4 ms·

If someone prints a part from a gun design, and then uses it for some unrelated purpose, would that be a crime under UK law? I think it wouldn't be, in fact, b

If someone prints a part from a gun design, and then uses it for some unrelated purpose, would that be a crime under UK law? I think it wouldn't be, in fact, because plenty of things are "weapons" if used in one way and "not weapons" (and therefore legal to carry on the street) when used another way (prime example: not illegal to carry kitchen knives home from the shops, totally illegal to wave it around in the street.)

robmcm 13y ago
Not the parts, but at some point when you have enough parts it becomes a weapon. Guess it would be up to a judge to decide.
BgSpnnrs 13y ago
Pretty sure they'd have a hard time bringing about a prosecution with unassembled parts as it is. Slow news day is what this is.
- tehwalrus 13y ago
  Police (and the home office) doing press releases telling us all the new ways criminals are going to hurt us (maybe) is really getting on my nerves.
DanBC 13y ago
Some guns and some parts of guns are banned, and this is an absolute offence. You find a gun in the attic and take it to the police? That's an offence. Having a part of a gun and suing it for something else would fall under that law. (I don't think all gun parts are covered). Knives are covered under a different law.
- tehwalrus 13y ago
  then we clearly need a new law - if the police can't tell the difference between a 3D printer part and a gun part (or, indeed, a 3D printer part can be used in a gun, which is possible I suppose) then the existing law bans such 3D printers, which was clearly not its intention!
  - pjc50 13y ago
    This gets sorted out in court. All that's happened here is the police have seized some things under PACE as part of an unrelated raid and put out an excitable press release.
jevinskie 13y ago
At least in the US, a drop-in auto sear is considered to be a firearm/machine gun in the eyes of the law.
- tehwalrus 13y ago
  In the UK, you are required to have a license for any firearm, and we haven't had any handgun licenses for many years (since the aftermath of the Dunblane shooting[1] in 1996.) The only type of license that I know of as common is shotguns in the countryside. (I live in central London, and if I applied for a shotgun license I'd not only be refused out of hand, I'd probably go on every police watch list that exists.) [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunblane_school_massacre http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunblane_school_massacre
  - growupkids 13y ago
    Let's be clear, the UK hasnt banned all handgun sales to civilians. Black powder is still allowed, as are small firearms in special circumstances. I suspect you are referring to "modern" handguns. In which case, subjects of the crown are not allowed to own them. Whereas, Handgun sales to the government are very common, and of course Illegal handguns are certainly sold in the UK to criminals. So there have been handgun sales in the UK since the "ban".
    - victorhooi 13y ago
      Err, yes, but I don't think anything you've said actually disproves his argument... Black powder guns - I assuming you're referring to the muzzle-loaded antique-looking ones you'd normally see in museums? Not exactly the sort of thing you'd use for sport shooting, or for self-defense. And saying that there are illegal sales doesn't mean that the "UK hasn't banned all handgun sales to civilians". That's like saying smoking in a hospital is illegal - but I heard from a friend of a friend that this guy in the next county did it once and didn't get caught - so they haven't really banned smoking, have they gasp? Look, I have my own thoughts on guy laws, and I'm not saying the UK handgun ban is bad - but to claim is isn't really a ban (with tiny exceptions) is a bit disingenuous.

robmcm 13y ago

Not the parts, but at some point when you have enough parts it becomes a weapon. Guess it would be up to a judge to decide.

BgSpnnrs 13y ago

Pretty sure they'd have a hard time bringing about a prosecution with unassembled parts as it is. Slow news day is what this is.

tehwalrus 13y ago
Police (and the home office) doing press releases telling us all the new ways criminals are going to hurt us (maybe) is really getting on my nerves.

DanBC 13y ago

Some guns and some parts of guns are banned, and this is an absolute offence. You find a gun in the attic and take it to the police? That's an offence. Having a part of a gun and suing it for something else would fall under that law. (I don't think all gun parts are covered). Knives are covered under a different law.

tehwalrus 13y ago
then we clearly need a new law - if the police can't tell the difference between a 3D printer part and a gun part (or, indeed, a 3D printer part can be used in a gun, which is possible I suppose) then the existing law bans such 3D printers, which was clearly not its intention!
- pjc50 13y ago
  This gets sorted out in court. All that's happened here is the police have seized some things under PACE as part of an unrelated raid and put out an excitable press release.

jevinskie 13y ago

At least in the US, a drop-in auto sear is considered to be a firearm/machine gun in the eyes of the law.

tehwalrus 13y ago
In the UK, you are required to have a license for any firearm, and we haven't had any handgun licenses for many years (since the aftermath of the Dunblane shooting[1] in 1996.) The only type of license that I know of as common is shotguns in the countryside. (I live in central London, and if I applied for a shotgun license I'd not only be refused out of hand, I'd probably go on every police watch list that exists.) [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunblane_school_massacre http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunblane_school_massacre
- growupkids 13y ago
  Let's be clear, the UK hasnt banned all handgun sales to civilians. Black powder is still allowed, as are small firearms in special circumstances. I suspect you are referring to "modern" handguns. In which case, subjects of the crown are not allowed to own them. Whereas, Handgun sales to the government are very common, and of course Illegal handguns are certainly sold in the UK to criminals. So there have been handgun sales in the UK since the "ban".
  - victorhooi 13y ago
    Err, yes, but I don't think anything you've said actually disproves his argument... Black powder guns - I assuming you're referring to the muzzle-loaded antique-looking ones you'd normally see in museums? Not exactly the sort of thing you'd use for sport shooting, or for self-defense. And saying that there are illegal sales doesn't mean that the "UK hasn't banned all handgun sales to civilians". That's like saying smoking in a hospital is illegal - but I heard from a friend of a friend that this guy in the next county did it once and didn't get caught - so they haven't really banned smoking, have they gasp? Look, I have my own thoughts on guy laws, and I'm not saying the UK handgun ban is bad - but to claim is isn't really a ban (with tiny exceptions) is a bit disingenuous.