By Matt Agorist
As the debate continues about whether or not 3D-printed firearm plans should be banned, even the ostensible pro-2nd Amendment folks are worried that shooting rampages will occur as a result of these plans being published online. But the reality is far different.
For generations, advocates of private gun ownership have been fighting exhaustively through political channels to protect their right to keep and bear arms. Gun owners even have one of the strongest lobby groups in Washington, the highly disappointing NRA. Yet over the years, gun rights continue to diminish in America, despite the constant political campaigns by the NRA and politicians that claim to support gun rights.
However, in the past few years, one guy with a good idea has managed to do more to protect gun rights than the NRA has in decades of political involvement. Cody Wilson is the founder of “Defense Distributed” and the “Wikiweapon” project, which allows anyone with a 3D printer to create their own untraceable gun in the privacy of their own home.
While alarmists claim that 3D-printed guns will be the end of humanity, the fact is that these plans have been online on torrent and dark web sites for years and we’ve yet to see a single person killed with one.
What’s more, as the gruesome murder-suicide on a college campus in Walnut Creek, California illustrates is that people don’t even need these plans if they want to make their own untraceable gun. Scott Bertics built the gun he used to shoot himself and Clare Orton without anyone knowing and entirely through legal measures.
Psychopaths who want to cause harm to others will cause harm to others using any means necessary. Limiting the ability for law-abiding citizens to protect themselves will never change this.
Wilson makes no secret that the intention behind distributing CAD files to create homemade guns is to make gun control measures obsolete and bolster the Second Amendment, which is under continual assault from anti-gun activists.
As Wilson explains, these files could be used to empower oppressed people all over the world who’ve been disarmed and ruled by criminals and warlords.
“We put a lot of world governments on notice, and I think that’s good in the history of the balance of power between sovereigns and subjects,” Wilson told the Brown Political Review.
From the Armenian Genocide to the Nazi Holocaust to “Black Gun Codes” in America: throughout history, societies who have been disarmed by their governments have given way to massive bloodshed. This is still the case today in countries who’ve turned in their guns.
Depending on the current government, life in disarmed societies can go on peacefully for a while. However, in some cases, citizens — men women and children — are slaughtered by the millions.
Even when gun control seems to work in the short term, the scapegoatists are never satisfied. As we are seeing in the United Kingdom, politicians are now going after knives as the “evil weapon” that no law-abiding citizen should ever need.
For those who don’t recall, the disarming of citizens took place in the US and was used as a means to slaughter blacks and Native Americans.
Perhaps the first known attempt at disarming citizens in the new world occurred in 1751 when the French Black code was enacted requiring colonists to “stop any blacks, and if necessary, beat any black carrying any potential weapon, such as a cane.”
This attempt to disarm blacks was repeated under United States’ rule 50 years later when the U.S. purchased the Louisiana territory. According to a paper published in the Kansas Journal of Law & Public Policy:
When the first U. S. official arrived in New Orleans in 1803 to take charge of this new American possession, the planters sought to have the existing free black militia disarmed, and otherwise exclude “free blacks from positions in which they were required to bear arms,” including such non-military functions as slave-catching crews.
Upon the defeat of the confederacy in the Civil War, many southern states enacted “Black Codes” that barred the newly freed slaves from exercising their basic civil rights. One such example of these new laws was an act passed in the state of Mississippi that stated:
no freedman, free negro or mulatto, not in the military service of the United States government, and not licensed so to do by the board of police of his or her county, shall keep or carry fire-arms of any kind, or any ammunition, dirk or bowie knife, and on conviction thereof in the county court shall be punished by fine
After the passage of these laws, numerous studies concluded that the newly freed slaves had essentially been rendered defenseless against groups like the Ku Klux Klan. Disarming them, essentially made them slaves once again.
Guns — in the hands of good people — level the playing field against guns in the hands of bad people. It is this simple. Just imagine the power a 3D-printed gun would give a mother in an African village as warlords come through hacking off the limbs of children with machetes. With enough of the villagers having these guns, they could effectively defend themselves against large groups of tyrants even if they had automatic weapons.
Sadly, the statists only see the potentially negative aspects of these 3D-printed guns.
“The people who make them will be state actors or well-financed criminal cartels who have the ability to execute well-organized criminal attacks in the United States and elsewhere,” said Avery Gardiner, the co-president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
This protectionist attitude is self-serving and one-sided and ignores the benefits of an armed society as well as history. And, it only serves to further the oppression of those who cannot defend themselves.
