In US, the receiver of the firearm is legally the firearm -- everything else is just boring bits of metal that you can buy without any sort of legal encumberments. Anyone can buy a chunk of 7075 aluminium that looks like an AR-15 lower receiver but, critically, has enough milling not-yet-done such that the ATF has blessed it to not be a firearm. Some time with a proper jig and a drill press can convert it into a working lower receiver! You don't even need a CNC.

But you don't even to buy such an "80% lower receiver" to do this -- you can just make your own lower receiver out of most anything (it need not stand firearm chamber pressures, unlike the bolt carrier / bolt and barrel, which are much harder to DIY), up to and including wood.

Murders done with rifles are quite rare (an overwhelming majority of murder is done with handguns, per FBI's Uniform Crime Report) so the disproportionate focus on the evils of such "ghost guns" / "DIY rifles" is baffling.

Time for some career politicians and grassroots campaigners to drum up a witch hunt to "regulate 3D printers" so that nobody out there can make a receiver without a permit ^.^

They've been doing that for quite some time. Do a search for "Ghost Gun" and have a laugh at California's politicians.

Luckily not a single anti gun politician has a bit of sense regarding guns or the disposition to ask an expert.

Making the barrel the serial numbered and tracked portion of a gun would make it much more difficult to machine at home.

Then they could just leave the 3d printer industry alone.

You don't even need a drill press. You can do it rather easily with a jig and hand held router. And the jig usually comes with the 80 percent receiver.

Of course, no one wants to put guns in the hands of bad guys.

This seems like a problem which can't be regulated away without severely impacting other industries (ie preventing production 3d printing machines which could produce these firearms).

Even with plans being illegal, it seems that where there is a will, there will be a way, even if it's through a black market or trial and error.

If that's the case does regulation make sense? Is there a more viable alternative?

It's funny the article should mention Austin, since there was just a mass stabbing there ( https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2017/05/01/multiple-pe... ).

Rifles are on the order of 20% as likely to be used to commit a murder as knives ( https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2013/crime-in-the-u.s.-... ).

~

Regulating what people can build in their own homes is not a good idea, nor is saying "this set of machine blueprints is legal to possess, while this other is not". The hacking community has known this for a long time ( https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html ).

You're more likely to be beaten to death with fists than killed by a rifle. The whole thing is emotion-based manipulation.

Exactly, and this is why fists need to be highly regulated by the government. I propose mandating that everyone have their hands surgically altered so that they're unable to make fists, and can only close their fingers partway.

You just have to store your fists separately and each fitted with a fist lock unless you're at a punching range.

I'm shocked that the US Government can track firearms in the first place as it undermines the purpose of the second amendment.

The definition of "shall not be infringed" gets smaller every day. In some states it has pretty much disappeared.

To enable state militias?

Militias don't need a state.

to ensure the security of a free state

And 'round and 'round we'll go until eternity!

Does the militia clause limit the right of ordinary American citizens to own firearms? Is every citizen a potential militia member?

http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/so-you-think-you...

> Does the militia clause limit the right of ordinary American citizens to own firearms?

No. This is a question of basic English grammar - to read it any other way one has to be trying to confirm their agenda.

> Is every citizen a potential militia member?

Yes. I could go out an join a militia today if I so desired. So could you.

You haven't had your mind blown until you've read Cody Wilson's "Come And Take It" [1]. Equally infuriating for the right and the left, and very very hard to rebut.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CO34MBI

I went to university with him in a rather liberal sub-program within the curriculum. You should see all the squirming and uncomfortableness he has created among the professors. Their claim is to teach free thinking and they just love to bring in past students who are successful and/or controversial like authors of books on how gender is just a social construct. But you can bet they haven't asked Cody to come present to the students.