3-D printing is in the news this week. You know, 3-D printing, where a machine makes “a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model . . . using an additive process, where successive layers of material [basically, melted plastic] are laid down in different shapes.” It is now possible to 3-D print a gun – specifically, an assault weapon – or a bong. 3-D printing is rapidly falling in price and its wide distribution seems inevitable. This raises interesting and complex legal and law enforcement issues. For example, most federal gun laws are built on the foundation of the Commerce Clause. But if you print your gun at home, can Congress regulate that? Sounds like a good law school exam question. In other developments: Gun news in Raleigh, and online. Speaking of guns, the legislature has recently considered gun rights in a couple of ways. In HR 63, the state house has been asked to “express[] support of the inalienable right of the people of this State to keep and bear arms and oppose[] any infringement by the federal government” upon that right. The News and Observer story about the resolution, which seems to have been approved by a committee but not yet by the full house, is here. Second, H 246 would expand the scope of concealed carry rights to include parades, restaurants, and other locations, and would enshrine concealed carry rights in the state constitution. Finally, as I mentioned in a previous post, I’ll be [...]
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