While it would certainly be an amazing thought to be able to live in a world without guns, that is simply not the case. Until it is the case, anyone who wants to defend themselves and their family, should be able to do so in any manner they see fit — as the only other option is tyranny.
As Wilson notes, “I think the state should be as weak as possible relative to the individual. The proper posture of the state is one that at least is in fear of its citizen, not one that lords over it.”
Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Agorist is also the Editor at Large at the Free Thought Project, where this article first appeared. Follow @MattAgorist on Twitter, Steemit, and now on Facebook.
Nothing said in this article is a valid rationale for 3D guns, nothing!
Nothing? How about this? ” While it would certainly be an amazing thought to be able to live in a
world without guns, that is simply not the case. Until it is the case,
anyone who wants to defend themselves and their family, should be able
to do so in any manner they see fit — as the only other option is
tyranny. ” I guess our thoughts are different but I agreed that we should have the right to defend ourselves and family. Apparently, you don’t agree. Case closed.
You are certainly missing the forest for the trees. By allowing 3D printed guns you are in effect creating a greater possibility that you and your children will be facing someone with them in their hands. Such guns are untraceable and do not respond to metal detectors. Some form of reasonable gun laws are necessary in any culture just to protect society.
Sir Archie, I understand and respect your point of view. Consider the possibility that at any moment the ” powers that be” decide to make illegal the possession of any type of fire arm ( which this movement has already begun) then what you have left is the government and criminals with those fire arms to be used against dissenters ( those whom oppose the government). 3D gun making is a option to buying the heavy regulated purchase of a fire arm. Have you looked into what it takes to purchase and owned a fire arm Sir? Most governments don’t want weapons in the possession of its citizens.
I live in a country that doesn’t allow citizens to willy knilly own or possess guns. Because the country was founded when men actually hunted for food, there is a long tradition of gun ownership and that has continued without change. However in today’s urban environment, guns are no longer a necessity in that respect for an ordinary family. My country is 151 years old and at no time during that period have we citizens ever felt unsafe or in need of guns to protect ourselves. Why is the US so different?
“Consider the possibility that at any moment the ” powers that be” decide to make illegal the possession of any type of fire arm.”
There is no historical precedent for such a scenario.
None in Western Democracies.
Remember I stated ” consider the possibility ” in my statement which nullifies your comment because I never stated that it has happen nor that it will. BTW , just because it has not happen does not mean it will never happen. Adios amigo..
I see, so it’s just a thought bubble?
Or are you expressing a possibility, like you wearing your mother’s panties?
Sir Harris, please show more respect for others opinions. No need to be vulgar and ugly. Using the language to share your views says more about your mental/spiritual level by resorting to tying to humiliate and bully others. You have taken your comments to a more personal level by attacking me for what reason? How does your comment to me relate to the original discussion? None. Again Sir, please be nice and respect others’ opinions. Take care and GOD bless.
Why is it, that people like you, think that I’m rude and aggressive, when you disagree with me?
Do you offer the same admonishment, to people who you agree with?
I have been threatened with all sorts of vile rubbish including someone wanting me dead because I oppose gun culture.
And I always laugh, when people complain about my private settings.
Peter Harris is my real name, and as you can see from my Avatar, I come from Australia.
You on the other hand, have a fake name, and I have no idea where you live.
So who’s hiding now?
So Archie, you believe criminals are now going to line up to go back to school to learn how to use the computers and equipment needed to make these guns? Then they are going to go out and spend $10k-$15k to buy the equipment to make these guns, instead of spending $50 to buy an untraceable gun on the black market??? Do all the inmates at your “special home” have access to the computer?
Dumb, so dumb straw man argument.
I like the way you present a reasonable argument. Typical of an empty headed liberal. Insults followed by no facts or anything intelligent. Did you know that making a home made untraceable gun has been legal for a long, long time? Uneducated dopey liberals, like you, are very entertaining to intellectuals like me. Now take your meds and get back in your padded cell.
Hahaha, give the far-right misanthropes enough rope to hang themselves, and they do it willingly.
And then they wrap themselves up in a whole bunch of hypocrisy.
I can’t see your argument anywhere, except infantile insults.
Heres my argument Boxhead, I live in Australia, and we banned most guns 20 years ago, and we have been civilised since. No mass shootings since the gun ban.
You are entertaining. Check your news. You had a mass shooting just last year. In addition your level of violent crime has risen and your government is quietly allowing more and more gun ownership. In America, the only places that see high gun crime are places of strict gun control. For example the democratically controlled cities of Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore, L.A, San Fran, any city with leftist control for over 50 years has major gun problems. Take those democrat controlled cities out of the numbers and we have a lower murder rate than you. Too bad your schools are so bad that an ignorant fool like you can be laughed at thousands of miles away for being so stupid.
