Actually, the point of the printed gun stuff has been to pick a legal fight. It's related to gun rights, freedom of printing, IP etc etc. A VERY interesting topic, and one that has huge implications for 3D printing. The guy that printed the working firearm, the Liberator, is a law student. Their site-Sclass wrote:...The zip guns people are printing look like ...well, zip guns. You can do just as well with some conventional tools and pipe from ACE hardware. Check out the Bloomberg article on Egyptian zip guns. Simple single action break barrel pistols. Ahhhh, but you don't need fab skills to print it. I guess that makes it another deal all together. The fear is that anybody who can click print can make a zip gun.
Again I think it is hype....
...I watched the you tube vid about the guy using 3d printing to make an AR lower. He went to a special job shop that had a very expensive looking printer that didn't shoot the cheesy hot glue ABS that is commonly found in 3d printers....
http://defdist.org/about-us/
Is restricting printing of an AR or a 30round mag at your local library, infringing on the first amendment as well as second? Is that restriction the least invasive way to ensure public safety? We don't know.
This situation makes the iTunes DRM discussion child's play in comparison.