There have been some skirmishes in federal courts recently over efforts by a Texas pro-gun zealot to let people download software instructions that will direct a 3-D printer to create an untraceable gun. It’s a dangerously bad idea, but unfortunately, the man — Cody Wilson, who runs the nonprofit Defense Distributed — is perfectly within his rights, as the Times editorial board explained three years ago.
What? The pro-gun control Los Angeles Times siding with the gun nuts? Well, yeah, in this case, because what’s at stake is not the 2nd Amendment covering gun rights, but the 1st Amendment covering free speech. We reach dangerous ground when we let the government — federal, state or local — tell people what information they can and can’t share over the internet.
http://latimes.com/opinion/la-ol-enter-the-fray-banning-codes-for-making-untraceable-1532977243-htmlstory.html
