\n
<\/p>\n
That uneasiness reaches beyond the right to bear arms. It\u2019s increasingly affecting people\u2019s ability to pursue a seemingly unrelated hobby: 3D printing.<\/p>\n
State lawmakers across the United States are debating\u2014and in some cases nearing passage of\u2014rules that would require 3D printers to include mandatory \u201cprint blocker\u201d software. These systems would scan files and refuse jobs they think might produce firearm parts. Washington\u2019s HB 2321 would require printers or slicers<\/a> to screen files and reject potential printouts that could be used in a weapon. California\u2019s AB 2047 would require manufacturers to attest that each model sold in the state<\/a> includes a certified firearm blueprint detection algorithm. New York lawmakers are now pushing similar printer-side blocking requirements<\/a>.<\/p>\n The stated aim is to stop 3D-printed ghost guns. But in doing so, legislators are trying to solve a crime problem by redesigning a general-purpose manufacturing tool. \u201cWhat they\u2019re talking about doing is banning certain kinds of shapes,\u201d says Kyle Wiens of iFixit, an outspoken opponent of the proposals. \u201cWe are starting to really dangerously undermine a lot of assumptions that go into how we make and use technology,\u201d says Wiens, who describes it as \u201ca little bit of an imaginary problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He\u2019s not alone. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a digital rights group, has made clear its opposition to print blocking<\/a>. It calls the idea \u201cwishful thinking\u201d that wouldn\u2019t deter people from printing firearms or their parts, and instead would make it far more difficult for law-abiding users to take advantage of a growing technology. Today, 3D printing is widely used not just by hobbyists but for parts prototyping, small-batch manufacturing, and in medicine for anatomical structures<\/a>, surgical templates, and implants. Around one million 3D printers<\/a> were sold worldwide in the first three months of 2025.<\/p>\n