is thus just as lawful to “print” a gun as it is to assemble one with parts in your garage. Third, the plans to print guns are widely-available on the internet — and have been for some time.
entirely lawful products. I would say this is dangerous, but given the high likelihood that his order will be overturned, let’s just call it irresponsible.
One final note. Watch for an avalanche of misinformation in media reports about the injunction. I’m going to point you to a number of tweets from the Washington Free Beacon’s Stephen Gutowski. He’s a one-man fact-checking machine.
Stephen Gutowski
✔ @StephenGutowski
This report has a number of inaccuracies. Much of the framing in this clip is just plain wrong. Wilson hasn't posted blueprints for how to make an AR-15 completely out of printed parts since that's not possible. The gun designs available on his site aren't undetectable.
CBS News
✔ @CBSNews
"If I allow you to download an AR-15, I don't believe that I provide you with anything other than the general knowledge of what an AR-15 is."
Cody Wilson, man behind 3D-printed gun blueprints, talks to @tonydokoupil on @CBSEveningNews https://cbsn.ws/2n5FcJD
We are in the grips of a bizarre political panic that is disconnected from the facts and the law but is deeply connected not just to the larger culture war over gun rights in the United States but also to the deep suspicion of virtually any action taken by the Trump administration. There was a time when we could have greater confidence in federal courts to take a breath, soberly consider the issues, and introduce a measure of reason and rationality to legal debate. In some courts — especially when Trump administration actions are at issue — those days are long past.
Update: The court’s opinion is now online, and it’s a depressing read. It contains no meaningful First Amendment analysis, and its finding that there would be irreparable harm absent an injunction is — given the facts — astounding:
More at ...
Federal Judge Launches Futile, Unconstitutional Effort to Block Blueprints for 3D-Printed Guns | National Review
If there’s a hall of fame for futile, symbolic, and ultimately unconstitutional federal court orders, the temporary restraining order just issued in Seattle blocking Defense Distributed and the Second Amendment Foundation from posting blueprints for 3D-printed guns deserves at least a plaque, if not a full display. The court’s order temporarily overturns a Trump administration legal settlement that reversed an Obama-era policy designed mainly to limit the spread of the relevant files abroad, not here at home. I love NPR’s sardonic Twitter response:
NPR
✔ @NPR
· 16h
Just in: A federal judge in Seattle has issued a temporary order preventing the distribution of online 3-D blueprints of guns.
NPR
✔ @NPR
It’s unclear how the temporary order can be enforced. The plans were already placed online days ago and downloaded thousands of times and posted online elsewhere.
7:04 PM - Jul 31, 2018
NPR gets it. Let’s be clear about what has just happened. A federal court has issued a prior restraint on speech (it’s attempting to block the spread of information; it is not blocking the lawful home manufacture of firearms) that is already thoroughly and completely moot. The files are out. They’re all over the internet. They’ve been copied and reproduced. The judge’s order can’t change that fact.
Earlier today I published a lengthy explainer of the factual and legal issues surrounding the 3D-printed gun controversy. I’d urge you to read the whole thing
but the bottom line is easy to understand. First, home manufacture of weapons is clearly lawful, and it has been common practice in the United States since before the founding of the nation. Second, it is thus just as lawful to “print” a gun as it is to assemble one with parts in your garage. Third, the plans to print guns are widely-available on the internet — and have been for some time.
entirely lawful products. I would say this is dangerous, but given the high likelihood that his order will be overturned, let’s just call it irresponsible.
One final note. Watch for an avalanche of misinformation in media reports about the injunction. I’m going to point you to a number of tweets from the Washington Free Beacon’s Stephen Gutowski. He’s a one-man fact-checking machine.
Stephen Gutowski
✔ @StephenGutowski
This report has a number of inaccuracies. Much of the framing in this clip is just plain wrong. Wilson hasn't posted blueprints for how to make an AR-15 completely out of printed parts since that's not possible. The gun designs available on his site aren't undetectable.
CBS News
✔ @CBSNews
"If I allow you to download an AR-15, I don't believe that I provide you with anything other than the general knowledge of what an AR-15 is."
Cody Wilson, man behind 3D-printed gun blueprints, talks to @tonydokoupil on @CBSEveningNews https://cbsn.ws/2n5FcJD
We are in the grips of a bizarre political panic that is disconnected from the facts and the law but is deeply connected not just to the larger culture war over gun rights in the United States but also to the deep suspicion of virtually any action taken by the Trump administration. There was a time when we could have greater confidence in federal courts to take a breath, soberly consider the issues, and introduce a measure of reason and rationality to legal debate. In some courts — especially when Trump administration actions are at issue — those days are long past.
Update: The court’s opinion is now online, and it’s a depressing read. It contains no meaningful First Amendment analysis, and its finding that there would be irreparable harm absent an injunction is — given the facts — astounding:
More at ...
Federal Judge Launches Futile, Unconstitutional Effort to Block Blueprints for 3D-Printed Guns | National Review