while technology marches on, what the govt will allow you to legally DO with that tech is in the hands of the legislators, or worse, unelected bureaucrats in various govt agencies.
I remember hearing, some time back about a student, (might have been at CalTech, I don't remember), who literally as a project, built an atomic bomb.
And, it would have worked, too! IF he had the special nuclear material to put in it, which, he didn't. (and couldn't legally get, so he didn't try)
Govt sent some people to "talk to him" I think they wanted to prosecute, but there was no case, ALL the information he used to make his "bomb" was in the public domain, and had been for decades.
The principles of nuclear weapons were taught in high school half a century ago...
Point here is that even if the information or the tech is out there to own, legally, what you DO with it is still under govt control and can be restricted or prohibited by law, or regulation.
And there is a potential catch-22 in that the govt may prosecute you (and possibly successfully) because of your intent, not your actual actions.
There was a case years ago where some would be terrorists went to jail for making a bomb, but the bomb didn't go off, and couldn't go off because one of their group was a govt agent and he supplied them with "explosives" that were inert. They didn't know that, and built their bomb with every intention and expectation of it exploding, and for that, they got convicted.
There are enough common materials in nearly every household in America that a person with the skill, could make an explosive device from. No one gets prosecuted unless, by intent, they actually try to make one.
You can have your 3D printer, and while I'm not sure if the govt can restrict what programs/information you may possess (where does Freedom of Speech apply??) they can, and do have the authority to regulate what you can MAKE with it.
This is part of the issue of "ghost guns" (damn I hate that term, but it is what's in use,,,
). Existing laws were set up long ago, when guns had to be made by machines with skilled operators (or by hand with a skilled craftsman doing it) not just pushing a button or two, and they allowed you to make guns (or nearly anything else) by yourself, for your own use.
When those guns left your possession (and entered the commercial market) then the rules covering them changed. I don't have any issues with that.
What I do object to is people (thought the use of the govt) who want a "pre-emptive strike" by legally prohibiting or restricting what you are allowed to make, for yourself BECAUSE it MIGHT get into the illegal market and people MIGHT do bad things with it.
The way I see it, either we are children or we are adults, each individually responsible for our acts. I don't see it both ways, its one, or the other, and if we are adults (which I believe we are) then govt should get the hell off our butts and also get off their butts and do something that actually might be useful, like catching the people who are shooting other people for fun or profit and removing them from society.
I know, its probably just a dream, but I can still dream, (or has the nanny state outlawed that too??) can't I??