I got this email from Menendez.
It’s so ridiculous I honestly couldn’t believe it was real. And I’ve been fighting tooth and nail to stop it ever since.
Without warning or explanation, the Trump State Department gave the green light for a company in Texas to publish downloadable plans for 3-D printed plastic guns - starting August 1st.
That’s right. Plastic guns you can create at home that load, fire, shoot and kill, but are untraceable, nearly undetectable, and don’t require a background check. Even the blueprint for an AR-15 – the assault rifle used in the Parkland school massacre – is available online for download by anyone – including terrorists, extremists, criminals and, God forbid, another mass shooter.
It’s insane. We already have a gun violence problem. Downloadable guns will only supercharge the crisis.
So I immediately took action, and introduced a bill with my colleagues to block the publication of these 3D gun blueprints.
Time was ticking. But when we tried to pass it, Republicans blocked us.
CLICK TO WATCH MY FLOOR SPEECH
Thankfully a federal court in Seattle issued a temporary injunction shutting down the online depot for 3-D printed firearm blueprints. But a temporary injunction is just that. Temporary. Already, thousands of people have downloaded these deadly blueprints.
Look, whether it comes from a gun store or out of a 3D printer; if it loads like a gun, shoots like a gun, and kills like a gun - it’s a gun. And if our gun safety laws don’t keep pace with technology, printed plastic guns will flood our children’s schools, and all hell will break loose. That’s why we have to keep fighting to outlaw these downloadable weapons.
Your role in this is to be loud and outraged – to keep talking about it. Here are 3 small things you can do online to help raise awareness:
Share this article about our legislation to #StopDownloadable guns. Share on facebook here, and/or share on Twitter here.
Tag one of your friends on Instagram who needs to learn about this issue in this video I posted here. Putting your friend’s handle in the comments will help more people see this video and learn about the issue.
TUNE IN to my Facebook Live tomorrow at 11 AM from Cliffside Park Elementary School, where I’ll be highlighting how 3D printed guns put our children and communities at-risk.
By raising awareness and pushing your family and friends to reach out to their members of Congress about it, we can make a difference.
Sincerely,
My response to him with a response requested. I will let you all know what I hear!
Senator,
Your stance on the 3D printed gun threat to NJ is greatly exaggerated and just plain wrong on a scientific level!
It is not possible to print an AR 15 or any other gun from a plastic or even metal 3D printer and have it reliably shoot more than one .22 round. These are a farce and with the cost of a 3D metal printer at $100,000 and the fact that they would explode with the first shot, do you really think a criminal who can buy a real gun on the streets for less than 1/100th that cost would not opt to do so over a printed toy?
Please go after the real problems that plague our state and stop wasting time on a fantasy! Just trying to help you! And us!