An entirely decentralized network of self-defense rights advocates have taken to the internet to provide plans for 3D-printed guns. It looks like the 3D guns are unregulatable and unstoppable. They’re anonymously sharing the blueprints and advice while simultaneously building an unstoppable community. Unlike previous attempts to popularize 3D-printed guns, this newer operation is entirely decentralized. There’s no headquarters, no trademarks, and no real leader. The people behind it already understand that this means they can’t be stopped by governments and their laws or regulations.
“If they [the government] were to come after me, they’d first have to find my identity,” says Ivan the Troll, a member of the group. “I’m one of many, many like-minded individuals who’re doing this sort of work.”
According to Wired UK, Ivan the Troll is the de facto spokesman of an underground wave of 3D-printing gunsmiths. Ivan says he knows of at least 100 people who are actively developing 3D-printed gun technology, and he claims there are thousands taking part in the network. This loose-knit community spans the entire globe.
They communicate across several digital platforms, including Signal, Twitter, IRC, and Discord. They critique each other’s work, exchange 3D gun CAD files, offer advice, talk theory, and collaborate on future blueprints. These 3D-printed gun enthusiasts – who share similar ideas and political viewpoints on gun control – mostly found each other online via gun control subreddits and forums.
Ivan is just one small part of this network. He says he is from Illinois, and is of “college age”, but otherwise he remains mostly anonymous, to lie low. At the same time though, he’s launched bombastic PR videos demonstrating the new 3D-printed gun parts he’s created in his garage, including a Glock 17 handgun frame.-Wired UK,
Much to the chagrin of authoritarians worldwide, coming for an entire network of people is virtually impossible. And in all honesty, 3D guns wouldn’t be such a popular market if governments stopped trying to take rights away from people and enslave them. Ivan the Troll and others like him continue to help people regain their freedom from the violent authoritarians running the world’s governments.