Instead of obtaining a weapon, you can also simply print one: the use of 3D-printed weapons is increasing significantly.
The possibilities for 3D printing are endless. After all, it’s a new way to be creative with building something. For example, everything can be built on the basis of a 3D design, from small accessories to 3D-printed concrete to build houses.
3D printed weapons
It all seems pretty harmless, until it’s no longer harmless. Because 3D printing has also opened the door to a worrying development in the criminal circuit. You can now get 3D-printed weapons. And we say that on purpose a bit as if every buffoon with a 3D printer can now print a weapon themselves, because that’s more or less how it works. If you know where to look, different people have already developed a purebred firearm for different purposes, which you just need to press “Ctrl+P” for. That started with hand pistols, but now a fairly popular model is the semi-automatic “FGC-9”, where FGC stands for F*ck Gun Control. That is why the police are ringing the bell.
Increase
Preventing arms trades is theoretically difficult, as their distribution can be intercepted if you’re not careful. Trading in 3D printed weapons is easier as you just need to receive the 3D file. The weapon itself does not have to physically move anywhere. That makes trading weapons a lot easier, so it’s being used more and more. Weapons are weapons, so you might as well be screwed with a 3D-printed weapon, but illegal gun ownership is getting harder and harder to spot. Last year there were 14 investigations into which 3D-printed weapons were used, and workshops that wanted to print weapons on a large scale have also been rolled up. Other countries see 3D weapons in terrorist attacks, such as in Halle in Germany.
Danger
Another worrying aspect of 3D-printed weapons is safety. The weapons are largely plastic, which is obviously not an ideal material when it comes to heat. The weapon also has to be put together manually, which does not always go well. The police have conducted shooting tests with confiscated 3D-printed weapons and serious defects were found with several of those weapons. Another danger is accessibility. We don’t have a Second Amendment in the Netherlands like in the US, so you have to go through all kinds of procedures to legally use a weapon. That is different if you can print a weapon yourself through unregulated channels. Who knows which hands 3D weapons will end up in?
Regulate
Because like I said, if you get caught with a gun, it doesn’t matter if you printed it yourself or not. This also applies to dealing in weapons, which is punishable: 3D printed or not. However, the possession and distribution of the blueprints has not been established and so it is separate from the Weapons Act. The police want to change that: the distribution of blueprints must also be banned. US gun-printing websites are already under fire by the SEC, but remain relatively easily accessible.
A special development and proof that useful technology sometimes (or often) has the opposite effect.