http://www.forbes.com/sites/emmawoollacott/2015/05/07/3d-printed-gun-designer-takes-aim-at-state-department/
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The inventor of the 3D printed gun, Cody Wilson, is fighting back against
the State Department with a lawsuit alleging violation of first amendment
rights.
The suit
<
http://www.scribd.com/doc/264435890/Defense-Distributed-et-al-v-U-S-Dept-of-State>,
filed by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and Wilson’s firm Defense
Distributed, alleges prior restraint by the government over the online
publication of blueprints and other information related to the
three-dimensional printing of arms.
Two years ago, Wilson posted the instructions for making the Lilerator, the
world’s first 3D-printed plastic gun. Days later, the State Department
ordered him to remove them, claiming that it needed to investigate whether
he needed a license for export of defense articles.
Now, though, Defense Distributed and SAF are claiming that by invoking
International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), the government is
violating the First Amendment right to free speech, the Second Amendment
right to bear arms and the Fifth Amendment right to due process.
“Americans have always been free to exchange information about firearms and
manufacture their own arms,” says SAF founder and executive vice president
Alan Gottlieb.
“We also have an expectation that any speech regulations be spelled out
clearly, and that individuals be provided basic procedural protections if
their government claims a power to silence them.”
Alan Gottlieb (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
ITAR covers the export of technical information relating to arms, which
requires advance authorization from the Directorate of Defense Trade
Controls (DDTC).