DIY Guns: How a new settlement on 3D printed firearms could change gun rights forever
The "come and take it" mantra of gun-rights activists has taken on new meaning thanks to an Austin resident's recent settlement with the U.S. government.
With a green light from the State Department, Cody Wilson is inviting anyone who wants access to his code to create firearms using a 3-D printer to, well, come and take it.
But don't mistake this for a Second Amendment triumph, one of Wilson's lawyers says. It's more about the First."I know people make it about guns, but it's about free speech," said Josh Blackman, who fought the government over the prior restraint of the files on First Amendment grounds.
The settlement with Wilson's nonprofit, Defense Distributed, as well as the Second Amendment Foundation, was announced Tuesday.
Plaintiffs claimed it as a victory in part because it's a way to circumvent laws regulating how guns can be purchased.
It started in 2013, when Wilson was ordered by the government to remove files he'd posted online that could be downloaded and used to make guns with a 3-D printer. At the time, officials cited regulations for exporting firearms.
In the settlement agreement, the government gave Wilson's nonprofit the OK to distribute such files.
(Dallas Morning News)