(CLIFFSIDE PARK) – Assemblyman Clinton Calabrese today joined Sen. Bob Menendez, Cliffside Park Police Chief Richard Gaito and gun safety advocates in support of the fight against 3D-printed guns.
Calabrese participated in the press conference held by Sen. Menendez at Cliffside Park #5 Elementary School to oppose the release of blueprints to make 3D-printed plastic guns.
While made of plastic, these guns are capable of firing standard handgun rounds.
“These guns are simple to assemble, easy to conceal and difficult to trace. Even more troubling, anyone can make them,” said Calabrese (D-Bergen/Passaic). “This is a recipe for disaster.”
The company behind the plans, Austin, Texas-based Defense Distributed, had reached a settlement with the federal government in June allowing it to make the blueprints for the guns available for download. Eight states including New Jersey sued to stop the company from publishing the instructions. A federal judge on Tuesday stopped the release of the blueprints. The restraining order from US District Judge Robert Lasnik in Seattle puts the plan on hold for now.
Calabrese said the guns would be undetectable by metal detectors, and would make it easier for dangerous people who would normally not pass a criminal background check to have access.
Calabrese said the accessibility that this would create is especially concerning given the prevalence of gun violence in the country. “We should be making it harder, not easier for people to get guns,” he said. “Given the frequency of mass shootings and school shootings in this country, is giving people an easier way to get a gun that is untraceable what we really want to do?”
“People often talk about the dangers of guns ending up in the wrong hands. What this company is trying to do, with the support of the Trump administration, would allow anyone, including people with bad intentions, to build them in the comfort of their homes. That’s insanity,” said Calabrese. “This is a serious threat to public safety and law enforcement that must be stopped.”