Thousands download 3D printed weapon designs

Plans for 3D printed weapons, published online four days earlier, thanks to attempts to ban them at the last minute, have been downloaded thousands of times.

The drawings were not to be made public until Wednesday.

But plans for nine types of weapons were uploaded to the Defense Distributed website on Friday.

And, Monday, a multi-state lawsuit was filed seeking to block the decision that the Americans could see them

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The controversy began in 2013, when the so-called crypto- anarchist Cody Wilson showed the world's first 3D printed rifle.

Files showing how to replicate the process were immediately made available on the Defense Distributed site and downloaded hundreds of thousands of times.

He led the US Department of State to order their removal from the Internet.

followed a four-year legal battle, with Defense Distributed joining the Second Amendment Foundation – which defends the right to own weapons – to sue the State Department.

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Last month, in a surprise move The US Department of Justice ruled that Americans could "consult, discuss, use and reproduce" technical data.

This provoked a reaction from lawmakers and, on Monday, the Attorney General of Washington State, Bob Ferguson, announced that he would sue the State Department "to stop the illegal distribution 3D printed weapons "on behalf of eight US states.

In a statement, Mr. Ferguson said: "These downloadable weapons are unregistered and very difficult to detect, even with metal detectors, and will be accessible to anyone regardless of age, mental health or history. criminals. "

The State Department has already received a letter asking it to reinstate its prohibition by 21 other attorneys general," As chief law enforcement officials in our states, we believe the settlement terms and proposed rules are deeply dangerous and could have an unprecedented impact on public safety, "said the letter.

"In addition to helping to arm terrorists and transnational criminals, the proposed regulations and rules would provide another avenue for the possession of firearms by persons who are prohibited by federal law. and state. "

But critics worry about seeing a mbadive increase in so-called ghost weapons, unregistered guns that the government ignores and is unable to trace.

Since the beginning of "The era of downloadable guns". the lawsuit began, Distributed Defense has been working on new gun designs and has also created a milling device – known as the Ghost Gunner – that can turn purchased parts online into a fully functioning weapon .