Second Amendment fights grow across several states over 3D-printed gun laws

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Lawmakers in an increasing number of states are attempting to impose restrictions on 3D-printed guns amid a Second Amendment fight over ghost guns.

As a bipartisan slate of states attempt to restrict the possession and manufacturing of ghost guns — firearms without serial numbers often made or modified with the use of 3D printers — Second Amendment activists and gun rights advocates argue the restrictions impinge on their constitutional right to bear arms, Stateline reported Thursday.

At least 16 states have now put 3D gun laws on the books, with seven states adding major legislation this year, according to Stateline’s reporting.

It noted that lawmakers in Colorado, New Jersey, Maine, New York, Virginia and Washington have all imposed various restrictions on weapons manufactured without serial numbers in 2026, while California’s legislators added to the state’s already robust anti-3D manufactured gun laws by advancing a bill that would require 3D printer manufacturers to equip their devices with technology that would block the printing of firearms.

A collection of 3D-printed guns and guns modified with 3D-printed parts is seen in the National Firearm Reference Vault, which holds thousands of guns, at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) National Services Center in Martinsburg, West Virginia. AFP via Getty Images

New York lawmakers added a similar law to the state’s budget this year that will go into effect by mid-June. Manhattan’s Democratic District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, compared the law to statutes preventing commercial and consumer printers from producing US dollars.

“We’re going to put technology into our machines such that they will not be a 3D gun. Much like, you know, we don’t have, you know, commercial printers that print US currency,” Bragg told ABC 7 Eyewitness News.

In January, Maine’s legislature passed a bill requiring serial numbers on all firearms, including 3D-manufactured guns. The same month, former New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed Bill A4975, which requires state residents to own a firearms license to even possess instructions or blueprints to print a 3D firearm.

Cody Wilson, owner of Defense Distributed company, holds a 3D printed gun, called the “Liberator”, in his factory in Austin, Texas on Aug. 1, 2018. AFP via Getty Images

Colorado and Virginia also passed similar laws against weapons without serial numbers, while a Washington state law that Gov. Bob Ferguson signed in March restricted the ability for residents to possess the serial-free weapons while also imposing constraints on the digital blueprints and devices that would manufacture the 3D guns.

A Minnesota legislative package considering a wide slate of restrictions failed to pass the statehouse in March.

The impetus to restrict the DIY ordinance coincides with a sharp rise in 3D-printed guns recovered at crime scenes.

Data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) shows the bureau recovered over 27,000 3D-printed ghost guns from crime scenes in January 2023 compared to just over 1,600 recovered in January 2017.

An ATF official fires a semi-automatic gun that has been modified using a 3D-printed gun conversion device that enables a lawful semi-automatic firearm to become an illegal fully automatic firearm with $0.40 worth of plastic. AFP via Getty Images

Proponents for stricter gun laws argue the rise of 3D-printed weapons increases the likelihood of adverse shootings in American communities.

“As 3D-printing technology becomes more affordable and accessible, young people are increasingly able to manufacture their own firearms — often without the knowledge of the adults in their lives. As schools purchase 3D printers and train students how to use them, the problem of 3D guns is now entering the classroom as well,” a statement on the Everytown For Gun Safety website says.

Others, however, argue that placing restrictions on the weapons violated Second Amendment rights and that bans don’t fundamentally impact public safety.

Travis Lerol holds an AR-15 assault rifle along with a rifle lower receiver made of ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) plastic, which he printed on his 3D printer at home on Feb. 12, 2012. The Washington Post via Getty Images

“The gun is not the problem. The individual committing the crime is the problem,” William Sack, the senior director of legal operations at the Second Amendment Foundation, told Stateline

Several states with restrictions are facing constitutional lawsuits. In February, a three-judge panel on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit dealt a blow to the constitutional argument, siding with the state of New Jersey in a case against Texas-based 3D-gun blueprint designed by Defense Distributed.

The Third Circuit upheld a lower court ruling that affirmed a cease and desist that New Jersey’s attorney general delivered to Defense Distributed, ordering the company to stop distributing gun-printing blueprints to unlicensed individuals.

Defense Distributed’s legal team is asking the court to take up the case again and will petition the Supreme Court if unsuccessful, according to the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs.