Lawmakers want to restrict 3D printing to stop ghost guns. Critics say it won’t work

America’s stance on gun rights has always been complicated. On the one hand, people fight vociferously for their Second Amendment rights. On the other, 47,000 people died due to gun-related injuries in 2023 alone. That uneasiness reaches beyond the right to bear arms. It’s increasingly affecting people’s ability to pursue a seemingly unrelated hobby: 3D printing. State lawmakers across the United States are debating—and in some cases nearing passage of—rules that would require 3D printers to include mandatory “print blocker” software. These systems would scan files and refuse jobs they think might produce firearm parts. Washington’s HB 2321 would require printers or slicers to screen files and reject potential printouts that could be used in a weapon. California’s AB 2047 would require manufacturers to attest that each model sold in the state includes a certified firearm blueprint detection algorithm. New York lawmakers are now pushing similar printer-side blocking requirements. The st