If 3D Printed Guns Are A Brand New Threat, Then Explain This

Ever since the Trump administration agreed to drop charges against Defense Distributed for sharing files related to 3-D printed guns, the anti-gun activists have lost their everloving minds. Since then, it’s been nothing but doom and gloom, like plastic guns are about to herald the apocalypse or something. Welcome to Gunmaggedon!

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However, the technology isn’t new.

While Defense Distributed was barred from sharing the files above, other parties shared them far and wide. 3-D printers cranked out parts and weapons in homes and offices all over the nation and the world.

But watch the news and this is supposedly a new threat that will result in guns that are undetectable and untraceable.

Now, I’ll admit that printed guns are untraceable. They’re no different than any other homebuilt firearm in that way but undetectable? If that’s the case, how did the TSA find these?

The Transportation Security Administration said workers have found 3D-printed guns and accessories at airport security checkpoints at least four times in the last two years.

The 3D-printed firearms, which are made mostly of plastic and can be constructed using blueprints available online, have sparked concern among gun control advocates that they could be undetectable by traditional means like metal detectors.

“TSA has determined that these items can — and have been — detected at the security checkpoint,” spokesperson Michelle Negron said in a statement to TIME. “Our officers are trained to look for and detect threats, including artfully concealed weapons, and through use of sophisticated technology, including Advanced Imaging Technology, can detect non-metallic items concealed on a passenger.”

Travelers carrying 3D-printed firearms at security checkpoints will be referred to local law enforcement and face civil penalties by the administration, the agency said.

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Now, let’s remember that this is the TSA we’re talking about here. I’m not sure they could find anything based on their failure rates, much less an actual threat, and they found these guns.

Maybe that means these aren’t as undetectable as the media has made them out to be?

Of course, they’re not. The ammunition is metal. The firing pin is metal. Often, the barrels are metal. All of these combine to make a weapon just as detectable as any other firearm.

Years ago, back when they were new, Glocks were supposed to be undetectable. Polymer lowers were terrifying to anti-gunners and they wanted those to go away forever. Today, they’re probably the most popular handguns on the market. Oh yeah, you can’t get one through a metal detector either.

The problem here is a combination of fearmongering by the media and ignorant activists who spew words about subjects of which they don’t have the faintest understanding. They see a plastic gun and completely freak out. They freak out based on ignorance, much like they do about everything else in their lives.

What they don’t get is that that ship has sailed. For two years, people have tried to sneak guns past TSA and failed. That means they’ve had them for at least that long and where is this problem?

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Oh yeah, there isn’t one.

While bad people may do bad things with printed guns, let’s not forget that bad people have already proven they can get guns no matter what. Why continue to try and penalize the law-abiding because of the handful of bad actors out there?

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