Washington state Democrats are pushing to require software to block new 3D printers from being used to create a gun.
The preamble to the legislation, HB 2321, says, “AN ACT Relating to preventing the unlawful manufacturing of firearms by requiring three-dimensional printers be equipped with certain blocking technologies.”
It would require new 3D printers to have “a software controls process that deploys a firearms blueprint detection algorithm, such that those features identify and reject print requests for firearms or illegal firearm parts with a high degree of reliability and cannot be overridden or otherwise defeated by a user with significant technical skill.”
On January 14, 2026, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) also pushed to require gun-blocking software on new 3D printers sold in New York.
Her office released a statement, which said, in part:
As part of her 2026 State of the State agenda, Governor Kathy Hochul today unveiled proposals to strengthen New York’s nation leading gun laws by cracking down on 3D-printed and illegal firearms. The new legislation would establish criminal penalties for the manufacture of 3D-printed firearms and order minimum safety standards to be established for 3D printer manufacturers to block the production of firearms and firearm components.
The left’s fight against 3D printer gun-building is an extension of their ongoing battle against so-called “ghost guns.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He holds a PhD in Military History with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on X: @awrhawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at [email protected].
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