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Rachen · November 14, 2018, 05:05 PM

I have followed the entire 3D firearm hysteria the moment it unfolded in the media and could not help but say: What an UTTER load of UTTER bullcrap. It is an example of the classic use of a straw man to get people to wail against a non-existent enemy. Trying to find empty solutions for non-existent problems to get the media-gobbling publics' minds away from more important issues.

The most advanced piece of gun related kit that I have seen a 3D printer produce was a HORRENDOUSLY large and HORRENDOUSLY unsightly chunk of plastic that fired a single .22LR cartridge which has to be manually loaded and extracted. The thing is the size of one of the early digital camcorders and is prone to melting or cracking even after one shot. After all, it is made from plastic.

There was a line in H. Beam Piper's classic sci-fi short story "The Answer", where a scientist was concerned that antimatter might be used to create a bomb: "Trying to build a nega-matter bomb is like digging a deep hole to find a rock to beat someone to death with, when the shovel you are using is perfectly capable for the task". It was used to illustrate just how difficult it is to produce and safely store positronic atoms. That quote can be used to describe 3D guns very accurately. For all the price and the necessary tools to create a single shot, low powered clunker that may or may not even survive it's first use, someone who really needed a gun for whatever reason, especially a criminal reason, would find it far more in his advantage to obtain an illegal, and far more deadly semi-auto from a drug dealer or gang member.

Personally, I find it is more likely that robotic intelligence would become self-aware and threaten the existence of the human population before 3D technology can be perfected to create a weapon as rugged, lethal and reliable as a M1911 or a Glock. Classic use by media of a straw man to distract the public and make the average Joe or Jane view the gun community as sneaky, devious and always attempting to skirt the law. There are things in the world that are far more lethal than firearms. With a simple hatchet and a whittling knife, I can obtain a single tree limb and within a few hours, craft a weapon that can kill an antelope up to 100 yards away. It is called an English/Welsh longbow and was once called the "scourge of knighthood". Perhaps they should cut down every tree and homeowners who wish to grow trees must keep them secured in glass cages, after filling out a 4473 and paying a suppressor tax stamp too, since the longbow is practically silent when it fires.

November 14, 2018, 05:05 PM	#15
Rachen Senior Member Join Date: May 10, 2006 Location: Weekend cowboy Posts: 542	I have followed the entire 3D firearm hysteria the moment it unfolded in the media and could not help but say: What an UTTER load of UTTER bullcrap. It is an example of the classic use of a straw man to get people to wail against a non-existent enemy. Trying to find empty solutions for non-existent problems to get the media-gobbling publics' minds away from more important issues. The most advanced piece of gun related kit that I have seen a 3D printer produce was a HORRENDOUSLY large and HORRENDOUSLY unsightly chunk of plastic that fired a single .22LR cartridge which has to be manually loaded and extracted. The thing is the size of one of the early digital camcorders and is prone to melting or cracking even after one shot. After all, it is made from plastic. There was a line in H. Beam Piper's classic sci-fi short story "The Answer", where a scientist was concerned that antimatter might be used to create a bomb: "Trying to build a nega-matter bomb is like digging a deep hole to find a rock to beat someone to death with, when the shovel you are using is perfectly capable for the task". It was used to illustrate just how difficult it is to produce and safely store positronic atoms. That quote can be used to describe 3D guns very accurately. For all the price and the necessary tools to create a single shot, low powered clunker that may or may not even survive it's first use, someone who really needed a gun for whatever reason, especially a criminal reason, would find it far more in his advantage to obtain an illegal, and far more deadly semi-auto from a drug dealer or gang member. Personally, I find it is more likely that robotic intelligence would become self-aware and threaten the existence of the human population before 3D technology can be perfected to create a weapon as rugged, lethal and reliable as a M1911 or a Glock. Classic use by media of a straw man to distract the public and make the average Joe or Jane view the gun community as sneaky, devious and always attempting to skirt the law. There are things in the world that are far more lethal than firearms. With a simple hatchet and a whittling knife, I can obtain a single tree limb and within a few hours, craft a weapon that can kill an antelope up to 100 yards away. It is called an English/Welsh longbow and was once called the "scourge of knighthood". Perhaps they should cut down every tree and homeowners who wish to grow trees must keep them secured in glass cages, after filling out a 4473 and paying a suppressor tax stamp too, since the longbow is practically silent when it fires.