(NEW YORK) — New York would become the first state to require manufacturers of 3D printers to block production of guns and gun parts under new legislation Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed Wednesday.
The proposed legislation would also make it a crime to possess or sell the digital blueprints needed to produce 3D-printed firearms without a license to do so.
“From the iron pipeline to the plastic pipeline, these proposals will keep illegal ghost guns off of New York streets, and enhance measures to track and block the production of dangerous and illegal firearms in our state,” Hochul said in a statement announcing the proposal.
Some 3D printing companies, including Thingiverse, have already begun deploying technology to rapidly detect and remove the digital blueprints for guns.
Earlier this year, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sent letters to 3D printing companies asking them to help combat the spread of homemade guns, which he called a “growing threat.” Luigi Mangione allegedly used a 3D-printed gun and silencer in the December 2024 assassination-style killing of United Healthcare chief executive Brian Thompson.
Bragg called on the companies to remove online blueprints, known as CAD files, that can be used to print firearms and gun parts without a background check. The district attorney’s office conceded that the measure will not stop the proliferation of ghost guns, but said the goal is to make it harder for people to find the designs to create them.
“These illegal firearms are being manufactured in homes and used in crimes right now, which is why I have been working with my colleagues in Albany and the private sector over the past several years to stop their proliferation. Passing these measures will reduce crime and strengthen public safety for all New Yorkers,” Bragg said in the governor’s statement.
In addition to criminalizing the unlicensed possession of CAD files for guns and requiring manufacturers to use technology to block the printer from creating guns, the proposed legislation would also mandate the reporting of 3D printed guns to a state police database, and would require gun manufacturers to design pistols so they cannot be quickly and easily modified for automatic fire.
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