The country with one of the tightest gun control laws strikes again

May 24, 2014 08:17 GMT  ·  By

Firearms are dangerous things, especially in the hands of people that lack authorization to own them, but that's what gun control laws are for. Australia, as one of the countries most cautious about these things, has just taken a stand on the issue of 3D printed weaponry.

As is (unfortunately) usually the case for all fields of technology, 3D printing didn't take long before it got used to make guns.

The past two years saw various regulations rise against them, however, and it's no longer just a matter of including an iron pin in the design.

Just being able to detect the things with metal detectors doesn't cut it anymore. Certain countries and US states have outlawed the ownership of such firearms without proper permits, and some forbid their making altogether.

Now, Australia is putting its foot down, or is in the latter stages of doing so, thanks to a bill introduced by Carl Judge, a member of the Palmer United Party (PUP) in Queensland, Australia’s second largest state.

Since anyone with a 3D printer can make a gun, he wants to make the distribution of gun 3D models illegal in the country.

Considering the shock that the police in New South Queens experienced last year, it's not a surprise to see this happening. Indeed, it's actually a shock to see it take so long to happen.

The police agency downloaded a 3D model of Cody Wilson’s Liberator handgun and found, to their shock and dismay, that it was as lethal as weapons come.

And since the gun could be fabricated for as much money as it takes to cook a normal dinner, there was a lot of reason to be concerned.

We can just imagine extremists churning out these things by the dozen and cackling in the background throughout the process. It doesn't help that the weapon can be made in 26 hours and assembled in under a minute.

If Carl Judge's motion passes (an almost sure thing at this point), it will not only be illegal to download a gun and print it, but to post the design online as well.

Kind of stringent, even for Australia, since the sharing of information is part of basic human rights, and it's not like those involved in illegal activities will have much problem obtaining a design through other means, so long as it exists.

Still, even if his motion gets amended, some sort of law will probably be passed regardless of those complaints.