Texas man sentenced in 3D-printed gun case

[DonViejo]

Source: ABC News



By Jack Date 21m ago

Authorities say he referred to himself as “Eric the Ruler” and he wanted to get a gun.

According to court records, in 2016, Eric McGinnis went to a federally-licensed gun dealer in Texas to attempt to buy a firearm, but he was stopped from doing so after a required criminal background check revealed a 2015 protective order against him, stemming from an "act of family violence" against his girlfriend.

By flagging him as a prohibited purchaser, the federal background check system appeared to work as designed. By state and federal law, McGinnis was barred from possessing a firearm.

But the story didn’t end there. In 2016, McGinnis sidestepped the background check by using a 3D printer to build an AR-15 assault rifle.

(Courtesy U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas) A gun printed by a 3D printer.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/texas-man-sentenced-3d-printed-gun-case/story?id=60914980

[Harker]

1. Everyone's a potential gunsmith now.

Great.

[Adrahil]

2. That looks like PLA (the material)

If it is, it won't survive long. It'll melt and/or break pretty quick.

[MurrayDelph]

3. He only needs it

to last long-enough.

[Adrahil]

5. Agreed... but I'm not sure it would work the first time.

PLA is not a mechanically strong material at all.

Having said that, there are better materials and even metal based printers. This is asking for trouble.

[Paladin]

8. No, asking for trouble is nick-naming himself "Eric The Ruler."

Followed up by arming himself with a computer-generated assault rifle. This could have ended very, very badly.

[Adrahil]

9. It could have.

At the very least, he built an illegal Short-barrled rifle. IN fact, that's probably what will really nail him. That's a no-no.

And I should clarify by "asking for trouble" I meant the possibility of unregulated production of firearms via 3D printers.

[trc]

6. The lower reciever is what was printed in plastic

The upper part of the weapon, the part with the barrel, bolt and ejector was metal, bought without a background check because it was not required. Understand, the part of the weapon that actually shoots was bought without a background check because it was not required. So very wrong. I did not realize that this was the situation with these weapons.

Upon further reading of the article attached to the video, the cops who made the arrest and the ATF officers thought this guy had gone the much harder route of building his own gun when he could have just bought one from a private seller with no background check. The cops know how easy it is to get weapons when you are not supposed to own one. This guy was about to go off and just happened to get caught shooting in city limits. Crazy.

[Adrahil]

7. Yes, of course.

In AR's, the "lower" legally IS the gun. The rest can be bought free and clear of any gun laws.

[Gothmog]

4. Lock him up

[jmowreader]

10. Read the article. It's worth it.

The cops caught him with an illegal short-barreled rifle, a "List of American Terrorists" that is really a list of Congressmen, and he claimed he was in the CIA. Nice guy.