Man shown carrying a plastic 3D gun through metal detector at the airport – oops! The Undetectable Firearms Act seeks to address that problem.
On December 3, 2013 Rep. Scott of Virginia asked for and was granted permission to address the United States House of Representatives for a few minutes regarding “the Undetectable Firearms Act.”
“Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3626, which will extend by 10 years the authorization of the Undetectable Firearms Act, a statute which is in effect through December 9 of this year.”
“The Undetectable Firearms Act prohibits the import, manufacture, sale, transport, or possession of firearms that are undetectable by metal detectors or x ray machines. Signed into law by President Reagan in 1988, this statute remains critical to public safety. The law helps protect us from firearms that are undetectable by some of the most conventional means of firearms detection. The law prevents the commercial production and proliferation of such weapons that could be used either by individuals or organized terrorist groups seeking to commit crimes in secure areas, such as courthouses or airplanes. Unfortunately, the need for such protection has grown in recent years”, he said.
“This statute was originally authorized for 10 years, and subsequently reauthorized for periods of 5 and then another 10 years. The authorization of this prohibition has been incremental because Congress recognized that technology would evolve, and that we may need to update the statute to maintain its effectiveness. In fact, this is what has transpired. The current law has a critical loophole that may enable and encourage the production of firearms that may escape detection. Under the statute, someone may produce a plastic firearm which is detectable only because it has as metal component–which is not essential for the operation of the firearm–but is easily removable by a firearm user seeking to avoid detection. In fact, some designs made available on the Internet to assist the manufacture of such guns using 3-D printers include just such a feature. We need to strengthen the law to address this obvious problem, and we should adopt the Undetectable Firearms Act modernization proposal sponsored by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Israel)”, he continued.
“He is proposing that the statute be updated to require that the metal which makes a firearm detectable be included in the essential components of the firearm so that, if removed, the gun would not operate. This is a simple and effective means of addressing the problem”, said Rep. Scott (source: Congressional Record http://thomas.loc.gov).
See related video: 3D guns pose new threat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGHOFxeaDr4