Defense Distributed, DEFCAD, and Deterrence Dispensed.
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Introduction:
The world of DIY gunsmithing has exploded in the past few years. Born out of ever-expanding gun control legislation, the ability of the people to build their own somewhat-effective firearms outside of government control has become an entire wing of the firearms community. This has evolved from rudimentary slam-fire pipe shotguns and single shot pistols, to 3D printed AR-15 lower receivers and pistol caliber carbines that use no regulated parts at all. In some ways, 3D printed firearms and so-called "ghost guns" function as a middle finger to the government. Groups, both centralized and decentralized, have popped up across the internet with one common mission, to render gun control obsolete.
Details:
Defense Distributed:
This project really was catapulted into the mainstream by Cody Wilson and Defense Distributed. Now, Cody Wilson definitely has a questionable past, but his work on Defense Distributed paved the way for boatloads of innovation in the 3D Printed and craft-produced firearm space. Cody Wilson shook the world with his Liberator pistol. This was a 3D printed, .380 ACP single shot pistol. Although it was more of a statement than a practical firearm, it functioned to show that anyone with a 3D printer and a nail could have a firearm. This opened up a world of possibilities not only for people in the US, but also around the world where firearms are much more heavily regulated.
Defense Distributed did not stop with the Liberator though. They went on to develop what they called the Ghost Gunner. The Ghost Gunner is a desktop CNC milling machine that was made for anybody to be able to use with very little learning. It is designed to mill out a variety of unregulated, 80% lower receivers into functioning firearms. Currently, there are files available for the AR-15, AR-10, Polymer80, 1911, and both 9mm and .45ACP AR variants. This goes above and beyond the capabilities of 3D Printing into actual home manufacturing of fully functional and durable firearms.
Finally, Defense Distributed compiled and released DEFCAD, an online repository of gun manufacturing resources. There is a massive list that includes files that can be 3D printed, as well as the full technical data package for some firearms and machine guns.
DEFCAD:
DEFCAD's online library of 3D printable files and CAD files is incredible. Originally launched in 2012, it was taken down for the first time by the US Department of State. DEFCAD eventually returned for 5 days in 2018 before being taken down yet again, but now seems to be here to stay. By freely putting all of 16,332 file into the public domain, DEFCAD as a project ensures that gun control can never be absolute. These files are being downloaded, copied, and proliferated worldwide and there is nothing that even the most powerful government can do to completely stop it. Many contributors to DEFCAD develop, test, and iterate their designs amongst a decentralized group of online users. This group is Deterrence Dispensed.
Deterrence Dispensed:
With names like IvanTheTroll, CTRL-PEW, and FreeMenDontAsk, Deterrence Dispensed has become massively popular in the 3D Printed gun community. The entire Keybase community is made up of almost 500 total members. The founding member of the Deterrence Dispensed team, JStark1809, is one of the key developers in one of the most popular (notorious?) 3D printable guns ever, the FGC-9.
Standing for "F*** Gun Control - 9", the FCG-9 is one of the crowning achievements of the 3D printed gun community. It is a fully functional semi-automatic, 9mm carbine that takes Glock magazines. The draw of this gun is that it was largely developed and tested in Europe, where gun control is very strict. It stands as a testament that with modern technology and innovation, full gun control cannot work. The gun is direct blowback and even has a rifled barrel made by electric-discharge machining it in a 5 gallon bucket.
The significant role of Deterrence Dispensed is their organization. They are decentralized and have so sort of leader or figurehead. There are some key members, like IvanTheTroll, but as an organization, they are spread out nationwide. This means that everyone works together to iterate and create, but any one person being silenced or shut down will not ruin the project. The knowledge will continue to be disseminated and more and more guns will be developed, perfected, and printed.
Conclusion:
Defense Distributed, DEFCAD, and Deterrence Dispensed all play a role in how the 2nd Amendment will live on into the 21st Century. With an ever growing government leviathan overseeing the internet, censorship is going to become more and more commonplace. Having repositories of knowledge distributed far and wide is the best solution to counteract this. It will function like a Hydra; as soon as one person is censored or banned, there will be 3 more in its place.
These organizations have also eliminated the effectiveness of any sort of assault weapons ban. Any person with the right equipment is able to print out a new AR receiver, or mill one out on a desktop CNC mill. The ease of use of these tools makes this an elegant solution to the problem created by overregulation by the state.
In case you are curious and would like to take a look at Defense Distributed, DEFCAD, or Deterrence Dispensed, I'll put the links down below. I'll also put a link to the download for the FCG-9 in case any of you readers have a 3D printer and some time and cash on hand.
Defense Distributed: https://defdist.org/
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