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1 (August 22, 2018)

handle is hein.crs/crseveryaaaxt0001 and id is 1 raw text is: S Congressional Research Service Gun Control: 3D-Printed AR-15 Lower Receivers -name redacted- Specialist in Domestic Security and Crime Policy August 22, 2018 The possibility that criminals could use three dimensional-printing (3D-printing) technology to produce untraceable firearms, including AR-15s, is an issue of growing concern for some lawmakers. It overlaps in part with the issue of 3D-printed undetectable firearms discussed in a previous Insight (CRS Insight IN10953, Gun Control: 3D-Printed Firearms). Defense Distributed, a federally licensed firearms manufacturer, recently uploaded 3D-printable computer assisted design (CAD) files on its website for an AR-15 type rifle, including its lower receiver. The lower receiver is the controlled part of an AR-15 under federal law and, thus, the main component around which a fully functional firearm can be assembled. Defense Distributed demonstrated that a 3D printer could be used to produce an AR-15 lower receiver out of a polymer material, but functional reliability appeared to remain an issue. On July 31, 2018, a federal judge granted a temporary injunction preventing Defense Distributed from leaving those files posted on its website. These circumstances have called attention to the fact that it is legally permissible for any person to build a firearm, as long as that individual is not prohibited from possessing a firearm and does not build it with intent to sell it. Unlicensed firearms builders are not required to identify their firearms with a serial number and other markings. If later lost or stolen, and used in a crime, it would be difficult for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to trace such firearms back to their builders and possibly determine sources and patterns of firearms trafficking. Consequently, those untraceable home- built (do-it-yourself') firearms have become known as ghost guns. The AR-15 is a compact, lightweight, semiautomatic, magazine-fed rifle, usually constructed of steel, aluminum, and fiberglass or polymer parts, and chambered for an intermediate rifle cartridge (5.56x45mm NATO). It is not a machine gun capable of fully-automatic fire. Since 1986, federal law has prohibited anyone from making any firearm as a machine gun for civilian possession or transfer. Congressional Research Service 7-.... www.crs.gov IN10957 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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