Lawmakers Reignite Effort to Block On-line Sharing of 3D Printed Gun Recordsdata – 3DPrint.com

July 10, 2025

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Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) launched a brand new invoice within the U.S. Senate that will ban the web distribution of digital recordsdata used to 3D print firearms. The proposed laws, referred to as the 3D Printed Gun Security Act of 2025 (S. 2165), is co-sponsored by 21 different Senators.

The invoice targets the rising concern that 3D printing makes it simpler for individuals to make weapons and firearm elements at residence, together with plastic components that may slip previous steel detectors. It doesn’t, nonetheless, ban 3D printing itself, however as a substitute focuses on blocking the intentional distribution of digital recordsdata, like CAD designs, that might be used to print untraceable, unlicensed weapons.

Officers uncover 3D printed gun operation. Picture courtesy of Utica Police Division by way of Fb.

In accordance with the invoice, this may make it unlawful to share digital recordsdata for 3D printed weapons on-line, or by different digital platforms, by including the restriction to current federal firearm legal guidelines beneath Part 922 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, which governs illegal acts associated to firearms. The laws consists of quite a lot of justifications for this motion, principally pointing to public security considerations, saying 3D printed weapons are onerous to hint and will find yourself within the palms of people who find themselves not legally allowed to have firearms.

As well as, the invoice mentions that conventional firearms are sometimes stamped with serial numbers, permitting for traceability in regulation enforcement investigations. As a substitute, 3D printed firearms, particularly these made solely or principally of plastic, typically lack serial numbers, making them tough to trace and regulate.

The laws comes amid debates round so-called “ghost weapons,” a time period used to explain untraceable firearms made outdoors the regulated business provide chain. Regulation enforcement businesses have expressed rising concern about using these weapons in legal exercise. In accordance with the U.S. Division of Justice, ghost gun recoveries have surged over 1,000% since 2017, and so they’re generally discovered at crime scenes.

Nonetheless, whereas ghost weapons are a rising concern, most of them aren’t 3D printed. They’re sometimes assembled from commercially obtainable, unfinished frames or receivers bought as “construct kits,” similar to Polymer80-style builds, slightly than by CAD file distribution. Consultants have famous that “3D printed weapons don’t flip up at crime scenes with anyplace close to the identical frequency as ghost weapons constituted of Polymer80‑model kits.” And though Polymer80 has scaled again operations in sure states attributable to authorized restrictions, its kits are nonetheless a key supply of ghost weapons within the broader market.

Nonetheless, using 3D printed firearms is on the rise. Arrests involving these weapons have gone up in recent times, in accordance with knowledge gathered by 3DPrint.com, and these instances are sometimes linked to different offenses, like drug exercise, human trafficking, and unlawful gun gross sales.

Main unlawful supplies seizure, 3D printed gun components, and 3D printers. Picture courtesy of Detroit Police Division.

Given these developments, supporters of the invoice argue that it’s designed to bolster current federal firearms legal guidelines and public security measures with out limiting rights associated to know-how or design, particularly for the reason that invoice doesn’t ban 3D printers, design software program, or CAD file creation usually.

The laws is backed by a number of advocacy teams, together with Brady: United In opposition to Gun Violence, Giffords, March For Our Lives, and the Newtown Motion Alliance.

The Senate invoice was launched in tandem with a companion invoice within the Home of Representatives, led by Congressman Jared Moskowitz (D-FL-23). Moskowitz, whose district consists of Parkland, Florida, has been energetic on gun security laws following the 2018 mass capturing at Marjory Stoneman Douglas Excessive Faculty. He has since launched a number of proposals centered on college security and gun reform.

This isn’t the primary time Senator Markey has launched comparable laws. Earlier iterations of the invoice had been additionally geared toward proscribing the distribution of 3D printed gun recordsdata, however didn’t advance to a vote. For now, this newest model has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee for additional consideration.