{"id":2042,"date":"2014-05-21T06:43:44","date_gmt":"2014-05-21T10:43:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=2042"},"modified":"2014-06-19T06:57:19","modified_gmt":"2014-06-19T10:57:19","slug":"plastic-guns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=2042","title":{"rendered":"Plastic Guns"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(photo: c1.staticflickr.com)<\/p><\/div>\n

In the hands of a good mystery\/thriller writer, the presence of undetectable plastic guns can change the dramatic equation. But in case the real-life possibility of seriously lethal 3-D printed guns existing outside the weakly regulated firearms marketplace has been a problem barely on the edge of your consciousness, a threat like a massive meteor strike\u2014remote, but awful\u2014it\u2019s time to give it further thought. A Wired article<\/a><\/em> by Andy Greenberg, full of anonymous sources and YouTube videos of test-firings, shows how far this technology has come. Predictably, the cost of manufacture has plummeted as lethality has risen.<\/p>\n

A combination of libertarians, gunsmiths, and technology enthusiasts has been improving on printable handgun and rifle designs, step-by-step, moving \u201c3-D printed firearms from the realm of science fiction to practical weapons.\u201d And, Greenberg says, leaving \u201clegislators and regulators in the dust,\u201d despite the Undetectable Firearms Act<\/a>. Another reason this situation is like a meteor strike is, given what we know\u2014in this case about human behavior\u2014these developments seem unstoppable.<\/p>\n

The RFID article below suggests how a different technology can contribute to gun safety, too, for conventional handguns.<\/p>\n

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