New York Proposes Doing Background Checks on Anyone Buying a 3D Printer

The New York legislature is in the early stages of considering a bill that would require people buying certain kinds of 3D printers to pass a background check.

State Assembly Bill A2228 says that “any retailer of a three-dimensional printer sold in this state which is capable of printing a firearm, or any components of a firearm, is required and authorized to request and receive criminal history information.”

The state would then have 15 days to root through the buyer’s information, look for weapons charges or other disqualifying criminal history, and make a decision. This would, in effect, mean that anyone buying a 3D printer capable of printing any piece of a firearm (which is quite a few 3D printers) would have to pass a criminal background check.

We live in a world where anyone with access to some 3D printers, the right digital documents, and some practical knowledge can print and assemble an untraceable handgun. It’s likely that Luigi Mangione, the assassin of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, used a 3D-printed Glock-style handgun to hit his target. Governments across the world have struggled with how to handle the problem of widespread, home-printed, unregistered firearms spreading across the planet on demand.
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https://gizmodo.com/new-york-proposes-doing-background-checks-on-anyone-buying-a-3d-printer-2000551811