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The Expiring Ban on Plastic Guns
New York Times ^ | November 19, 2013

Posted on 11/19/2013 9:27:52 PM PST by Second Amendment First

Even after the Newtown, Conn., massacre, Republican opponents of reasonable firearms restrictions in Congress blocked proposals for strengthened background checks and other steps to make future gun tragedies less likely. Now the question is whether anti-gun-control extremists will allow a federal ban on the manufacture, sale, import or possession of guns that are undetectable by metal detectors and X-ray machines to expire on Dec. 9.

When Congress first approved the Undetectable Firearms Act in 1988, and renewed it in 1998 and 2003, the possibility of undetectable plastic guns being taken onto planes and into government buildings where guns are prohibited was largely theoretical. Today, 3-D printing technology has reached a point where it is possible to cheaply create fully functional plastic handguns capable of firing multiple shots. A blueprint for creating such a gun, known as the Liberator, was downloaded more than 100,000 times when it was posted on the website of a group called Defense Distributed earlier this year.

Last week, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives tested a version of the Liberator produced by the agency and found its firepower to be sufficient to “reach vital organs and perforate the skull.” The weapon’s design calls for a small amount of metal to be included, which makes it legal under current law. But the metal part is tiny and can be easily removed. Agency officials are concerned about the spread of undetectable guns as 3-D printers become more widely available.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: banglist; gunban; guncontrol; plastic
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1 posted on 11/19/2013 9:27:52 PM PST by Second Amendment First
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To: Second Amendment First

Not difficult to conclude that the NYT would never put these words together: gun control extremists.


2 posted on 11/19/2013 9:33:44 PM PST by winner3000
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To: Second Amendment First

3 posted on 11/19/2013 9:37:31 PM PST by BenLurkin (This is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire; or both.)
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To: winner3000
Only within the context of anti-gun-control extremists
4 posted on 11/19/2013 9:37:45 PM PST by Second Amendment First
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To: Second Amendment First

The one that really got to me was the piece on FNC about “plastic” guns and this whole issue of invisibility. All the while they are showing the guy who’s been making 3D Printed Lower Receivers for AR15’s shooting AR’s that have these parts and going on and on about how terrible it is that these guns are “invisible.” And then they had some retired black NYPD black detective saying that Congress should re up the law. I don’t know how you make a gun “invisible” if it’s loaded with real ammunition, since so far as I know, you can’t make invisible bullets.


5 posted on 11/19/2013 9:43:00 PM PST by vette6387
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To: Second Amendment First

Yeah, they are mowing them down in the streets with single shot plastic zip guns /s

Bastard republicans!


6 posted on 11/19/2013 9:44:57 PM PST by mylife (Ted Cruz understands the law, and he does not fear the unlawful.)
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To: winner3000

Anyone and everyone who disagrees with hard core leftisim is an ‘extreamist’ no matter how treditional or moderate they are.

Insolently if people want plastic guns they can make or import them themselves is not like Washington can do anything to stop them. All Washington Democrats want to do is tell the rest of us to bury our heads in the sand and pretend theses weapons options don’t exist.

Well they will exist, and in growing numbers and availability because technology permits that. Learn to live with them! That means stop disarming the moral bit of us of the means to counteract the immoral’s bit’s threat.


7 posted on 11/19/2013 10:16:36 PM PST by Monorprise
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To: Second Amendment First

When do you think the slimes will start editorializing for restrictions on the First Amendment?


8 posted on 11/19/2013 10:21:03 PM PST by Mastador1 (I'll take a bad dog over a good politician any day!)
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To: Mastador1

Pretty sure they supported McCain-Feingold.


9 posted on 11/19/2013 10:25:57 PM PST by xjcsa (Ridiculing the ridiculous since the day I was born.)
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To: Mastador1

I have a headache. What ignorant rich didiots these people are. Invisible guns? Shooting invisible bullets? Why not ban ray guns and flash gordon?


