Here s more from Courthouse News Service on the divided panel of judges.
In a 25-page opinion, U.S. Circuit Judges Jay Bybee, a George W. Bush appointee, and Ryan Nelson, a Donald Trump appointee, concluded that courts lack authority to review the challenged rule changes.
They found a 1976 law, the International Security Assistance and Arms Export Control Act, and its subsequent amendments forbid judicial review of State Department decisions on what is considered a defense article subject to regulation. Because Congress expressly precluded review of the relevant agency actions here, we vacate the injunction and remand with instructions to dismiss, Nelson wrote for the majority.
SAN FRANCISCO
Plans for 3D-printed, self-assembled “ghost guns” can be posted online without U.S. State Department approval, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
A divided panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco reinstated a Trump administration order that permitted removal of the guns from the State Department’s Munitions List.
Listed weapons need State Department approval for export.
In 2015, federal courts applied the requirement to weapons posted online and intended for production on 3D printers, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
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However, three years later the State Department under then-President Trump settled a lawsuit by a 3D gun company and ordered their removal.
SAN FRANCISCO Plans for 3D-printed, self-assembled “ghost guns” can be posted online without U.S. State Department approval, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
A divided panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco reinstated a Trump administration order that permitted removal of the guns from the State Department’s Munitions List.
Listed weapons need State Department approval for export.
In 2015, federal courts applied the requirement to weapons posted online and intended for production on 3D printers, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
However, three years later the State Department under then-President Donald Trump settled a lawsuit by a 3D gun company and ordered their removal.
U.S. Court Says Ghost Gun Blueprints Can Stay Online
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Photo: Scott Olson / Staff, Getty Images
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled this week that posting plans for so-called “ghost guns” homemade firearms and firearm parts designed to route around gun regulations is technically legal. The ruling, which affirmed the Trump-era removal of these gun and gun parts from the State Department’s Munitions List, means that the blueprints for these weapons can be sold for export without approval from the U.S. federal government.
Ghost guns came under fire in 2018 when the Trump administration settled a lawsuit with 3D-printed gun maker Defence Distributed. The ruling stated these firearms weren’t to be placed on the Munitions List, essentially allowing their worldwide sale and export. The latest ruling reaffirmed this decision. From the 2018 ruling:
SUPER SHOOTERS
Plans for 3D ‘ghost guns’ can now be posted online legally – and ANYONE can print deadly weapon out at home
Charlotte Edwards, Digital Technology and Science Reporter
8:26 ET, Apr 29 2021
Updated: 8:51 ET, Apr 29 2021
IT is legal for plans of 3D ghost guns to be posted online, according to a US court ruling.
A federal appeals court ruled that the guns can be printed and assembled by people at home without US State Department approval.
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Plans for the 3D guns appear onlineCredit: AP
A recent Sun investigation found criminals are flooding British streets with 3D printed guns in an unprecedented security threat.