Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. alongside State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal have put forth legislation tackling the emergence of 3D-printed firearms and auto sears, signifying a continuation in the fight against the flow of these untraceable weapons. The proposed bill (S227A/A1777A) would make the distribution of digital blueprints for auto sears, which can convert semi-automatic guns into machine guns, a class A misdemeanor.
Under current state law, the act of possessing an auto sear is considered a class A misdemeanor, and their manufacturing falls under a class E felony. Yet, sharing plans for the creation and 3D printing of these devices is still not illegal. New legislation, if passed, would close such a loophole, as reported in an announcement on the Manhattan District Attorney's website.
The ease and low cost of producing auto sears is facilitated by their simple design, which can be made from plastic or metal and masquerade as innocuous objects like Legos. With a 3D printer and the right files, one can manufacture an auto sear for as low as $5. These digital guidelines are often distributed through encrypted channels frequented by extremists, according to the Manhattan D.A.'s office. In addition to cracking down on the manufacturing side, the office has reached out to 3D-printing companies and online platform hosts to adopt additional security measures and address the propagation of such content.
In a statement procured by the Manhattan D.A.'s office, District Attorney Bragg emphasized that "Our proposed legislation reflects a comprehensive legislative fix that would give us additional tools to hold people accountable who are using and developing illegal firearms." Senator Hoylman-Sigal has highlighted that while 3D printing of these weapons is illegal, disseminating the information to do so is not, hence the need for this new push in legislation.
The urgency to address the prevalence of these weapons is reflected in the D.A.'s previous gun prosecutions. These include a variety of cases, ranging from individuals selling ghost guns and gun parts from federal prison to city employees involved in ghost gun conspiracies. The Ghost Guns Initiative, established in 2020 in collaboration with NYPD and other agencies, has sought to combat this particular vein of illegal arms and so far, has been involved in prosecutions leading to the seizure of a significant amount of ghost gun parts and other related equipment.
Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal remarked, "No one should be allowed to create instruments of war with a 3D printer." She reinforced New York's countermeasures against federal rollbacks on gun control, expressing her determination to work for the bill's passage in the Assembly and praising the D.A.'s resolute support in this legislative initiative, as per the Manhattan D.A.'s office.
