Do 3D-printed guns work and why have they been blocked in the US?

Controversial weapon plans were due to released publicly later today

A US judge has blocked the release of plans for 3-D-printed guns
A US judge this week banned the process of uploading blueprints for 3D printed guns
(Image credit: Robert MacPherson/AFP/Getty Images)

A US federal judge has blocked the release of blueprints that provide instructions for the manufacture of 3D-printed guns, only a couple of hours before the plans were due to be released to the public.

US District Court Judge Robert Lasnik has sided with eight Democratic attorneys general to block the release of the plans, despite the fact that the company behind the plans – Texas-based Defense Distributed – had already won approval in court to release them.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us