We had a mass shooting last year?
What drugs are you on?
And as for the rest of your nonsense, it is pure gibberish.
Yes you did.Possibly early this year. The only gibberish I read is coming from you. Do you really think criminals are going back to school to learn how to use this equipment and then spend thousands to buy the equipment instead of spending $50 on the black market? Seriously, how stupid are you? The plans for this gun have been on line for 2 years now and no one has been shot with one yet. It is a single shot .22lr hand gun and besides the metal bullets, it also needs a metal hammer and springs to operate it. So it can’t go through a metal detector unnoticed. Ignorant and cowardly is no way to go through life. Turn off your TV, try growing up a little bit and at least try to act like a man. Sissy boy.
“Turn off your TV, try growing up a little bit and at least try to act like a man. Sissy boy.”
Wasn’t you, complaining to me, that I was just getting too personal, and not mounting a serious debate?
your stupidity is now established, along with your hypocrisy.
You still haven’t put up any kind of debate other than lies, insults and emotional charged rhetoric. You are pathetic.
Hey, your hypocrisy, and your lack of prefrontal cortex, is on an epic level.
“Yes you did.Possibly early this year.”
Again, put up or shut up. Where is your evidence?
May 11, 2018
PERTH,
Australia — The Western Australia police on Saturday identified seven
people, including four children, who were found dead from gunshot wounds
the day before in what was the country’s worst mass shooting in more
than 20 years. Either you’re a complete moron or a liar.
Domestic violence doesn’t count, and it doesn’t count as a mass shooting, on the scale we are discussing.
I’m referring to 20/30/40 and more people dead.
We do not have mass shootings, with automatic weapons, like you still have in the United States. Period.
Automatic weapons are illegal in America unless you are very wealthy. Mass shootings in America are very rare events and the numbers are way down along with all other violent crime, compared to 20 years ago. You are really pathetic to be so afraid of law abiding Americans with guns to try to sell me your worthless anti gun propaganda and lies. And yes, domestic violence does “count” as a mass shooting. You can’t change the rules to fit your crybaby agenda. You are a very weak, cowardly man. Go bow down and kiss you queen’s behind you sissy. I’m embarrassed just to speak with likes of you. Coward.
“I’m embarrassed just to speak with likes of you. Coward.”
You are the bigger coward, because you need guns and violence to express your opinions and feelings.
“Automatic weapons are illegal in America unless you are very wealthy.”
Pedantic and semantic arguments are all you have left.
Automatic / semi-automatic, makes no difference, you can still kill dozens of people in a matter of minutes.
@Achie, Do they use plastic bullets too? You do know that the springs and trigger are made of metal, don’t you? Turn off your TV and turn on your brain.
If you can’t disarm the people, it’s very difficult to murder over 100million people as the socialists did in the 20th century.
Never forget.
Of all the asinine and stupid arguments for guns, this is gotta be one of the best.
“This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state.”
I think this “prior experience,” gives Matt the ability to drink his own bathwater.
“Freedom”? Do you even know the meaning of the word? I am free, you are not. Why because true freedom is not about being able to own guns, its about being free from the wish to do so. You are all afraid of your own shadows, you need guns to feel “free”. That is being beset by fear. Fear is not a sign of being free, it is a sign of slavery to your dystopian society. I, tank the Lord have never had that fear, at least not outside the US. I live in a country that is truly free from fear and its gun loving offspring!
You are not free. You happily bow down to kiss the bottom of the queen of a foreign country. We used our guns to kick the British crown back to England where they belong. True freedom IS about owning what you want to own, you cowardly little sissy. You prove beyond a shadow of doubt you fear an inanimate object (a gun). or why else would you be here, Mr. Coward? Go kiss the queen’s bottom a little more.
Your infantile stupidity, and your hypocrisy, is off the scale.
You have no idea where this guy comes from, just a illogical assumptions.
You haven’t explained why you believe a single shot plastic hand gun that would cost a criminal thousands of dollars to create would be something a criminal would buy instead of spending $50 on the black market to get a better gun. Your fear has clearly damaged your ability to think logically, so naturally you use insults, lies and emotionally charged rhetoric instead of facts and logic. You are a feeble minded weak man and nothing more. I own and carry guns because I live in an area filled with wild animals that look at me as a food source and I would like to be able to protect myself. You are a spineless coward that depends on a grown man with a gun to protect you. You sir are a coward.
