Local gun expert shares his view on 3D guns

After Federal Court Judge Robert Lasnik placed a temporary restraining order against the website Defense Distributed from uploading 3D gun blueprints, a local gun expert is sharing his thoughts on the future for gun owners.

“It’s really tough to say, it’s a constant assault on our industry.”

Michael Thompson is the general manager of Triton Arms in Yuma and says there’s a big difference from real firearm compared to a firearm you can print using a 3D printer. He adds while 3D printing is good for gun prototypes, it’s not very practical with plastic parts like a 3D lower receiver not ‘holding up’ in real situations.

Although the order is a temporary hold, the right to print and build a 3D gun has been an ongoing battle since 2013 with the government.

The controversy over 3D guns is when it comes to criminal activity, they’re untraceable and undetectable with no serial number on the firearm. But according to gun experts, even though a criminal could download a 3D gun blueprint online, it’s the cost of a 3D printer that could stop them from pursuing it.

“As long as we have a 2nd Amendment that’s in place and functioning, there’s going to be a freedom to own and have guns,” said Thompson. “But when you have ‘issues’ like this come up, they[lawmakers] start to reinvestigate every area in our Constitution, and it starts to investigate different avenues in our Constitution.”

Thompson also believes the issue could create lawmakers to twist the story around to restrict people the ability to buy guns in the future.

In the meantime, lawmakers and litigants will meet on August 10th to decide whether a preliminary hearing is needed.