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Defense Distributed

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Defense Distributed
A logo for Defense Distributed featuring a colonial printer's mark, a sun shining behind an open book.
Screenshot
Type of site
Open source digital publishing
URLwww.defensedistributed.org[1]
CommercialNo[2]

Defense Distributed is an online, open-source[2] organization that has designed a firearm, called a Wiki Weapon,[5][6][7] that may be downloaded from the internet and "printed" with a 3D printer.[5] Among the organization's goals is to develop and freely publish design schematics[8] that would enable "a working plastic gun that could be downloaded and reproduced by anybody with a 3D printer."[9]

After raising over US$20,000 via a crowd-funding appeal,[5][9] suffering the confiscation of its first 3D printer,[10] and partnering with private manufacturing firms,[11] the organization has begun live fire testing of printable firearm components.[12][13]

History

Founding

The defensedistributed.com domain name was registered on 4 June 2012.[3] The website was unveiled in conjunction with an Indiegogo campaign of the same name in July 2012, where the organization asked to receive US$20,000.[5][14] Indiegogo suspended the crowd-funding campaign for a terms of service violation after three weeks, refunding the money raised without offering public comment.[14][15] Defense Distributed continued the appeal on its own website, however, accepting contributions through PayPal and the crypto-currency Bitcoin, and met its fundraising goal in September 2012.[16]

The organization has been predominantly represented in public since July 2012 by Cody Wilson, who is described as a founder and spokesperson.[7][17]

Defense Distributed lists its members as a mix of students, IT professionals, engineers, and programmers from the United States and Germany.[2] The site currently[when?] shows a roster of eight individuals on its “About Us” page.[citation needed]

Purpose

According to the Defense Distributed website, the nonprofit is organized and operated for charitable and literary purposes, specifically "to defend the civil liberty of popular access to arms as guaranteed by the United States Constitution and affirmed by the Supreme Court, through facilitating global access to, and the collaborative production of, information and knowledge related to the 3D printing of arms; and to publish and distribute... such information and knowledge in promotion of the public interest."[2][11] The websites's “Manifesto” page presents a string of quotations from American and British historical figures than can be broadly read to support the right to arms and freedom of speech.[5][18]

The organization’s motivations have been described as "less about [a] gun... than about democratizing manufacturing technology,"[19] but to date, the only direct explication of Defense Distributed’s purpose has been in a speech given by Wilson at a Bitcoin conference in London.[20]

In an interview with Slashdot, Cody Wilson discussed the organization’s Wiki Weapon project as a chance to "experiment with Enlightenment ideas… to literally materialize freedom.”[21]

DEFCAD

In December 2012, as a response to Makerbot Industries' decision[22][23][24] to take down firearms-related files at the popular 3D printing file library Thingiverse, Defense Distributed launched a companion site at defcad.org.[25][26][27] DEFCAD currently hosts all of the files Defense Distributed believes to have been "censored"[26] from Thingiverse, as well as other files submitted by the public and those related to the Wiki Weapon project.[27][28]

Administration

Legal status

Defense Distributed is not a weapons manufacturer.[7][13] Wilson has said that the organization operates to publish intellectual property and information developed by licensed firearms manufacturers and the public.[11] Wilson has applied for a federal firearms license.[11][29]

Legal troubles

Stratasys confiscation

Learning of Defense Distributed's plans, manufacturer Stratasys, Inc threatened legal action and demanded the return of the 3D printer it had leased to Wilson.[10] On September 26, 2012, before the printer was assembled for use, Wilson received an email from Stratasys claiming that he was using the printer "for illegal purposes".[10] Stratasys immediately canceled its lease with Wilson and sent a team to confiscate the printer the next day.[10][13] Wilson was subsequently questioned by the ATF.[10]

The Undetectable Firearms Act

Defense Distributed's efforts have prompted renewed discussion and examination of the relatively obscure Undetectable Firearms Act.[7][29][30][31]

Reception

Defense Distributed has received both strong praise and criticism. It has not been endorsed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), which to date has offered no public comment on the organization or its activities. Defense Distributed has been obliquely endorsed by the Gun Owners of America (GOA). Critics have accused the organization of endangering public safety and attempting to frustrate and alter the US system of government.[32]

Open source software icon Eric S. Raymond has endorsed the organization and its efforts, calling Defense Distributed "friends of freedom" and writing "I approve of any development that makes it more difficult for governments and criminals to monopolize the use of force. As 3D printers become less expensive and more ubiquitous, this could be a major step in the right direction."[33]

