Everytown for Gun Safety Applauds State Attorneys General for Working to Stop Publication of Blueprints for Downloadable, Untraceable Guns

Nine Attorneys General Filed Suit Today in Latest Action from State and City Law Enforcement Leaders

21 Attorneys General Sent Letter to State Department Sharing Concerns Over Public Safety Risk Posed by Publication of Designs for Downloadable Guns

WASHINGTON – Everytown for Gun Safety, the country’s largest gun violence prevention organization, today applauded the state attorneys general and city attorneys who have taken action in recent days to protect the public from the clear risks associated with the online release of blueprints for downloadable, untraceable guns.

“State attorneys general recognize just how dangerous it is to allow anyone with an internet connection and a 3D printer to make untraceable guns in just a couple of clicks,” said Nick Suplina, Everytown’s managing director for law and policy. “These online blueprints undermine federal and state firearm laws, which at their core block gun access for the people such as felons, terrorists and domestic abusers who pose the most serious danger to the public. While the State Department made a dangerous mistake, we’re grateful to the state attorneys general and the city and district attorneys who have stepped up to protect public safety.”

On Friday, after the close of business, the State Department modified the United States Munitions List to allow a single company to move forward with publication of blueprints for downloadable, untraceable guns. After these blueprints became available online, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro filed suit against the company, which is run by a self-proclaimed anarchist who wants to undermine gun safety laws, and successfully blocked the blueprints for downloadable guns from being made available for download in Pennsylvania.

Legal action continued this afternoon: New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent the company from publicly releasing the online blueprints for downloadable guns.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, meanwhile, filed suit with the attorneys general of seven states and the District of Columbia against the Trump Administration, asking a federal court to bar the government from lifting its prohibitions on companies publishing online blueprints for downloadable guns. The Attorneys General for Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Maryland, New York and the District of Columbia are joining Attorney General Ferguson in the suit.

And in a separate development this afternoon, 21 attorneys general led by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, sent a letter to the State Department raising concerns over its settlement allowing a single company to publish online blueprints for downloadable guns. The attorneys general urged the Administration to withdraw from the settlement and maintain the status quo.

“Federal courts have recognized the danger of allowing these guns to be publicly available on the Internet, and this Administration has abruptly disregarded those rulings,” the attorneys general wrote.

Last week, Attorney General Grewal in New Jersey issued a cease-and-desist letter informing the company that it would take legal action within days unless the company halts its efforts to publish designs for downloaded, untraceable firearms. Los Angeles City Attorney Michael Feuer, along with Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr., also have urged the State Department to block the blueprints from being published. The company has not made the blueprints available in New Jersey and Los Angeles and, over the weekend, sued the New Jersey Attorney General and the Los Angeles City Attorney.

More information about downloadable guns is available here.