The National Rifle Association has happily come out in support of 3D-printed, make-at-home guns.
These guns were recently legalized after a settlement earlier this year between the State Department and Texas-based Defense Distributed. Americans will be able to download gun blueprints and make their own deadly, untraceable weapon of choice at home starting August 1.
The man behind the legalization of “ghost guns” is Cody Wilson, who pursued the legal battle pushing for downloadable guns for almost a year. In 2012, he designed a 3D printable plastic pistol dubbed the Liberator .380 and uploaded the blueprints online.
After the gun had been downloaded more than 100,000 times, federal officials blocked Wilson’s website. Wilson responded with a lawsuit, which the State Department settled in June.
What’s especially disturbing is that these guns are untraceable and virtually anyone can obtain them, criminals included. Yet again, after having experienced some of the scariest mass shootings in history, America is now making it easier to obtain creepy new guns.
That sounds....not great, right? But the NRA—especially its spokesperson, Dana Loesch—is thrilled.
In a video posted on Twitter on Monday night, Loesch made fun of Democrats trying to control the new guns, which are also known as “ghost guns.”
“To try to restrict this is as unenforceable as trying to institute bans on magazine capacity,” Loesch said. “You just need simple shop skills to be able to do it in your garage… it’s absolutely enforceable… there are laws on the books that regulate that. Pretty much every part of firearm.”
Loesch also said 3D-printed guns symbolize “freedom and innovation,” adding that, since there are already laws that unsuccessfully try to stop criminals from getting guns, it’d be impossible to control the creation of 3D-printed guns anyway. (The idea that maybe laws could be changed to make it easier to stop criminals from getting guns did not seem to cross her mind.)