Cody Wilson is a 25-year old University of Texas law student and he wants to do something that will may the National Rifles Association (NRA) and make Barack Obama fume - Cody is the founder of Defense Distributed, a non-profit group, which has released images of a fully functional 3D printed handgun called the 'Liberator' and now Cody plans to release the 3D printable CAD files of weapon next week, a move that could bring down America on its knees and usher in a new era of gun violence.
The CAD files of the Liberator has not yet been uploaded on Defense Distributed's online collection of printable gun blueprints at Defcad.org but already Cody's drawn the attention of New York congressman Steve Israel who's introduced a bill to regulate 3D printed components of (plastic) firearms.
Cody always was excited by the prospect and the potential of a 3D printer and once the Liberator was created, Cody announed that the handgun was fully functional and it is now possible for one to create "a lethal device" using a 3D printer. "It's kind of scary, but that's what we're aiming to show," Cody told Forbes' Andy Greenberg.
The Liberator's no doubt a dangerous weapon, though it is yet to be fully tested. The Liberator is fully functional weapon, Defense Distributed claims and is designed to fire standard single rounds of ammunition. Interchangeable barrels for different calibers of ammunition can also be fitted to the Liberator.
However, the most dangerous thing about the Liberator is that once the CAD files are available online, anyone, in any part of the country or the world, can download and print their handgun in the privacy of their garage or bedroom. And since there's no serial number or background checks needed, it means Defense Distributed has potentially gifted a lethal weapon to anybody who has access to a 3D printer.
No wonder, Congressman Israel is pushing to extend gun regulations on "plastic firearms," but Defense Distributed is unmoved - it has gone ahead and obtained a federal firearms license. It means the group's now a legal gun manufacturer. The group claims the Liberator is detectable by metal detectors as the handgun contains a single nail (which acts as the firing pin) and six ounces chunk of steel in its body so that the group complies with the provisions of the Undetectable Firearms Act.
3D printing company Stratasys, which assisted Defense Distributed in printing all the 16 components (with the exception of the firing pin) of the Liberator prototype must be ruing its decision.
