Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel says DOJ is 'studying' 3D-printed guns

Molly Beck | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON - Attorney General Brad Schimel isn't saying whether he would seek to stop the manufacturing of plastic firearms imperceptible to metal detectors but suggested the Department of Justice is studying the issue.

Twenty Democratic and one Republican attorneys general sent a letter this week to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging them to withdraw from an agreement that would result in the release of blueprints to produce plastic guns using a 3D printer. A handful of other top state prosecutors have filed a lawsuit over the matter.

Schimel's name is not on the letter nor is he involved in the lawsuit. Schimel said Wednesday he was not asked to join the effort.

"We are studying the issue of (3D) guns and this lawsuit, which we were not asked to join," Schimel said Wednesday afternoon.

Schimel said the lawsuit "appears to be moot" because the blueprints have already been uploaded to the Internet, and their manufacture is banned by law.

"In an emerging field like this as it pertains to firearms, we must always balance safety with the protection of the First and Second Amendment rights of citizens,” Schimel said.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Scott Walker also didn't immediately respond to questions about the matter, but Walker told WKOW on Tuesday that he wasn't aware of the attorneys' general letter and wasn't approached by Schimel about it.

The manufacturing of guns undetectable by metal detectors or airport screening has been illegal since 1988, but a recent agreement between the State Department and a 3D-printable gun advocate would have resulted in the online posting of blueprints for such guns Wednesday.

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Anyone with access to a 3D printer (and a disregard for the law) could use the blueprints to produce a plastic firearm. No background check is required.

That prospect has rattled gun control advocates and Democrats, who fear it could worsen the epidemic of gun violence in the U.S. and make it easier for terrorists to gain access to a raft of deadly firearms.

President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that the selling of such guns "doesn’t seem to make much sense!"

In 2012, Defense Distributed owner Cody Wilson first designed a 3D-printable plastic pistol, called the "Liberator .380," and put the plans online. The U.S. State Department under former President Barack Obama quickly advised Wilson to remove the information, saying it could be a violation of international export law because the blueprints could be accessed in other countries.

Wilson argues that disseminating information is not a crime and said any efforts to limit the release would infringe on his First Amendment rights.

Wilson complied with taking the plans down but sued the State Department. Now under Pompeo, the State Department in June settled with Wilson, lifting the ban imposed by the Obama administration. Under that agreement, Defense Distributed could post downloadable instructions for 3D-printable guns starting Wednesday, making such firearms available to anyone with the right machine and materials.

Late Tuesday, three courts in New York, New Jersey and Washington state barred Wilson from posting his designs online.

But Wilson said the plans had already been uploaded to the internet before Wednesday and the court rulings address a "moot point."

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3D printers can cost between a couple of hundred dollars and more than $500,000, depending on their size and purpose.

Defense Distributed already sells parts that help users build their own untraceable firearms, known as "ghost guns" for their lack of serial numbers.

Schimel was criticized by his opponents for not seeking to join the effort to add more barriers for the guns' production.

Josh Kaul, a former federal prosecutor and Schimel's Democratic challenger in the fall election, said he would have added his name to the letter from the attorneys general.

"We should be working to keep firearms out of the hands of dangerous criminals, not making it easier for criminals to obtain them. The release of these plans should be halted," Kaul said.

Joanna Beilman-Dulin, research director for liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now, said, "If you want to know how far out of step Brad Schimel is on guns, even Donald Trump has taken to Twitter to say this makes no sense."

Chris Cox, executive director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, said Tuesday that news reporters and "anti-gun politicians" have "wrongly claimed that 3D printing technology will allow for the production and widespread proliferation of undetectable plastic firearms."

Cox said regardless of whether blueprints for such guns are posted online, "undetectable plastic guns have been illegal for 30 years," referring to a 1988 law that bans them and makes it illegal to produce, import, sell, ship, deliver, possess, transfer or receive such guns.

Deirdre Shesgreen and Josh Hafner of USA Today contributed to this report.