This coming Wednesday is Aug. 1, which means that for the first time since May of 2013, Austin resident Cody Wilson and his Defense Distributed nonprofit will be able to publish instructions of how to 3-D print guns online (“The Most Dangerous Man in Austin?” Nov. 20, 2015). Recently, Wilson and the U.S. State Department settled a lawsuit the arms manufacturer had filed against the government shortly after the Office of Defense Trade Controls Compliance told him he was violating federal law and needed to stop publishing those instructions. According to Wilson’s attorney Josh Blackman, the government has agreed to waive its prior restraint, pay a “significant portion of [Wilson’s] attorney’s fees, and return $10,000 in State Department registration dues paid by Defense Distributed as a result of the restraint.” Blackman said the government also “expressly acknowledges that non-automatic firearms up to .50-caliber – including modern semi-auto sporting rifles such as the popular AR-15 and similar firearms – are not inherently military.” So, big win for the gun lovers, and bad news for those who seek some type of regulation or control, including U.S Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who on Tuesday wrote to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions seeking an explanation for the “inconsistent” settlement, which they fear may lead to “unlimited distribution to anyone – including felons and terrorists.”
This article appears in July 27 • 2018.