References

  1. ^ "Defense Distributed". Defense Distributed. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d "About Us". Defense Distributed. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  3. ^ a b accessdate=21 September 2012 "Whois Search Results: defensedistributed.com". {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing pipe in: |url= (help)
  4. ^ "DefenseDistributed.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d e Greenberg, Andy (2012-08-23). "'Wiki Weapon Project' Aims To Create A Gun Anyone Can 3D-Print At Home". Forbes. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
  6. ^ Bilton, Nick (2012-10-07). "Disruptions: With a 3-D Printer, Building a Gun With the Push of a Button". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
  7. ^ a b c d Doherty, Brian (2012-12-12). "Disruptions: With a 3-D Printer, Building a Gun With the Push of a Button". Reason.com. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
  8. ^ Hobbyist builds working assault rifle using 3D printer
  9. ^ a b Poeter, Damon (2012-08-24). "Could a 'Printable Gun' Change the World?". PC Magazine. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
  10. ^ a b c d e Beckhusen, Robert (2012-10-01). "3-D Printer Company Seizes Machine From Desktop Gunsmith". Wired News. Retrieved 2012-10-04.
  11. ^ a b c d Hotz, Alexander (2012-11-25). "3D 'Wiki Weapon' guns could go into testing by end of year, maker claims". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
  12. ^ Beckhusen, Robert (2012-12-03). "3-D Printed Gun Only Lasts 6 Shots". Wired. Retrieved 2012-12-15. {{cite news}}: More than one of |work= and |journal= specified (help)
  13. ^ a b c Greenberg, Andy (2012-12-03). "Here's What It Looks Like To Fire A (Partly) 3D-Printed Gun (Video)". Forbes Online. Retrieved 2012-12-15. Cite error: The named reference "Forbes3" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  14. ^ a b Roy, Jessica (2012-08-23). "WikiWeapon Campaign to 3D-Print Your Own Gun Suspended by Indiegogo". Betabeat. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
  15. ^ Martinez, Fidel (2012-08-27). "Indiegogo shuts down campaign to develop world's first printable gun". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
  16. ^ Greenberg, Andy (2012-09-20). "3D-Printable Gun Project Hits Its Fundraising Goal Despite Being Booted Off Indiegogo". Forbes Online. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
  17. ^ Brown, Rich (2012-09-07). "You don't bring a 3D printer to a gun fight - yet - Yahoo! News". News.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
  18. ^ "Manifesto | Defense Dist". Defensedistributed.com. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
  19. ^ Brown, Rich (2012-09-06). "You don't bring a 3D printer to a gun fight -- yet". CNET. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
  20. ^ "Bitcoin2012 London". Bitcoin2012.com. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
  21. ^ "Should We Print Guns? Cody R. Wilson Says "Yes" (Video) - Slashdot". Hardware.slashdot.org. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
  22. ^ Maly, Tim (2012-12-19). "Thingiverse Removes (Most) Printable Gun Parts". Wired. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
  23. ^ "MakerBot pulls 3D gun-parts blueprints after Sandy Hook". BBC News. 2012-12-20. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
  24. ^ Pepitone, Julianne (2012-12-20). "3-D printer MakerBot cracks down on blueprints for gun parts". CNN Money. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
  25. ^ Limer, Eric (2012-12-21). "There's a New Site Just for 3D-Printed Gun Designs". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
  26. ^ a b Bilton, Ricardo (2012-12-21). "Fighting 'censorship,' 3D-printed gun designs find a new home". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
  27. ^ a b Robertson, Adi (2012-12-21). "3D printed gun enthusiasts build site for firearm files after MakerBot crackdown". The Verge. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
  28. ^ Klimas, Liz (2012-01-09). "Website to The Blaze: People Rushing to Download Online Blueprints for 3D Printed Guns". The Blaze. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
  29. ^ a b LeJacq, Yannick (2012-12-10). "Defense Distributed's 'Wiki Weapon': U.S. Congressman Steve Israel Offers First Legislative Challenge". Retrieved 2012-12-15.
  30. ^ Hsu, Jeremy (2012-12-10). "3D-Printable Guns Face Federal Ban". Mashable. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
  31. ^ Brown, Rich (2012-12-10). "The Undetectable Firearms Act and 3D-printed guns (FAQ)". CNET. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
  32. ^ "The 15 Most Dangerous People in the World". Wired Danger Room. 2012-12-19. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
  33. ^ Raymond, Eric (2012-08-23). "Defense Distributed". Armed and Dangerous. Retrieved 2013-01-14.

External links

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