Tonight a federal judge is blocking access to blueprints that detail how to make guns using a 3D printer.
The plans were set to be released tomorrow.
President Trump addressed the issue this morning on twitter, saying he’s talking to the NRA, looking into the issue and it doesn’t seem to make much sense.
But tonight, 3P printers find themselves among America’s gun debate.
On one side, concerns that these "do it yourself" guns which have earned the nick name "ghost guns" are untraceable and are created without a serial number.
On the other, concerns the Second Amendment is under attack.
“3D printing moves you more towards click and print,” said UL mechanical engineering professor, Dr. Charles Taylor.
Industry experts say they don’t see criminals going through the trouble since the printers needed can cost thousands of dollars, they’re not as efficient and traditional firearms are easier to come by.
“These are not printers you can pick up at a local retail store, this is not material that you can very easily buy from local suppliers. You know, it’s very prohibitive. It would take on the course of hours or days,” said Dr. Taylor.
Still, eight attorneys general filed a lawsuit to block the release of the blueprints from Defense Distributed, a Texas-based company, citing safety concerns.
Louisiana lawmakers question their motives.
"All these attorney generals from the liberal, left-leaning states, I think they’re using this as an excuse to further chip away at the Second Amendment. If somebody wants to own a gun of paper machet, it doesn’t bother me so long as it complies with the law," said Senator John Kennedy.
Congressman Clay Higgins echoed those concerns saying “this is part of a larger effort to take away the Constitutional right to bear arms.”
Rep. Mike Johnson and Sen. Bill Cassidy have not yet responded to our requests for comment.
Under current law, guns have to have a metal component to be detected. So a fully plastic gun would be illegal.
“I think what the big concern right now is that it doesn’t function well. So I’d be much more concerned about someone trying something and getting hurt,” said Dr. Taylor.
