01-28-2020, 09:38 AM
Snip:
Attorneys general in 20 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging a federal regulation that could allow blueprints for making guns on 3D printers to be posted on the internet.
New York Attorney General Tish James, who helped lead the coalition of state attorneys general, argued that posting the blueprints would allow anyone to go online and use the downloadable files to create unregistered and untraceable assault-style weapons that could be difficult to detect.
Washington state's attorney general Bob Ferguson said a previous multi-state lawsuit led a federal judge last year to strike down the administration's earlier attempt to allow the files to be distributed.
For years, law enforcement officials have been trying to draw attention to the dangers posed by the so-called ghost guns, which contain no registration numbers that could be used to trace them.
A federal judge in November blocked an attempt by the Trump administration to allow the files to be released online, arguing that the government had violated the law on procedural grounds. But the administration published formal rules last Thursday that transfer the regulation of 3D-printed guns from the State Department to the Commerce Department, which could open the door to making the blueprints available online.
The state attorneys general argue the government is breaking the law and say such deregulation will "make it far easier for individuals ineligible to possess firearms under state or federal law to obtain a deadly weapon without undergoing a background check," according to the lawsuit. They also argue that the Commerce Department lacks the power to properly regulate 3D-printed guns.
"Ghost guns endanger every single one of us," James said in a statement. "While the president and his Administration know these homemade weapons pose an imminent threat, he continues to cater to the gun lobby — risking the lives of millions of Americans."
Full piece: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/20-states-s...nted-guns/
Attorneys general in 20 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging a federal regulation that could allow blueprints for making guns on 3D printers to be posted on the internet.
New York Attorney General Tish James, who helped lead the coalition of state attorneys general, argued that posting the blueprints would allow anyone to go online and use the downloadable files to create unregistered and untraceable assault-style weapons that could be difficult to detect.
Washington state's attorney general Bob Ferguson said a previous multi-state lawsuit led a federal judge last year to strike down the administration's earlier attempt to allow the files to be distributed.
For years, law enforcement officials have been trying to draw attention to the dangers posed by the so-called ghost guns, which contain no registration numbers that could be used to trace them.
A federal judge in November blocked an attempt by the Trump administration to allow the files to be released online, arguing that the government had violated the law on procedural grounds. But the administration published formal rules last Thursday that transfer the regulation of 3D-printed guns from the State Department to the Commerce Department, which could open the door to making the blueprints available online.
The state attorneys general argue the government is breaking the law and say such deregulation will "make it far easier for individuals ineligible to possess firearms under state or federal law to obtain a deadly weapon without undergoing a background check," according to the lawsuit. They also argue that the Commerce Department lacks the power to properly regulate 3D-printed guns.
"Ghost guns endanger every single one of us," James said in a statement. "While the president and his Administration know these homemade weapons pose an imminent threat, he continues to cater to the gun lobby — risking the lives of millions of Americans."
Full piece: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/20-states-s...nted-guns/