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The supreme court might have a case of 3D printed guns coming up. In the past I’ve argued that, due to the sheer expense in creating guns, rounding them up is a possible project. Britain managed to do it when their gun ownership rate was around as high as today’s US’s is. With even more tool available to track them down now and more secure borders, guns could be at least almost eradicated.

Now I’m really not so sure. With 3D printers being as expensive as they are, especially those that can print with the right materials to make firearms, perhaps the problem can be contained. But given the price is bound to fall, that won’t last. Trying to ban homemade guns seems as useless as banning homemade explosives. Sure, it gives the court another charge to hit someone with, but it’s not actually preventing anything. Nor is there likely to be any sort of rehabilitation specific to it. People getting caught with them would generally be caught because they’re already doing something that is itself bad. (I.e. you’re not getting arrested for a homemade gun in your closet any more than you are a homemade explosive in your closet. If you go out and use it, then you get caught, but generally the using it is already the problem.)