Washington (November 12, 2019) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) released the following statement today after a federal district court in Seattle, Washington sided with Attorneys General from nineteen states and the District of Columbia in striking down the Trump administration’s dangerous modification of export controls. This modification would have allowed for the worldwide publication of blueprints for undetectable 3D printed guns on the internet. Senator Markey has led the effort in the United States Senate calling on the State Department to reconsider its dangerous 3D gun settlement.

“Today’s decision is a victory for gun safety and the rule of law, and a defeat for Donald Trump, who is afraid to stand up and protect Americans from gun violence,” said Senator Markey. “The Trump administration engaged in an inexplicable reversal on 3D printed guns. It rejected even its own State Department’s commonsense arguments that 3D printed guns pose a grave threat to international peace and the national security of the United States, because they are undetectable, portable, and easy to produce. The nature of these weapons means they could subvert domestic firearm laws and be used in assassination attempts, hijackings, and terrorist activities. 

“In changing export controls to allow the blueprints for these weapons to flood the internet, the Trump administration again went too far, violated the law, and was yet again reined in by our courts. There is no reason why the United States should be making the plans for these dangerous and destabilizing weapons widely available, and we should all be grateful that the court recognized that.” 

In June, Senators Markey and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), and Congressman Ted Deutch (FL-22) introduced the 3D Printed Gun Safety Act, legislation to prohibit the online distribution of blueprints and instructions that allow for the three dimensional (3D) printing of firearms.

###