Quick Fact: Plastic Guns and the Undetectable Firearms Act

In 1988, Congress passed the Undetectable Firearms Act which banned the manufacture and sale of firearms capable of passing through metal detectors and X-ray machines undetected, (i.e. plastic guns).  The act was renewed in 1998 and again in 2003 despite the fact that the idea of a fully operational gun made entirely from plastic was still largely theoretical.

Today, anyone with $1000 can own a 3D printer; and while there have been several people who have made working military style firearms using a mix of purchased metal parts and plastic parts replicated on a 3D printer, it wasn't until last month that someone succeeded in using a 3D printer to produce a working firearm made entirely from plastic.

Online instructions on how to build guns using a 3D printer have been downloaded more than 100,000 times.

The current iteration of the Undetectable Firearms Act will expire on December 9, 2013.  Representative Steve Israel (D-New York) and Senator Charles Schumer (D-New York), joined by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and Senator Bill Nelson (D-Florida) have all been pushing to extend the ban.  No Republicans have joined the effort.  

The NRA, beyond stating that they would "not oppose" the renewal, has remained largely mute on the subject, leaving other rabid gun-rights groups to take the lead--and the heat--in campaigning to end the ban.  Defense Distributed, a group run by Cody Wilson, a University of Texas law student, obtained a license naming his group a gun manufacturer in order to take advantage of a loophole in the law that permits gun manufacturers to test new designs.  Mr. Wilson is one of the leading sources for online plastic gun schematics.  His response to the Democratic led effort to extend the ban was "good f*cking luck" in getting it passed.

I'm not a big fan of crowds, and my aversion grows with each mass casualty news story; but the thought of anyone with $1000 and some free time being able to make his own undetectable and untraceable gun is enough to make me consider the advantages of agoraphobia. 

 The Undetectable Firearms Act expires in exactly 14 days.  How safe do you feel?