Tuesday, July 31, 2018

In Response to this Week's Manufactured Moral Panic

Should We Be Afraid of the 3D Printed Gun?

The article is from four years ago, but is still valid.  The technology that has everyone so agitated has been out there for as long.  It was enabled and permitted during the Obama administration, so it wasn't a concern to Democratic politicians, the media, and Protestant leadership until very recently.

By the way, this has nothing to do with guns.  It's about the freedom to fabricate parts on your own without shelling out for jacked up prices by, oh, auto parts manufacturers, guitar parts suppliers, etc.  Also, self-fabricated parts, whether created by a 3D printer or in a wood or metal shop, cannot be successfully taxed.

Those large companies rightly see 3D printing as a threat and are working with sympathetic politicians (the ones on their "payroll") and dull-witted media to create this artificial issue to shove through legislation limiting our right to repair, modify, and adapt the things we own.

Also, unless you know how to operate an extruder and calculate an x-axis ratio, you're not building yourself a Tommy gun.