Trump 'looking into' 3-D guns issue
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said today he has spoken with the National Rifle Association about downloadable directions others want to provide for people to make 3-D-printed guns, adding the idea "doesn't seem to make much sense!"
Trump tweeted he is "looking into 3-D Plastic Guns being sold to the public" and "already spoke to NRA." He did not offer further details, and the White House did not immediately provide additional clarity.
The National Rifle Association did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Eight have filed suit against the Trump administration over its decision to allow a Texas company to publish downloadable blueprints for a 3D-printed gun, contending that such hard-to-trace plastic weapons are a boon to terrorists and criminals and threaten public safety.
The suit, filed Monday in Seattle, asks a judge to block the federal government's late-June settlement with Defense Distributed, which allowed the company to make the plans available online.
Democrats had a news conference today, calling on the administration to reverse the decision. Senators said Trump has the power to stop the company from making downloadable plans available online.
Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal said if Trump fails to act, "blood is going to be on his hands."
People can use the blueprints to manufacture plastic guns using a 3D printer. But gun industry experts have expressed doubt that criminals would go to the trouble, since the printers needed to make the guns are very expensive, the guns themselves tend to disintegrate quickly and traditional firearms are easy to come by.
Unlike traditional firearms that can fire thousands of rounds in their lifetimes, the 3-D-printed guns normally last only a few rounds before they fall apart, experts say. They don't have magazines that allow the usual nine or 15 rounds to be carried; instead, they usually hold a bullet or two and then must be manually loaded afterward. And they're not usually very accurate.