Father in a Park Printed a 3D Sculpture of His Son to Protest 3D Firearms

It was not only the Parkland survivors who made their voices heard before the mid-term to protest the gun control measures. They are also the parents of those killed. Manuel Oliver, a father of Parkland, printed a 3D sculpture of his son to protest the risk of legality of firearms in 3D and placed the sculpture in Times Square.

The 3D version of his son Joaquin Oliver, called "Guac" by his friends, is hailed by Oliver as the first "3D printed campaigner," reported ABC News. Oliver unveiled the statue – who wears the same clothes as Joaquin on the day of his death – last week. It also contains other details that commemorate the real life of Joaquin.

"Joaquin belongs to a new generation of dead children and this generation of kids is growing every day," Oliver told Times Square, captured in video by Now This News. "And Guac is back to help you understand what's going on when we let these laws escape us?"

Oliver and his wife Patricia started a non-profit organization after the death of their son Change the Ref, which aims to empower youth across the country. They also performed other arts installations to raise public awareness of the need for firearm safety, including a mural outside the National Rifle Association convention in May, showing President Trump dressed as a leader of the National Rifle Association. circus.

The sculpture responds to a decision by the Defense Distributed Firearms Access Group to sue in order to allow plans to print 3D firearms to be distributed online. Oliver explained why it made him angry in a video he had uploaded to YouTube before unveiling the sculpture. "I'm trying to introduce some kind of conscious law here and these guys are trying to expand the crazy laws on guns," Oliver said. "We have to find a way to hit him in the face."

"What we do, it's a 3D printed activist," continued Oliver, "who happens to be Joaquin … This will be printed in 3D in the same way that the guns are printed. Will use the same system to fight them. "

At the moment, 3D firearms projects are still not allowed online. A federal judge found that the online defense plan to disclose the information online could cause "irreparable harm" and imposed a restraining order on the initial disclosure promise, the case being still pending before the courts. courts.

The unveiling was moving for Oliver. "This is the first time since February that I can see an image of my son next to me," he told the event, ABC News reported. "This is not a good feeling, but the idea here is to make this moment a highlight for the rest of you."

The goal for those watching was from the beginning. "Of course, this guy does not replace my son, of course not," Oliver told Now This News about the Joaquin sculpture. "But part of the story is to share those painful moments with the rest of the population."

Oliver is also clear about the fact that the art installation project is the right path for him – even if others try to put pressure on the politicians in another way. "You will not see me queuing in Washington DC talking to a legislator to tell him what's going on in my family," he added in the video. "I would rather do that."