Sen. Chuck Schumer warns of coming online blueprints for ‘ghost guns’ – By Erin Durkin (nydailynews.com) / July 22 2018
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill on July 16. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP/Getty Images)
Sen. Chuck Schumer warned Sunday that detailed blueprints for producing guns at home could soon be available online, calling for federal action to stop the move.
As of Aug. 1, websites will be allowed to post blueprints explaining how to make so-called “ghost guns” — guns manufactured on 3-D printers, and able to pass through metal detectors unseen because they are made of plastic.
“I am sounding an alarm that come Aug. 1, America is going to get a lot less safe when it comes to the gut-wrenching epidemic of gun violence,” Schumer said. “Ghost guns are not only scary, they’re outright dangerous in the way they can mimic the look and the capacity of a hardened, fully semiautomatic weapon.”
The Department of Justice under former President Barack Obama had fought in court to bar websites from publishing gun blueprints online, according to Schumer.
But the Trump administration has opted to settle the case with an agreement that will allow sites to post them.
One website, defcad.com, says gun plans will be available for download starting Aug. 1.
Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, called on the Trump administration not to go through with finalizing the settlement this week.
If they do go ahead, he’ll try to get legislation through Congress to block the blueprints.
“This decision to allow ghost gun blueprints to go unchecked across the internet will come back to haunt the feds and cost lives,” he said. “That is why Congress must take aim at stopping these websites before the damage is done.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-pol-schumer-ghost-guns-20180722-story.html
