US Representative Steve Israel of Long Island, NY proposes an extension to a law banning “undetectable weapons”, due to his fears of widespread 3D printed guns.

This fear could be justified as there is a group working specifically on the methods and designs of 3D printed guns. Wiki Weapons, as they are known, recently conducted a barely successful test of a 3D printed gun. While contemporary experiments could be described as rudimentary, the point is that 3D printed arms can only get more effective as time passes.

The law was introduced long ago in 1988, but is set to automatically expire in 2013. Representative Israel is concerned about guns materializing “in our children’s bedrooms, in basements and in dorm rooms.” and “that firearm will be able to be brought through this security line, through the metal detector, and because there will be no metal to be detected, firearms will be brought on planes without anyone’s knowledge.”

Perhaps this may happen, but we suspect security procedures are more robust, as one would likely have to sneak ammunition and powder past the sniff detectors as well.

We suspect this move is part of the overall hype cycle currently engaged on 3D printing. While its now possible to 3D print a basic firearm, you can already build one with conventional tools in metal or plastic. What’s the difference? Determined perps will produce weapons with whatever tools happen to be available.