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Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Administration Rules For 3D-Printed Guns

<p>TSA agents at Reno-Tahoe International Airport found a replica gun made with 3D-printed parts in July 2016.</p>

Courtesy Transportation and Security Administration

TSA agents at Reno-Tahoe International Airport found a replica gun made with 3D-printed parts in July 2016.

A federal judge in Washington state issued a temporary injunction blocking Trump administration rule changes that could allow people to share plans for 3-D printed firearms in person, by mail or email.

The rules would shift oversight for some commercial arms exports from the State Department to the Department of Commerce, which has said plans for 3-D printed guns posted online would still require an export license, but plans distributed by mail or in person would not.

Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who is leading a coalition of 21 states including Oregon, Connecticut, and Washington D.C. in a federal lawsuit to block the new rules from going into effect, said person-to-person sharing is a huge loophole.

"If the Trump Administration has its way, these ghost guns will be available to anyone regardless of age, mental health or criminal history,” he said in a statement.

U.S. District Judge Richard Jones said easily accessible 3-D firearm plans “implicates serious national security and public interests.”

“The proliferation of 3-D gun files on the internet likely renders ineffective arms embargoes, export controls and other measures used to restrict the availability of uniquely dangerous weapons sought by those seeking to commit acts of terrorism or other serious crimes,” Jones said in his decision.

The injunction means that for now, the State Department will continue to regulate 3-D printed firearm plans and will continue to bar distribution of the plans.

is a public media reporting project on the role of guns in American life.

Copyright 2020 Oregon Public Broadcasting

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Jonathan Levinson is a multimedia reporter and producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting. He’s the Audion Fellow covering Guns & America.