3D Guns

Floor Speech

"The idea of these print-on-command ghost guns is as scary as they sound. . . . .These guns can go through metal detectors, stadiums, and airports: No metal; they are made of plastic only."
Date: July 31, 2018
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Guns

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, finally, on 3D guns, in a short time, just a minute or two from now, I will be joining several of my colleagues to talk about an issue we have been worried about for quite a while--ghost guns. Over the past several years, 3D printing technology has advanced to the point where anyone with an internet connection is now able to print guns at home.

A court order has barred companies from posting plans to print guns, but a few weeks ago, inexplicably, the Trump administration settled with gun activists to allow them to post detailed instructions, plans, files, and 3D drawings of weapons on the internet, and this starts tomorrow. So, starting tomorrow, all you need is a little money--a couple hundred bucks--and you can download a print from the internet to make a gun at home. No background check, no criminal history check, no certification that the person isn't adjudicated mentally ill or has the intent to harm. Even terrorists could avail themselves of this technology to print an unlimited amount of home weapons. According to the New York Post, more than 1,000 people have downloaded plans to make AR-style, 3D-printed guns, and the ban hasn't even been lifted yet.

The idea of these print-on-command ghost guns is as scary as they sound. We should be doing everything in our power to make sure this doesn't happen. These guns can go through metal detectors, stadiums, and airports: No metal; they are made of plastic only.

Out of the blue this morning, President Trump tweeted he was looking into the matter, months after his own administration caused the problem by settling with gun activists and allowing it to happen. From 2010 to 2017, you couldn't do this. There was an international agreement. The Trump administration, because gun activists were pushing, said go ahead and do it.

Now, a day before this happens, President Trump is saying he will look into the matter--although he said he would consult the NRA. Hardly the great advocates of gun safety in America. I wish President Trump had looked into this matter months ago--or even last week--and urged the Justice Department and the State Department not to reach the settlement in the first place. It is another example--of so many--of the President showing up on the scene a day late and a dollar short to address a problem his own administration has created. The President's tweet this morning gets to the basic incompetence of this administration: The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, and it has real important consequences for the safety of the American people.

I look forward to joining my colleagues to talk more about this issue and what Congress can do about it.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT


Source
arrow_upward