Release of 3D-printed gun plans blocked in United States

The weapons can be manufactured using 3D printers or personal steel mills, and lack traceable serial numbers. Pics/AFP

A US judge has temporarily blocked the online publication of blueprints for 3D-printed firearms, in a last-ditch effort to stop a settlement President Donald Trump's administration had reached with the company releasing the digital documents.

Eight states and the District of Columbia had filed a lawsuit against the federal government, calling its settlement with Texas-based Defence Distributed "arbitrary and capricious."

The Trump regime had settled a five-year legal fight by permitting the company to publish its website Defcad - which founder Cody Wilson envisioned as a WikiLeaks for homemade firearms called "ghost guns". US District Judge Robert Lasnik granted the plaintiffs' motion for a temporary restraining order blocking the release of the digital plans, and scheduled a hearing for August 10.

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