Rep. Israel to Introduce Legislation to Prohibit 3-D Printed High-Capacity Magazines Along with Plastic Guns



Rep. Israel to Introduce Legislation to Prohibit 3-D Printed High-Capacity Magazines Along with Plastic Guns

HON. STEVEN J. ISRAEL

OF NEW YORK MEMBER, UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 16, 2013

Rep. Israel to Introduce Legislation to Prohibit 3-D Printed High-Capacity Magazines Along with Plastic Guns

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

As Debate Stirs Around High-Capacity Gun Clips, Homemade Gun Enthusiasts Show Clip Can be Made At Home with 3-D Printer

Washington, D.C.— Today, Congressman Steve Israel (D-Huntington) called for a renewal of a revamped Undetectable Firearms Act that includes the ban of 3-D printed, plastic high-capacity magazines. The existing ban on plastic guns expires this year and does not clearly cover magazines. This past weekend,, a group of homemade gun enthusiasts used a 3-D printer to print and test an ammunition magazine for an AR semi-automatic rifle, loading and firing 86 rounds from the 30-round clip.

Rep. Israel said, “Background checks and gun regulations will do little good if criminals can print high-capacity magazines at home. 3-D printing is a new technology that shows great promise, but also requires new guidelines. Law enforcement officials should have the power to stop high-capacity magazines from proliferating with a Google search.”

3-D printers work by printing layer upon layer of a material, usually thermoplastic, on top of each other in order to form a 3-D object. The revamped Undetectable Firearms Act that Rep. Israel wrote makes it illegal to manufacture, own, transport, buy, or sell any firearm or high-capacity magazine that is not detectable by metal detector and/or does not present an accurate image when put through an x-ray machine. The reauthorization would extend the life of the bill for another 10 years from the date of enactment.

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