Texan Says He's Selling 3D-Printed Gun Blueprints Despite Court Ruling

[DonViejo]

Source: Talking Points Memo/AP



By JIM VERTUNO
August 28, 2018 1:26 pm

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The owner of a Texas company that makes untraceable 3D-printed guns said Tuesday that he has begun selling the blueprints through his website to anyone who wants to make one, despite a federal court order barring him from posting the plans online.

Cody Wilson said at a news conference that he’ll make the plans available to anyone who wants them at any price. He said sales started Tuesday morning and that he’d already gotten nearly 400 orders.

That follows a federal judge in Seattle blocking Wilson’s company from posting the blueprints online.

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia had sought an injunction to stop a settlement that the federal government reached with Wilson’s Austin-based Defense Distributed. The states argued that online access to the undetectable plastic guns would pose a security risk and could be acquired by felons or terrorists.

Read more: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/cody-wilson-texas-company-owner-selling-3d-print-gun-blueprints

[AJT]

1. Because of 45 no believes in the rule of law anymore. Can he be arrested for defying a court order?

[hibbing]

2. Once it's out there it's out there right? n/t

[Snellius]

3. There are even plans for A-bombs out there. Just have to get hands on uranium 235.

Selling plans is one thing. Actually making one is a whole other trick. Don't want to be the first to test it out.

[CentralMass]

29. Not a great analagy. It is not hard to 3D print and assemble components.

[sfwriter]

4. This little anarchist needs a trip to jail...

[CentralMass]

30. Yes he does.

[slumcamper]

5. UNREASONABLE. EVIL. MONSTER.

[samir.g]

6. Hopefully we'll see news footage of the ATF kicking his door in.

[LiberalLovinLug]

7. what an irresponsible prick

Not just an irresponsible American. An irresponsible world citizen. Because it can and will be used by criminal elements no doubt. And cause much future violence and mayhem in public spaces and airplanes.

[ProfessorGAC]

8. I'm Feeling Sovereign Citizen Here

"Government can't tell me what to do"

[Initech]

9. What a fucking piece of shit!

[theaocp]

10. At any price?

It that's true, he's a sociopath, but the plans would leak, anyway. Otherwise, he's an irresponsible jackass, and the plans would leak otherwise. Someone is going to do this and put this shit out there for all of us to reap. Yay. That horrifying prospect aside, I hope HE reaps everything he has sown and lives a long, painful life to remember all his failures of being a decent human being.

[xor]

17. He probably knows that if someone wants them then they can get them for free anyway

[sl8]

11. Wilson claims he's acting in accordance with ruling.

From https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/28/us/3d-printed-guns-cody-wilson-blueprint/index.html

(CNN) - The owner of a company that builds 3D-printed guns said he has begun selling blueprints of the weapons to elude a court order on Monday that banned him from giving the plans away for free.

Cody Wilson, the founder of Defense Distributed, said that he interpreted Monday's federal court order to mean that he could not put gun blueprints online to be downloaded for free. Instead, he said, he is now selling the blueprints to customers, letting them name their own price and then emailing or shipping the plans to them.

...

At times brash and smug, Wilson pointed to one line in Judge Lasnik's decision that he said allowed him to legally sell the blueprints.

"Regulation under the (Arms Export Control Act of 1976) means that the files cannot be uploaded to the internet, but they can be emailed, mailed, securely transmitted, or otherwise published within the United States," the court order reads.

...

More at link.

Link to court order in State of Washington, et al., v. United States Department of State, et al., C18-1115-RSL (pdf):
http://www.wawd.uscourts.gov/sites/wawd/files/PreliminaryInjunctionC18.1115.RSL_.pdf

[bitterross]

12. Torn about this one.

I don't think he should violate a court order.

I also don't think his right to publish the plans should be infringed. As other posters have pointed out, there are plans on the web for anything you want. The Anarchist Cookbook has been around for a long time too.

Attempting to control and stifle information has never been a way to prevent its use. I don't think this will make much difference in the long run.

[LiberalFighter]

14. Yet information can be classified with penalties for violating it.

And judges can order others not to talk about a case or seal cases. There are laws to keep health information private.

[bitterross]

21. I see your point, which is why I'm torn

All of the things you mention are true. They are, in effect, the government suppressing freedom of speech for various reasons. Reasons that we have passed laws about for the personal protection of others or that the courts have said are constitutional for some specific, valid reason.

The discussion about whether we suppress freedom of speech in this case because it serves the greater good of life, liberty and happiness will have to play out in the courts.

[NutmegYankee]

24. In each case you sign an agreement to get information

Being prevented from releasing your own design is a whole different matter.

[MicaelS]

15. This whole pursuit of printed guns...

Is just a great big "Fuck You" to the advocates of Gun Control.

Wilson is trying to prove that if you can print a gun, no matter the material, all Gun Control is useless, and shouldn't even be attempted.

I watched a CBS News interview with Wilson, and the journalist stated he has a tombstone outside his office that has "American Gun Control" engraved on it.

Wilson, like too many Gun Rights advocates don't care.

They have no empathy or sympathy for anyone but themselves.

I say that because I used to be one of those "Gun Rights At All Costs". Not anymore. The Stoneman Douglas shooting was the proverbial straw with me.

I say "Fuck You" to people with the "Gun Rights At All Costs" mindset. It's way past time for major Gun Control in this country.

[riversedge]

16. If someone gets killed with his guns, I hope they sue him hard.

[xor]

18. or blows a few of their fingers off...

I can't imagine many companies want to put themselves at risk of a lawsuit by hosting these. I know if I ran a site that hosted files for 3D printing, I wouldn't want them on my site legal or not.

[NickB79]

19. I'm surprised to see such attacks on the First Amendment here here

Regardless of your stance on gun control, this is ultimately a freedom of speech issue at it's core.

It's the digital age's version of book banning.

[DeminPennswoods]

20. No one is above the law

The judge should issue a warrant for his arrest, send the US Marshall's to get his a$$ and haul it off to jail. He'll get contrite real fast.

[NickB79]

22. Or fight to the Supreme Court with help from the ACLU

And likely win, since this is a 1st Amendment issue.

[metalbot]

26. The guy isn't dumb

...and he's doing this in full cooperation with legal counsel. He's not going to be arrested for this. At most what will happen is that the judge will modify his order to explicitly say "you can't sell these".

Of course, the ruling by the judge is going to get thrown out anyway. There's no way he loses this case, as it's 100% a 1st amendment issue, not a 2nd amendment one.

[DeminPennswoods]

28. The 1st amendment is not absolute

It doesn't protect actions that can result in actual harm to others, i.e., yelling "fire" in a crowded theater.

[NutmegYankee]

31. Actually, the yelling fire precedent was overturned

[jmowreader]

23. Hmm...

How about this: Anyone commits a crime with his guns, we charge him with it.

Anyone outside Texas, charge him federally.

[metalbot]

25. Question then...

If someone were to publish a book that contained instructions on how to build a pipe bomb, would you support jailing the author if someone uses the instructions in his book to build a pipe bomb and kill someone?

I'm guessing the answer is yes, but I think that there are implications there that you might not like if you really go down that rabbit hole. If the answer is "no", I'd be interested in understanding what you think the difference is.

[jmowreader]

32. As far as I know, no one's invented a pipe bomb making machine

If someone wrote an STL file that made pipe bombs I would object to it too.

[hamsterjill]

27. I wanna see the perp walk.

I betcha he will be bawling when he’s taken off in shackles.