10 posted on 11/19/2013 10:27:31 PM PST by rktman (Under my plan(scheme), the price of EVERYTHING will necessarily skyrocket! Period.)
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To: rktman

this was on tv. You can’t make an invisible gun..that shoots real bullets. End of story. You must have some steel, lead or copper in there to make it work.


11 posted on 11/19/2013 10:47:47 PM PST by Oldexpat
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To: Oldexpat

WHAT?! The nyt lies? Now I’m really in shambles. LOL!


12 posted on 11/19/2013 10:50:14 PM PST by rktman (Under my plan(scheme), the price of EVERYTHING will necessarily skyrocket! Period.)
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To: Second Amendment First

Quote:
“When Congress first approved the Undetectable Firearms Act in 1988, and renewed it in 1998 and 2003, the possibility of undetectable plastic guns being taken onto planes and into government buildings where guns are prohibited was largely theoretical. “

This is absolutely incorrect. At the time of the 2003 renewal of this law, there were mass produced plastic firearms made with the same size and shape as a cell phone. The FBI had put out a field guide for Federal agents to identify the particular types of plastic guns available on the market.

I remember this because the Field Guide was posted on FR, and there were some amazing examples of gun canes, gun cigarette cases, etc, mixed in with the mass produced cell phone shaped gun.


13 posted on 11/19/2013 10:54:03 PM PST by JerseyHighlander
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To: JerseyHighlander

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/954947/posts
FBI guide warns of hidden knives
WorldNetDaily.com ^ | Wednesday, July 30, 2003 | Paul Sperry

Posted on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 1:52:58 AM by JohnHuang2

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/942108/posts
FBI guide warns of hidden knives
WorldNetDaily.com ^ | Tuesday, July 8, 2003 | By Paul Sperry

Posted on Tuesday, July 08, 2003 3:48:43 AM by JohnHuang2

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
GUIDE TO CONCEALABLE WEAPONS 2003

https://www.fas.org/irp/agency/doj/fbi/weapons.pdf


14 posted on 11/19/2013 10:57:27 PM PST by JerseyHighlander
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To: Second Amendment First

Oh, gee... not this s*** again.

Why can’t reporters do the simplest homework. There are no “plastic guns” that can “slip undetected through x-ray machines.”


15 posted on 11/19/2013 11:05:58 PM PST by Jack Hammer
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To: Second Amendment First

16 posted on 11/20/2013 12:44:54 AM PST by Redcloak (Winter is coming.)
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To: Second Amendment First

Banning plastic and/or 3d printed guns would ultimately give the Feds total freedom to crash into any home or building anywhere any time.Smart meter information would be used to “determine” that a 3d printer is being used and the police would officially deduce that guns are being manufactured in the home and the SWATs would be called in.


17 posted on 11/20/2013 12:48:58 AM PST by arthurus (Read Hazlitt's Economics In One Lesson ONLINEhttp://steshaw.org/economics-in-one-lesson/)
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To: vette6387

You can put plastic bullets in plastic cartridges. They would lose a bit in effectiveness, though, and make it harder to clean the gun. Weren’t there once some caseless .22 cartridges ?


18 posted on 11/20/2013 12:51:47 AM PST by arthurus (Read Hazlitt's Economics In One Lesson ONLINEhttp://steshaw.org/economics-in-one-lesson/)
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To: Second Amendment First

I think they should just nip to the chase and make murder illegal.


19 posted on 11/20/2013 2:17:06 AM PST by Titan Magroyne (What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.)
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To: Jack Hammer
Oh, gee... not this s*** again.Why can’t reporters do the simplest homework. There are no “plastic guns” that can “slip undetected through x-ray machines.”

Sorry, Jack Hammer, but are you aware it's a federal felony to attempt to interfere with leftist extremist "journalist" fantasies?

20 posted on 11/20/2013 3:26:10 AM PST by Standing Wolf (No tyrant should ever be allowed to die of natural causes.)
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