Trump deal to share 3D-printed gun blueprints online ruled ‘unlawful’

A federal judge has struck down a decision by the Trump administration to allow blueprints for 3D-printed guns to be shared online.

In a ruling published Tuesday, Judge Robert Lasnik said the deal made in July last year was “arbitrary and capricious” and thus a violation of the federal Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution.

The original deal was part of a settlement between the Justice Department and Texas-based nonprofit Defense Distributed, which garnered worldwide attention in 2013 with its claims to have created the world’s first “100 percent 3D-printed gun.” The dissemination of plans for the gun was blocked by the Obama administration, but last year Defense Distributed successfully sued the government and had the ban reversed, arguing that it was a free speech violation.

Lasnik’s ruling has overturned this last decision, with the judge stating that previous arguments made against Defense Distributed by the Department of State — namely that “the manufacture of undetectable firearms was a threat to world peace and the national security interests of the United States” — still held. “Against these findings, the federal defendants offer nothing,” said Lasnik.