“You haven’t explained why you believe a single shot plastic hand gun that would cost a criminal thousands of dollars to create would be something a criminal would buy instead of spending $50 on the black market to get a better gun.”
My word, you are dumb. Because the criminal could do it in his own garage, and no one would know, and he doesn’t have to go to the risk of being exposed in the black market.
Criminals now own garages, computers and 3 d printers that cost thousands of dollars. You really are stupid.
Ha ha ha ha…
You are one entertaining dropkick.
Yes, some criminals are very tech-savvy, and are wealthy. And besides you moron, 3D printers and no longer that expensive.
Just for laughs I thought I’d tell you that in the last three days of you going on about this non sense, I just finished buying another house in Florida. What’s it like still living with your mommy? LOL!
And Pepe the dropkick keeps on giving.
I hope you’re warning the neighbours you are moving in.
“You are a feeble minded weak man and nothing more. I own and carry guns because I live in an area filled with wild animals that look at me as a food source and I would like to be able to protect myself.”
Ha ha… animals wouldn’t eat you, you’re far too toxic.
Coward.
Back at you.
“You are a spineless coward that depends on a grown man with a gun to protect you.”
Really now boxhead, not in Australia.
Weak, feeble minded and stupid.
Yes you are, perhaps you should seek some help.
My goodness your comments are so over the top that they don’t merit a response. It’s like dealing with a mentally ill person. I hope you are in close contact with your doctor.
You are entertaining, not very bright, but entertaining.
The days of a battalion lining up in a trench with rifles, are over for all modern militarists. The days of protecting yourself from government tyranny with projectile weapons firing little bullets, is over. If/when a major military entity decides to take over any nation (ML in the US especially), even if every adult citizen was armed to the teeth with guns/bullets, all that would do is justify using unconventional force to stop it. It will not be little bullets flying at you, it will be smart mini bombs from drones, or some other weapon-tech the average citizen does not even know about; and there’s lots of it. Having the greater citizenry armed with guns/bullets only makes things dangerous for those in proximity to them. But with movies and now video games fictionalizing such battle scenarios, the simpleton masses actually believe they can protect themselves with guns/bullets. But when one knows deep-deep inside (christianized or not) that they’re hellbound at death; that reality creates a sure fear-drive to stay alive for as long as possible; that this life is it for the Broadway masses (Matt 7; 1Jo 4).
Never mind the deep state, think about a home invader or bath salts fiend breaking in at 4AM. A man in a former MA class I was in signed up because three addicts high on who knows what broke into his and his wife’s house and started cutting up his his dog, waking him up. He took his handgun and confronted them, fired two rounds and struck one of them in the hip, they all ran. Two came back, but cops pulled up as they were trying to break back in. Without the gun, that would have ended very differently. He was not some Rambo type, he was a guy in his 60’s scared to death.
I have non-lethal weapons for home protection, plus an alarm system, though the odds of being killed in your own home by a stranger are still astronomical. But such a perception is based upon where a person lives, and personal experiences, like your own. But this article is about buying a $10K 3D printer, plus the raw materials, plus the plans, which could be used to mass produce untraceable weapons (for ?); or, just for those who cannot buy a relatively cheap handgun legally (e.g. a criminal record that forbids it), they can just make one. Personally, I’d rather be killed than to kill; however, I do understand the fear of death for others.
I posted it below but as far as printing one, the bottom line is it’s far easier to buy a rifle than it is to buy all of the equipment needed to print a plastic version that is far weaker and more prone to failure after a few magazines. The plans have been online since 2013, and nothing crazy has happened. It’s not practical at all to consider that a threat IMO, especially when any good gunsmith can mill out a ghost receiver from an aluminum ghost gun blank that’s been available for ever.
I agree that I don’t ever want to kill anybody of course, but I’ll use whatever force is needed to prevent harm to my family. The guy I mentioned lives in a quiet, wooded part of the state, not in an urban area like I do. Better to be prepared, with one natural disaster we could be in a take-care-of-yourself situation like New Orleans.
I support Cody Wilson and have since I became aware of him in 2003. Hackers believe all information should be free.
The idea though, that any 3D printer can produce a viable firearm from one of these models is a joke. I have a good amount of 3D printing experience, most 3D printers that are accessible to people like Makerbots, etc use a PLA plastic filament material that melts at 200 degrees and has very little tensile strength. These would explode if used with ammunition.
A more expensive industrial-class printer like what DD used initially is needed to create a viable model, and still lacks the strength to withstand more than a few magazines fired through it without damage. But if you have all the other parts of an AR, you could print the lower receiver (the licensed part) and hang it on the wall or something.