So then the people who would otherwise use plastic guns to get past metal detectors would say "oh, well those are illegal now, I'd better not."

TSA already misses full metal guns and in some airports guns are completely legal in the USA.

Why even pretend to have gun laws in this country.

But I'll tell you what, we better make mental health care available like going to the supermarket and without stigma in our society or one day there is going to be a mass-murder anniversary for every day of the year.

I am fairly certain this already exists:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undetectable_Firearms_Act

The Techcrunch piece links to the original article[1], which provides more information. Rep. Steve Israel is a gun control crusader from way back, as is the Connecticut delegation and a few others. But the ban he proposes, obviously, won't stop anyone from printing a weapon and smuggling it onto a flight; it's just more so-called security theater, intended to assuage the anti-gun segment of the electorate and reassure air travelers that they are still going to be safe.

In my opinion, the only true way to ensure air security is to arm the pilots and plant more armed Air Marshals on flights.

Banning particular types of objects from being 3-D printed seems like an exercise in futility at best, and instills a false sense of security at worst.

1. http://thehill.com/regulation/legislation/244319-dems-move-t...

So, would this make 3d-printing files of these plastic guns illegal too?

I guess some orientations of bits are already illegal. Is there a(n automated) way to check if a file is illegal?

So if they're going to ban liquids & gels over 3oz, why don't they ban plastics over a certain volume? At least be consistent. Detecting it might be a bit tricky and would require a pat-down, probably, but I'm sure in the name of "safety", that can be dealt with.

And so begins the underground market for plastic weaponry.

Since this is such a big problem, I think we should do something about it immediately. Just like powdered alcohol. /s

Aren't bullets still made of metal?