RICHMOND (August 27, 2018) – Today, Attorney General Mark R. Herring won a
preliminary injunction blocking the Trump Administration’s dangerous plan to make 3D-printed guns more widely available. The preliminary injunction follows a
lawsuit that was filed by Attorney General Herring and a coalition of state attorneys general back in July, seeking an injunction to prevent the distribution of detailed plans for printing plastic guns using 3D printers.
“The Trump Administration’s reckless plan to make 3D-printed guns widely available and easily accessible was one of the most dangerous ideas I have ever heard,” said Attorney General Herring. “As a country, we need to focus on keeping our communities safer, not making it easier for dangerous individuals or criminals to get their hands on home-printed, untraceable, and undetectable guns. This preliminary injunction is an important first step in keeping 3D-printed guns off of our streets and I will continue to work with my colleagues to put a stop to the Trump Administration’s dangerous plan once and for all.”
3D-printed guns could be undetectable by metal detectors, untraceable because of a lack of a serial number, and sought out by criminals and domestic abusers who cannot legally possess a firearm or pass a background check. The company that wants to distribute the plans online does not require proof of age or proof of eligibility before allowing a customer to download the plans.
Attorney General Herring previously joined a
bipartisan coalition of 21 attorneys general in a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo objecting to the Trump administration’s plan to allow the print-at-home gun plans to be made available online.
In the letter, Attorney General Herring and his colleagues argue that publicly available information on 3-D printed weapons will enable the production of firearms that are untraceable and undetectable by magnetometers in places such as airports, government buildings and schools. Additionally, unrestricted access to this kind of information will increase illegal trafficking of weapons across state and national borders.
The posting of the print-at-home gun plans was set in motion by a recent settlement between the Trump administration and Defense Distributed, a Texas-based online company that was previously ordered by the U.S. Department of State to remove downloadable files for firearms from its website.
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