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Stop Downloadable Guns

    Stop Downloadable Guns

      What does this solve?

      Downloadable guns, or 3-D printed guns, are serious threats to our communities. The key to stopping the spread of downloadable guns is to stop the spread of the computer code that is used to 3-D print the firearm or its parts.

      Downloadable guns are a type of ghost gun because with a 3-D printer and access to the computer schematics, anyone can build an untraceable firearm without a background check.1Everytown for Gun Safety, “The Danger of Downloadable Guns,” January 17, 2020, https://www.everytown.org/report/the-danger-of-downloadable-guns/. A functional downloadable gun can be made entirely out of plastic and evade a metal detector.2US Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, “Audit of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ Monitoring of 3-D Firearm Printing Technology,” December 2021, https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/22-016.pdf. To stop the spread of downloadable guns, the spread of the computer code that is used to create them should be stopped.

      How it works

      Federal action is needed to stop the spread of downloadable guns.

      Downloadable guns cause the same harm as any other firearm. For years, the distribution of computer code for downloadable guns on the internet was strongly regulated—it was considered to be an export of a deadly weapon and regulated by the Department of State on the United States Munitions List.

      The Trump Administration,1US Department of State, “International Traffic in Arms Regulations: U.S. Munitions List Categories I, II, and III,” Federal Register 85, no. 15 (January 23, 2020): 3819–33, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-01-23/pdf/2020-00574.pdf. however, moved to remove downloadable guns from the United States Munitions List2Everytown for Gun Safety, “Urgent State Department Action to Prevent Publication of 3D-Printed Firearms Files,” May 3, 2021, https://www.everytown.org/report/urgent-state-department-action-to-prevent-publication-of-3d-printed-firearms-files/. and make the computer code widely available to anyone—prohibited purchasers, children, and foreign terrorists—anywhere. 

      The Biden Administration should return 3-D printed firearms to the United States Munitions List to once again regulate the computer code required to make them. Congress should pass the 3D-Printed Gun Safety Act,3S.1819 – 3D Printed Gun Safety Act of 2023, 118th Congress (2023-2024), https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/1819. which would make it unlawful to intentionally distribute the digital instructions that program 3-D printers to make firearms online—once and for all. In addition, Congress should reauthorize4In 2024, the Undetectable Firearms Act was reauthorized through 2031, after which it will require another reauthorization. Brian Freskos and Alain Stephens, “Congress Renews Ban on Undetectable Firearms,” The Trace, March 12, 2024, https://www.thetrace.org/2024/03/plastic-guns-metal-detector-federal-law/. and strengthen the Undetectable Firearms Act5H.R.4445 – Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988, 100th Congress (1987-1988), https://www.congress.gov/bill/100th-congress/house-bill/4445.—the law that bans plastic firearms. States should also take immediate steps to regulate 3-D printed guns and the plans necessary to make them.

      By the numbers

      Downloadable guns are dangerous: with a 3-D printer and access to the computer schematics, anyone can build an untraceable firearm without a background check.

      Which states regulate ghost guns?

      15 states have adopted this policy

      AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Alabama has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Alaska has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Arizona has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Arkansas has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      California has adopted this policy

      What does the state law require?
      Serial numbers and background checks for component parts, all ghost guns must be reported to officials.

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Colorado has adopted this policy

      What does the state law require?
      Serial numbers for component parts.

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Connecticut has adopted this policy

      What does the state law require?
      Serial numbers and background checks for component parts, all ghost guns must be reported to officials, no plastic undetectable guns.

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Delaware has adopted this policy

      What does the state law require?
      Serial numbers and background checks for component parts, no plastic undetectable guns, no 3D printing of guns, no distribution of 3D printing instructions.

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Florida has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Georgia has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Hawaii has adopted this policy

      What does the state law require?
      Serial numbers and background checks for component parts, all ghost guns must be reported to officials, no 3D printing of guns.

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Idaho has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Illinois has adopted this policy

      What does the state law require?
      Serial numbers and background checks for all firearms and component parts

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Indiana has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Iowa has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Kansas has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Kentucky has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Louisiana has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Maine has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Maryland has adopted this policy

      What does the state law require?
      Serial numbers and background checks for all firearms and component parts. All ghost guns must be reported to officials.

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Massachusetts has adopted this policy

      What does the state law require?
      Serial numbers and background checks for all firearms and component parts. All ghost guns must be reported to officials.

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Michigan has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Minnesota has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Mississippi has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Missouri has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Montana has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Nebraska has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Nevada has adopted this policy

      What does the state law require?
      Serial numbers and background checks for component parts

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      New Hampshire has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      New Jersey has adopted this policy

      What does the state law require?
      Serial numbers and background checks for component parts, all ghost guns must be reported to officials, no 3D printing of guns, no distribution of 3D printing instructions, no plastic undetectable guns.

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      New Mexico has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      New York has adopted this policy

      What does the state law require?
      Serial numbers and background checks for component parts, all ghost guns must be reported to officials, no plastic undetectable guns.

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      North Carolina has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      North Dakota has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Ohio has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Oklahoma has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Oregon has adopted this policy

      What does the state law require?
      Prohibits undetectable firearms, including 3D printed guns; requires all firearms, frames, and receivers to be serialized

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Pennsylvania has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Rhode Island has adopted this policy

      What does the state law require?
      Serial numbers and background checks for component parts, no 3D printing of guns

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      South Carolina has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      South Dakota has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Tennessee has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Texas has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Utah has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Vermont has adopted this policy

      What does the state law require?
      Serial numbers and background checks for all firearms and component parts

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Virginia has not adopted this policy

      What does the state law require?
      No plastic undetectable guns

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Washington has adopted this policy

      What does the state law require?
      Serial numbers and background checks for component parts, no plastic undetectable guns

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      West Virginia has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Wisconsin has not adopted this policy

      Ghost Guns Regulated

      Wyoming has not adopted this policy

      Myth

      Downloadable guns are unreliable and can’t be used in a crime.

      Fact

      Experts have shown time and time again that downloadable guns are operational firearms. The State Department has made clear the serious national security concerns of posting the files for downloadable guns. At the time, the State Department said it was “particularly concerned that [the] proposed export of undetectable firearms technology could be used in an assassination, for the manufacture of spare parts by embargoed nations, terrorists groups, or to compromise aviation security overseas in a manner specifically directed at U.S. persons.”1See Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Second Amended Complaint, ECF No. 92, Defense Distributed v. U.S. Department of State, Case No. 15-cv-00372 (W.D. Tex. filed Apr. 6, 2018).

      Stop Downloadable Guns

      All Resources

      Did you know?

      Besides a 3-D printer, the only other material needed to print a gun is one spool of ABS filament, which generally costs $20.

      Everytown for Gun Safety. “The Danger of Downloadable Guns”. Everytown for Gun Safety. (2020). https://bit.ly/2Xac2ey