The first 3D printed gun is here — and politicians really want to outlaw it

Politicians aren’t too crazy about this whole 3D printed gun thing.

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At a press conference on Sunday, New York senator Charles Schumer said he would support legislation to ban 3D printed guns like the one Defense Distributed announced on Friday (and has been teasing for quite some time).

“A terrorist, someone who’s mentally ill, a spousal abuser, a felon can essentially open a gun factory in their garage,” Schumer said.

Schumer joins fellow New York  politician Steve Israel, who has been one of the most vocal critics of what Defense Distributed is working on.

“When I started talking about the issue of plastic firearms months ago, I was told the idea of a plastic gun is science-fiction. Now that this technology is proven, we need to act now to extend the ban [on] plastic firearms,” he said.

While Israel and other politicians have been on the 3D printed gun case for months now, the situation has gotten a lot more dire now that Defense Distributed has created a completely plastic gun that fires real bullets.

Defense Distributed founder Cody Wilson understands the dangers that could come of his controversial project. “I recognize that this tool might be used to harm people. That’s what it is — it’s a gun,” he told both Forbes and the BBC.

The design files for Wilson’s firearm, dubbed the “Liberator”, are freely available online, which means anyone — yes, including you — can download it. For Wilson, it’s a dream fulfilled, but for gun control advocates, it’s a nightmare realized.

In case you haven’t seen what everyone’s so upset about, take a look at the video below.

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