As technology to print 3-D firearms advances, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is trying to extend the federal law that bans the undetectable guns beyond its Dec. 9 expiration, the Associated Press reports. He said the technology of 3-D printing has advanced to the point anyone with $1,000 and an Internet connection can access the plastic parts that can be fitted into a gun. Those firearms can't be detected by metal detectors or X-ray machines.
Schumer says that means anyone can download a gun cheaply, then take the weapons anywhere, including high-security areas. The technology has advanced to create handguns capable of shooting several shots, rather than just one, before it ceases to function. Schumer also says the guns can now be made with all plastic parts, and no metal. A blueprint for one such firearm was recently downloaded more than 100,000 times.