Are we ready for this? Do we have the regulations in place to contain the epi- demic of untraceable ghost guns? We are giving our law en- forcement agencies a brand new challenge they didn’t have before, and we are taking away a very useful tool of their trade (gun tracing by serial number). 3D printers have gotten better and less expensive, and plans for 3D guns have gotten more sophisticated. We all knew this was coming – ever since the first shot from that first plastic Liberator. Is this the mo- ment when I launch into an impassioned plea for (or against) gun control? No – there are other places to hear that kind of stuff. Although they have largely been under the public radar, 3D- printed guns and gun parts have had an extensive run in the courts over the last eight years, and many questions remain about what is legal and what is regulatable. Accord- ing to the report, felons who are banned from possessing firearms due to previous convictions are increasing turn- ing to ghost guns to minimize the chances of getting caught. The LAPD confiscated more than 800 ghost guns in the first half of 2021. The report refers to the proliferation of these ghost guns, which have no serial number and are virtually un- traceable, as an “epidemic”. According to the report, ghost guns in LA have been involved with 24 murders, 60 as- saults, and 20 armed robberies – and that’s just for one city. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) reported this month that so-called “ghost guns” assembled from 3D- printed parts have contributed to more than 100 violent crimes in the past year. Technology has a way of marching on, soaring higher, pushing back against all barriers. The Liberator really wasn’t reliable enough to serve as a sidearm for either the good guys or the bad guys, and, as I stated in my column eight years ago, there are “many easier ways of getting a gun than printing one on an $8,000 printer.” But that was then…. After a brief run in the headlines, 3D guns slipped out of sight for most of us. In one test, it shattered with first use, but the tester later admitted that “Printed under the right conditions, the Liberator gun has a lifespan of 8-10 shots”. As I recall, some considered the gun a significant danger to the owner. The Liberator, which was made of plastic (and, I should add, the kind of plastic that was available for 3D printers eight years ago), didn’t look like much and didn’t shoot very ac- curately. Some gun advocates had published plans for a 3D-printed gun, which they called the “Liberator.” At that time, 3D gun printing was little more than a concept – something for the oppos- ing sides of the gun control debate to face off around. If you stay in this job long enough, you get to see the pro- gression of technologies as they move from mere ideas, to prototypes, to real-world products ready to challenge the world and ascend the ladder to that mystical measure of success that the venture capitalists call “disruption.” Eight years ago – in the July 2013 issue, to be exact – I wrote about a quirky little story in the news that fell on one of those eternal fault lines of American culture.
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