Press Statement  AG Healey Statement on Preliminary Injunction in 3D-Printed Guns Lawsuit

Boston — Attorney General Maura Healey today issued the following statement after a U.S. District Judge for the State of Washington granted a preliminary injunction in a multistate lawsuit seeking to block a Trump Administration action that would give dangerous individuals access to downloadable, untraceable and undetectable 3D-printed weapons:

“Today, the federal judge hearing our case blocked the Trump Administration from allowing the distribution of online plans to print guns at home. In granting the preliminary injunction, the court recognized making untraceable guns that cannot be picked up by metal detectors would undermine state laws across the country and threaten public safety. While this federal court order remains in place, my office will continue the fight to permanently block the Administration from allowing criminals and terrorists to make 3D-printed guns. It’s dangerous, it’s illegal, and it must be stopped.”

The multistate lawsuit filed by eight state attorneys general against the U.S. Department of State seeks to stop a settlement and rule changes that would allow the company Defense Distributed to post files online to allow individuals to print guns using 3D printers. The states won a temporary restraining order from a federal judge in Seattle last month, blocking the publication of downloadable plans for 3D-printed guns online, and eleven other state AGs have since joined that lawsuit.

AG Healey has joined with partners in Massachusetts law enforcement to issue a public safety notice detailing the serious violations of state law arising from the creation of these undetectable guns.