this post was submitted on 16 Feb 2024
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But not for any of the equipment you would need to make a real, metal weapon.
To be fair, usually (absolutely not all the time), it's idiots who want to do something dumb like this. Idiots can just download pre-engineered weapons and hit print. It takes a lot more thought to manufacture a metal weapon. So that takes out a huge barrier to entry.
I made a pretty good impromptu firearm with some pipe I got at Home Depot when I was a young one. Did some major damage to some fruit and trees, and that thing was reusable over many months. Has any 3d printed firearm lasted more than a few rounds? Barrier for entry was already low when you don’t need to be carded to buy black powder. Making it harder for people to buy a tool that is mainly used by dads to fix shit around the house just seems like overkill and a very slippery slope.