Washington (June 29, 2021) – Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), and Congressman Ted Deutch (FL-22) today reintroduced 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. 

 

Because 3D printing allows individuals to make firearms out of plastic, these guns may be able to evade detection by metal detectors at security checkpoints, increasing the risk that a firearm will be used to perpetrate violence on an airplane or in another area where people congregate. The increasing availability of 3D printers means unlicensed individuals, including violent felons, domestic abusers, and other dangerous individuals, could obtain a firearm by manufacturing it themselves. These firearms are also untraceable since they do not have a serial number for law enforcement to reference. If the instructions for 3D printing firearms and firearm parts are available online, people intending to commit gun crimes may create untraceable firearms in order to avoid accountability for these crimes. The 3D Printed Gun Safety Act will make it illegal to distribute online digital files that can automatically program a 3D printer to produce or complete the manufacture of a firearm.  

 

“With no background check required, untraceable and undetectable 3D printed guns serve as the ultimate gun-acquisition loophole,” said Senator Markey. “With the click of a mouse, anyone can download a computer file and use a 3D printer to manufacture a semi-automatic weapon. We cannot allow the online availability of downloadable firearms to add fuel to the fire that already is a massive gun violence public safety crisis. I thank Senator Menendez and Congressman Deutch for their tremendous partnership on this legislation that will help close a major safety loophole.”

“With the click of a mouse, anyone with an internet connection and a 3D printer essentially has a license to print, shoot and kill,” said Senator Menendez. “Undetectable and untraceable 3D printed guns allow criminals to circumvent law enforcement and commit crimes. That’s why we must close the ‘3D Gun Loophole’ that allows dangerous individuals to exploit gaps in existing law to manufacture firearms at home they cannot otherwise legally obtain.” 

 

“3D printers are increasingly used to manufacture everyday goods easily and cheaply; but, we cannot allow individuals to make deadly firearms with the same ease," said Congressman Deutch. "These printers are capable of making high-strength plastic firearms that are untraceable and undetectable – something criminals and other individuals prohibited by law from possessing a firearm could use to evade our laws. Congress must take care to ensure that internet access does not equal gun access.”

 

A copy of the legislation can be found HERE. 

 

Other members of the Senate co-sponsoring the legislation include Senators Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Bob Casey (D-Penn.), Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Christopher Murphy (D-Conn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Christopher A. Coons (D-Del), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and Maize K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Patty Murray (D-Wash.).

 

Other members of the House of Representatives co-sponsoring the legislation include Representatives Bradley Schneider (IL-10), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23), Carolyn B Maloney (NY-12), Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE), Don Beyer (VA-08), Tony Cárdenas (CA-29), Sean Casten (IL-06), Kathy Castor (FL-14), Judy Chu (CA-27), Katherine M. Clark (MA-05), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Gerald E. Connolly (VA-11), Charlie Crist (FL-13),  Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Susan A. Davis (CA-53), Madeleine Dean [PA-04], Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Val B. Demings (FL-10), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07),  Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (GA-04),  William R. Keating (MA-09), Robin L. Kelly (IL-02), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Barbara Lee, (CA-13), Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18), Grace Meng (NY-06), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Donald Payne (NJ-10), Scott H. Peters (CA-52), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Jaime Raskin (MD-08), Raúl Grijalva (AZ-03), Kathleen M. Rice (NY-04), C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger (MD-02), Janice D. Schakowsky (IL-09), Darren Soto (FL-09), Abigail Spanberger (VA-07), Thomas R. Suozzi (NY-03), Dina Titus (NV-01), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12).