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 The Republican-led House was expected to approve a 10-year
extension of the ban on Tuesday. Reluctant to oppose renewal and
anger allies, Democrats are expected to back it strongly, despite
their preference to also require permanent metal components that
would make plastic firearms more detectable.
"We can't let a minute or hour or day go by without having a
renewal" of the ban, said Brian Malte, a director of the Brady
Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. The group's strong concerns about
the availability of plastic guns are "no reason to hold up renewal,"
he said.
The Democratic-run Senate returns from a two-week Thanksgiving break
next Monday, the day before the ban expires. Sen. Chuck Schumer,
D-N.Y., said he will seek fast approval of a measure renewing the
ban and tightening the restrictions.
But many believe the Senate will then accept the House bill, thanks
to the imminent deadline and the eagerness of Democratic senators
seeking re-election next year in GOP-leaning states to avoid
difficult votes in a fresh battle over gun control.
The measure is being debated in the shadow of the first anniversary
of the massacre last Dec. 14 of 20 first-graders and six staffers at
Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Those shootings
prompted a drive by President Barack Obama and his gun control
allies to expand background checks for firearms buyers and other
restrictions, which Senate Republicans squelched last April.
The National Rifle Association, which helped defeat last spring's
background check measure, has said nothing publicly about whether it
supports extending the ban on undetectable firearms.
But congressional aides and lobbyists say the group supports the
renewal but opposes efforts to tighten the curbs. A longer renewal
would limit Democrats' opportunities to use bills extending the ban
to include other gun restrictions.
NRA officials did not answer repeated efforts to reach them.
In a letter to lawmakers last month, the smaller National Shooting
Sports Foundation — representing the nation's gun-makers and
retailers — said it backs the extension but opposes added
restrictions on undetectable guns.
"We are always concerned that laws and regulations do not hamper the
ability of our members to take advantage of technological
advancements," the group wrote.
The conservative Gun Owners of America opposes the extension, saying
such laws wouldn't stop criminals intent on printing weapons.
"They've just spent all year trying to effectively destroy the gun
lobby," Mike Hammond, legislative counsel of the small group, said
of Democrats. "So why in heaven's name, given this intransigence,
should we give them this Christmas present?"
The ban was first enacted in 1988 under President Ronald Reagan,
when today's computer and weapons technologies were in their early
stages. It was renewed in 1998 and 2003.
Fast forward to 2013, a world where 3-D printers can spray repeated,
thin layers of plastic or other materials to create objects from
toys to automobile parts to medical devices. They are being used
increasingly by companies, researchers and hobbyists, and the
technology is constantly improving.
The use of 3-D printers to make guns received heightened attention
in May when Cody Wilson, then a University of Texas law student,
posted blueprints online for using the printers to make the
Liberator pistol, which he says he designed.
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Wilson, founder of Defense Distributed, a nonprofit that advocates
the free distribution of information on 3-D printed weapons, was
ordered by the State Department to take down the instructions after
two days because of allegedly violating arms export controls, he
said.
At that point, the plans had already been downloaded more than
100,000 times and they remain available on file-sharing websites, he
said.
"If you want to do this, it's plainly obvious there's no one
standing between you, your computer and your 3-D printer. Anyone can
make this gun," Wilson said Monday.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says 3-D
printers can cost from $1,000 to $500,000 but can also be leased.
"There are people who will go to any expense, there are groups who
will go to any expense if the result is an undetectable firearm,"
said James Pasco, executive director of the Washington office of the
Fraternal Order of Police, representing law enforcement officers.
Earlier this year, ATF tested two guns made from different plastics
using Wilson's Liberator design. While one exploded when fired, the
other shot eight rounds before ATF halted the test.
"The undetectable firearm threat has become real," agency spokesman
Timothy Graden said in an emailed statement.
The expiring law forbids firearms that aren't spotted by airport
X-ray screening machines or metal detectors. To meet that
requirement, today's plastic guns often come with a metal part that
can be detached and isn't necessary for the weapon to function.
The GOP-written House measure would extend that language for another
decade.
A bill by Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., would require that such weapons
have permanently attached working parts, such as the cylinder,
containing at least 3.7 ounces of metal. Schumer, Senate Judiciary
Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Sen. Bill Nelson,
D-Fla., are working on similar legislation.
"The House bill is better than nothing, but it's not good enough,"
Schumer said Monday.
On Nov. 21, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., blocked a Schumer request
for immediate, unanimous Senate approval of a one-year extension of
the ban. Tensions were high because earlier that day, Democrats had
muscled through changes making it harder for Republicans to block
Obama nominations.
Later, Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley — top Republican on the Senate
Judiciary Committee — characterized Schumer's abrupt request as
"playing politics with public safety." He said Republicans preferred
a longer renewal.
[Associated
Press; ALAN FRAM]
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