Second Amendment advocates have their hands full defending personal rights against regular incursions by anti-gun lawmakers. There are major victories to celebrate as well as setbacks to be addressed as the battle over gun rights continues.
On Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit rejected a lawsuit brought by Defense Distributed and the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF).
Last week’s ruling continued the uproar over so-called ‘ghost guns’
The unanimous ruling upheld a lower court’s dismissal of Defense Distributed v. Attorney General of New Jersey. Plaintiffs sued over the criminalization of digital instructions for 3D-printed firearms for law-abiding Americans.
Understand that hobby weapons have been around for hundreds of years, and technological advances with firearms in common use are not to be feared.
New Jersey, however, determined that having this knowledge in the hands of everyday citizens is too dangerous a risk. Lawmakers breathlessly described these firearms as “ghost guns” and warned of bloodshed in the streets caused by untraceable weapons.
Important case dealt simultaneously with First and Second Amendment questions
And while computer code is “free speech” under prior court rulings, the Third Circuit rejected this argument. Judge Cheryl Ann Krause determined that “purely functional code with no actual or intended expressive use does not” warrant First Amendment protection.
The reality is that Defense Distributed and other Second Amendment-related firms manufacture items important to the free exercise of this fundamental right. Now, if a person has the correct files and access to a 3D printer, they may produce essential firearm parts or even an entire weapon.
This did not sit well with New Jersey officials. In 2018, the state attorney general produced a cease-and-desist letter warning the company to stop publishing such files.
The legal case meandered through the courts before the Third Circuit’s decision last week. There is no word thus far on the plaintiffs’ intentions going forward.
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