4 ms·

Some pro-gun organizations were supportive of the bill, including the NSSF (a lobby group of gun retailers and gun manufacturers ... not hard to see why they we

by steve19 13y ago

Some pro-gun organizations were supportive of the bill, including the NSSF (a lobby group of gun retailers and gun manufacturers ... not hard to see why they were pro the bill). Ultimately, the bill would have significantly increased manufacturing costs, banned many existing products and have done absolutely nothing for national security. Guns require metal parts. A gun with a polymer barrel is at worst a very inaccurate single shot device, more likely it is a hand grenade. Currently manufacturers of polymer framed guns dope the polymer with a substance (I forget what it is) that makes them visible in xray scanners.

aaronbrethorst 13y ago
I can imagine many scenarios where a single shot is entirely sufficient, such as assassinations and airplane hijacking.
- krapp 13y ago
  Even in those situations, a typical gun would probably work better, Those can be concealed too. I usually fall quite to the left of a lot of my friends when it comes to gun control issues but in this case I really don't see 3d printed guns making things worse than they already are, given that the right to keep guns around is baked into the constitution as it is.
  - reader5000 13y ago
    All thats baked into the constitution is the right of the National Guard to bear arms.
    - krapp 13y ago
      I agree with you, but religion and populist, libertarian precedent have kind of made that a moot interpretation. 3d printed, single-shot guns aren't relevant when you can get real firepower at Wal-Mart or pawn shops, or cash at a gun show, no questions asked.
      - midas007 13y ago
        Yup. It's a red-herring, fear-driven issue compared to availability of actual weapons.
    - InclinedPlane 13y ago
      This is utterly false and has no basis in history.
    - midas007 13y ago
      Yeah, yeah don't talk politics: The 4th amendment was created during a time that had a recent memory of forced quartering of British soldiers. A rifle was seen as part of a citizen's duty and contribution to the national defense when the fledgling country consisted of a few states on the Eastern-most shore. That's a far different time given today's political climate and the electoral college, the scenario for a charismatic dictator is just about nil. Canada is not going to invade and USM won't suddenly disappear. Beyond a rifle in wilderness, a pistol is more of a liability in most practical instances. Someone regularly practiced and cautious may have a tiny marginal benefit in an extreme situation... But how often do those occur? Cities are safer than ever. Worse case the weapon could be used against the owner, or accidentally discharged due to mistake identity: both liabilities. If a person intentionally chooses to keep a weapon where legal, they better be at the range at least twice a month or it's pure irresponsibility. (I'm both a member of the NRA and SAR.)
      - aaronbrethorst 13y ago
        Uh, what? The 2nd amendment discusses firearms and the 3rd discusses quartering of soldiers. What does search and seizure (4th) have to do with this discussion?
- DrStalker 13y ago
  Or by flooding an occupied country with so many cheap single shot handguns the enemy can't stop them all: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FP-45_Liberator http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FP-45_Liberator > It was originally intended as an insurgency weapon to be mass dropped behind enemy lines to resistance fighters in occupied territory. A resistance fighter was to recover the gun, sneak up on an Axis occupier, kill or incapacitate him, and retrieve his weapons.
  - midas007 13y ago
    Zip guns NYC 1950's ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Improvised_firearm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Improvised_firearm
- saraid216 13y ago
  http://leftbehind.wikia.com/wiki/Saber http://leftbehind.wikia.com/wiki/Saber
justin66 13y ago
> A gun with a polymer barrel is at worst a very inaccurate single shot device, more likely it is a hand grenade. I'm pretty confident you could build a polymer-barreled single-shot or even a revolver around one of the lower-powered .22 caliber rounds. (no idea how you would get rid of the little springs and so on, though) Keep in mind, there are weak .22s that are just powered by a primer and no actual powder charge. They're not powerful at all.
- Sanddancer 13y ago
  One can 3d print springs. There are a number of thermoplastics that can be made elastic enough for such purposes. Though I imagine for simplicity, you'd probably want to go for a .25acp instead. Similar power, but using a centerfire round would be a lot easier to build a firing mechanism that would work given the limited number of shots you could fire.

by steve19 13y ago

aaronbrethorst 13y ago

I can imagine many scenarios where a single shot is entirely sufficient, such as assassinations and airplane hijacking.

krapp 13y ago
Even in those situations, a typical gun would probably work better, Those can be concealed too. I usually fall quite to the left of a lot of my friends when it comes to gun control issues but in this case I really don't see 3d printed guns making things worse than they already are, given that the right to keep guns around is baked into the constitution as it is.
- reader5000 13y ago
  All thats baked into the constitution is the right of the National Guard to bear arms.
  - krapp 13y ago
    I agree with you, but religion and populist, libertarian precedent have kind of made that a moot interpretation. 3d printed, single-shot guns aren't relevant when you can get real firepower at Wal-Mart or pawn shops, or cash at a gun show, no questions asked.
    - midas007 13y ago
      Yup. It's a red-herring, fear-driven issue compared to availability of actual weapons.
  - InclinedPlane 13y ago
    This is utterly false and has no basis in history.
  - midas007 13y ago
    Yeah, yeah don't talk politics: The 4th amendment was created during a time that had a recent memory of forced quartering of British soldiers. A rifle was seen as part of a citizen's duty and contribution to the national defense when the fledgling country consisted of a few states on the Eastern-most shore. That's a far different time given today's political climate and the electoral college, the scenario for a charismatic dictator is just about nil. Canada is not going to invade and USM won't suddenly disappear. Beyond a rifle in wilderness, a pistol is more of a liability in most practical instances. Someone regularly practiced and cautious may have a tiny marginal benefit in an extreme situation... But how often do those occur? Cities are safer than ever. Worse case the weapon could be used against the owner, or accidentally discharged due to mistake identity: both liabilities. If a person intentionally chooses to keep a weapon where legal, they better be at the range at least twice a month or it's pure irresponsibility. (I'm both a member of the NRA and SAR.)
    - aaronbrethorst 13y ago
      Uh, what? The 2nd amendment discusses firearms and the 3rd discusses quartering of soldiers. What does search and seizure (4th) have to do with this discussion?
DrStalker 13y ago
Or by flooding an occupied country with so many cheap single shot handguns the enemy can't stop them all: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FP-45_Liberator http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FP-45_Liberator > It was originally intended as an insurgency weapon to be mass dropped behind enemy lines to resistance fighters in occupied territory. A resistance fighter was to recover the gun, sneak up on an Axis occupier, kill or incapacitate him, and retrieve his weapons.
- midas007 13y ago
  Zip guns NYC 1950's ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Improvised_firearm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Improvised_firearm
saraid216 13y ago
http://leftbehind.wikia.com/wiki/Saber http://leftbehind.wikia.com/wiki/Saber

justin66 13y ago

> A gun with a polymer barrel is at worst a very inaccurate single shot device, more likely it is a hand grenade. I'm pretty confident you could build a polymer-barreled single-shot or even a revolver around one of the lower-powered .22 caliber rounds. (no idea how you would get rid of the little springs and so on, though) Keep in mind, there are weak .22s that are just powered by a primer and no actual powder charge. They're not powerful at all.

Sanddancer 13y ago
One can 3d print springs. There are a number of thermoplastics that can be made elastic enough for such purposes. Though I imagine for simplicity, you'd probably want to go for a .25acp instead. Similar power, but using a centerfire round would be a lot easier to build a firing mechanism that would work given the limited number of shots you could fire.