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This isn't new, or unique to 3d printing. Plastic/polymer firearms have been around for a long time, including a few out there with ceramic barrels and chambers

This isn't new, or unique to 3d printing. Plastic/polymer firearms have been around for a long time, including a few out there with ceramic barrels and chambers. Ammunition is easier to detect, generally - almost all of it is metallic-cased and uses a metallic projectile. There have been attempts to create practical baseless ammunition, but they've generally been failures and I'm not aware of any available for purchase commercially. Ultimately, this sort of thing is interesting from a technical perspective but not really very useful. This is even more the case in the US, as firearms are ubiquitous. In 2016, there were 14.5 million active concealed carry permits in the US, and in 11 states, no license was required to carry concealed. Given that something like one in twenty or so adults in most parts of the country are probably carrying a firearm at any given time, knowing "there's a gun in the room" isn't very useful.

newman8r 8y ago
Yeah I don't think it's any cause for alarm, and I agree that it's mostly interesting from a technical perspective.
beenBoutIT 8y ago
If the NRA was clever they would make a much bigger deal about how many guns are already out in circulation in America, and how there's literally nothing that can ever be done to remove them all. The vanguard of gun violence prevention's focus on keeping guns out of the hands of America's growing population of violent mentally ill individuals isn't realistic. It's going to be much easier to identify and remove the violent mentally ill people from society than to remove all of the ways in which they can inflict harm.
bdhess 8y ago
> Given that something like one in twenty or so adults in most parts of the country are probably carrying a firearm at any given time I think that’s a gross overestimation. I would guess that most CCW permit holders hardly ever carry in practice (source: used to have one). There are states where you don’t need a permit to own a pistol at all. In others, you may not technically need one to take your gun to the shooting range (because after all, if you own one, you should practice) but... If you’re stopped by police in a context where you don’t need a permit, it’s still always better to have one. If the police aren’t aware of the law or the particular permit exception you fall under, the best likely outcome is you get put in a cage while they figure it out. Having a permit helps avoid that.

newman8r 8y ago

Yeah I don't think it's any cause for alarm, and I agree that it's mostly interesting from a technical perspective.

beenBoutIT 8y ago

If the NRA was clever they would make a much bigger deal about how many guns are already out in circulation in America, and how there's literally nothing that can ever be done to remove them all. The vanguard of gun violence prevention's focus on keeping guns out of the hands of America's growing population of violent mentally ill individuals isn't realistic. It's going to be much easier to identify and remove the violent mentally ill people from society than to remove all of the ways in which they can inflict harm.

bdhess 8y ago

> Given that something like one in twenty or so adults in most parts of the country are probably carrying a firearm at any given time I think that’s a gross overestimation. I would guess that most CCW permit holders hardly ever carry in practice (source: used to have one). There are states where you don’t need a permit to own a pistol at all. In others, you may not technically need one to take your gun to the shooting range (because after all, if you own one, you should practice) but... If you’re stopped by police in a context where you don’t need a permit, it’s still always better to have one. If the police aren’t aware of the law or the particular permit exception you fall under, the best likely outcome is you get put in a cage while they figure it out. Having a permit helps avoid that.