Earlier this month, a long-running legal dispute between a self-described anarchist and the US government was finally settled. The outcome will have significant ramifications in the United States and potentially even the rest of the planet.

But let’s step back for a sec.

This all started with a guy called Cody Wilson. He runs a company called Defense Distributed that makes 3D guns and shares the blueprints so that anybody can download them in their own homes.

The US State Department took legal steps in 2013 to stop Cody’s company from operating, saying it violated international traffic and arms regulations - basically, firearm exportation laws.

Cody and the Second Amendment Foundation - a gun rights group - fought the restrictions by saying that it violated two parts of the US constitution - the right to own a gun and the right to free speech, which they argued was implied in the sharing of the gun blueprints.

Last week, the US State Department settled its case with Cody and the Foundation, dropping its claims that posting the blueprints online violates export laws.

“Under terms of the settlement, the government has agreed to waive its prior restraint against the plaintiffs, allowing them to freely publish the 3D files and other information at issue,” the Second Amendment Foundation said in a statement

The government will also pay back a “significant proportion” of the lawyer’s fees used to fight the case for the last five years, the Foundation said.

Cody did not respond to Hack’s request for interview, and the Second Amendment Foundation declined a similar request.

What does this actually mean?

The settlement creates a big roadblock for any further attempts at gun control in the US. If people can simply download a blueprint and print it at home, restrictions on the physical manufacture and sale of weapons may become obsolete.

In fact, just months after going live, Cody’s website had 400,000 downloads. That was back in 2013, when 3D wasn’t as advanced as it is now.

Cody, who described himself as a “principled anarchist”, says he’s making a deliberate political statement in opening up gun manufacturing for everybody.

He believes in a radical form of libertarianism in which there are no government or corporate controls like legal regulation, intellectual property or patents.

“Sharing that software was a political speech act,” Cody told conservative American commentator Glenn Beck in 2013.

“We’re using this technology as a form of resistance.”

We see liberty under threat, we see sovereignty under threat. We must respond.

“That’s a real political act, giving you a magazine. That can never be taken away,” he said. That’s radical equality. That’s what I believe in.”

How do Australian laws compare?

It’s important to note that Australia has a very different culture and far stronger laws in relation to gun ownership than the US.

Law enforcement agencies here have said that 3D weapons aren’t currently a huge issue, but flagged that they could be in years to come.

The Australian Crime Commission told a Senate inquiry back in 2014 that it “has not identified or been informed of law enforcement discoveries of 3D fabricated firearms being used or made by criminal entities in Australia”.

Victoria Police told the same inquiry that 3D printing could get into the hands of organised crime syndicates like outlaw motorcycle groups and crime gangs.

It is likely that 3D printing of firearms will increase, posing a significant risk to community safety and law enforcement agencies.

There’s no consistent national law in relation to the 3D printing of weapons, as gun laws are controlled by the states and territories.

A spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs told Hack “the Commonwealth is responsible for matters relating to the import and export of firearms”.

“The states and territories have responsibility for all matters relating to the licensing, possession and use of firearms – this includes the manufacture of firearms, including 3D printing.”

At the moment, New South Wales is the only jurisdiction with legislation that specifically bans 3D printing of weapons - including the possession of blueprints like the ones Cody’s site house. It was introduced in 2015 and carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

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Whatsapp Cody Wilson holds a 3D printed gun.

But all other states and territories have laws against the illegal manufacturing of weapons, which does not discriminate based on how the weapons were created. So you could print out a 3D gun, or fashion one out of existing materials, and the penalties would be the same.

“Laws regulating firearms in the ACT apply irrespective of how the firearm is made,” a spokesperson for the Justice and Community Safety Directorate told Hack.

“Under current ACT law it is an offence to manufacture, or take part in the manufacture of, a firearm unless the person is specifically authorised to do so. It is also an offence to acquire, possess or use an unlicensed firearm.”

It’s the same in the Northern Territory.

“Under Section 61 of the Firearms Act it is illegal to manufacture a firearm without a licence or permit. A firearm includes a part of a firearm,” Senior Sergeant Drew Slape from the Firearms Policy and Recording Unit of the NT Police told Hack.

“If for example, a person used a 3D printer to manufacture a polymer pistol frame, they would commit the offence of manufacturing a firearm (by virtue of it being a ‘firearm part’).”

A spokesperson for the Tasmanian Government told Hack that anyone who prints a 3D gun would fall foul of the state’s manufacturing restrictions.

“Under the Firearms Act 1996, manufacturing a firearm comes under the definition of dealing. Dealing in firearms without a firearms dealer licence is an indictable offence. Further, possession of unregistered firearms is also an offence.”

The Western Australian government said law enforcement agencies from around the country are looking at ways of increasing their capacity to detect when someone is carrying 3D printed guns.

“I understand the WA Police Force is currently looking at issues to do with the detectability of plastic 3D firearms with their counterparts in other jurisdictions and will provide advice to Government,” WA Police Minister Michelle Roberts told Hack.