It's almost like the First and Second Amendments are related somehow...

In case you don't know,  Defense Distributed is a group that is working on open source designs and files for 3D printed firearms and firearms components.

And well, John Biggs at Tech Crunch has gotten all bent out of shape over this.  He points to Congressman Steve Israel's (D-NY) introduction of a bill to ban such developments and bemoans...   Defense Distributed.

Basically Biggs' argument boils down to "Stop doing icky things with your printers!  You're gonna get the Man to notice us!"  You can go to the article itself to see Biggs' tone.  It's like the man is full of the vapors    It's funny how a supposed advocate of 3D printing will get his knickers in a twist when someone... prints something.

See he's a "Devout First Amendment supporter"  that is until people start using the first amendment to say things he doesn't like.

Via JohnE who notes:

It's quite hysterical that a "defender of the freedom to tinker" would blame the tinkerers over the efforts of an authoritarian congressman to put limits on the technology. You can almost read where his "discretion" and "need to self-censor" commentary would have gone. It's also interesting that the line between exciting technological advancement and dangerous political exploitation just happens to match up perfectly with this preening sissy's delicate sensibilities.

I'd hate to send this guy to his nearest fainting couch, but we are rapidly approaching a time when these gun control laws are going to be almost impossible to enforce outside of public possession. The "undetectable plastic gun" is largely a James Bond fantasy. However, printable gun parts will be a reality very soon (and by "soon", I could mean "tomorrow"). These advancements, along with those in ceramics and composites, will make it much easier to produce a workable and reliable firearm in the future and the law will have a much harder time keeping up. It's also worth noting that we're crossing an important line in terms of affordability and access here. While 3D printers are relatively expensive now (roughly $3k base), as the technology advances, it will become accessible to the public. Your 50" flat-screen HDTV isn't $5000 anymore, for example. Just download a file off the internet, load it into your 3d printer, hit "print" and away you go.

 It's actually funny.  In the majority of the US one can already built a gun for personal use without any ATF shenanigans.

This also shows the insanity of such weapons controls.

Oh and here's the scary part. I think it was noted by Roberta X and forgive me for summarizing but:  

If you make it just as illegal to own a semiautomatic gun with a 10 7 round mag as it is to own a fully automatic gun with an 50 round mag. People are gonna go for the latter.

This is especially true if they can built it up from bobs and odds from a printer and then smuggle in a barrel.