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New York Changes Gun Buyback After Seller Gets $21,000 For 3D-Printed Parts (theguardian.com) 277

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Guardian: The attorney general of New York has changed the rules of a state gun buyback program, after a participant exploited the system by using a 3D printer to make firearm parts in bulk that he then exchanged for $21,000 in gift cards. The seller, who identified himself by a pseudonym, said he traveled from West Virginia to a gun buyback on August 27 in Utica, New York, to take advantage of a loophole in the program -- and to demonstrate that buybacks are futile in an era of printable weapons.

At the buyback, the seller turned in 60 printed auto sears, small devices that can convert firearms into fully automatic weapons. Under the rules of the buyback, hosted by the office of the attorney general, Letitia James, and city police, that entitled him to $350 for each of the printed parts, including a $100 premium, since they were deemed "ghost guns" lacking serial numbers. The seller, who declined to provide his real name, said in an email on Monday the prospect of making money was enticing, but that the big reason he took part in the buyback was to send a message.

James' office said it responded to the loophole by giving buyback personnel more discretion to determine the value of weapons being handed in, and setting a standard that all 3D-printed guns accepted by the program must be capable of being fired more than once. The new rules were in place by September 17, when the attorney general's office hosted a gun buyback in a Syracuse suburb, Camillus. "It's shameful that this individual exploited a program that has successfully taken thousands of guns off the streets to protect our communities from gun violence," the attorney general's office said.

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New York Changes Gun Buyback After Seller Gets $21,000 For 3D-Printed Parts

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  • by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 12, 2022 @08:06AM (#62959419)
    So, Joe Nobody from West Virginia is smarter than the combined members of the New York government. No surprise there.
    • by flyingfsck ( 986395 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2022 @08:12AM (#62959435)
      Resistance is futile against DIY ingenuity. It is very easy to make .22 hand guns from brass plumbing parts with little more than an electric drill and a file. We are speaking of medieval technology and this is the 21st century after all.
      • by SirSlud ( 67381 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2022 @08:24AM (#62959479) Homepage

        Were it practical for basically every intended use (let alone were most criminal gun users noted for their DIY ingenuity) from intimidation to violence, then that's what criminals would be doing. But they're not. People run guns all across the map at great personal risk and for large financial upside - so I question how much it actually matters that it's "very easy to make .22 hand guns"

        • by ShanghaiBill ( 739463 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2022 @08:41AM (#62959535)

          then that's what criminals would be doing. But they're not.

          That's the point. These "one-shot wonders" are easy and cheap to make from hardware store junk, and no criminals use them. So it is idiotic for the government to spend tax dollars to "take them off the street."

          • by SirSlud ( 67381 )

            Sure, I agree. Which is why they're amending the conditions of the program.

        • by I75BJC ( 4590021 )
          Yes, criminal use these.
          I was the intended victim in a mugging by a person using a gun like this. Just because you haven't experienced this scenario, doesn't mean it didn't happen.
          • Yes, criminal use these.

            In America?

            Why not just buy a real gun at the corner store?

            • Serial numbers
            • by dpidcoe ( 2606549 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2022 @11:33AM (#62960257)

              In America?

              Yes. Before 3d printers and mass hysteria about ghost guns, they were known as "zip guns". Read any book about gangs from the latter half of the 20th century and they'll usually get mentioned at least a couple of times. One of the most expedient ones was to snap off the antenna of a certain model car that was sized just about perfect for a .22, and then use a nut threaded through a rubber band to trigger it. Sort of like a gunpowder powered slingshot.

              The slamfire pipe shotgun is another common type. At its simplest it's literally two metal pipes, one the size of a shotgun shell and the other a size that'll slide over the first. An endcap goes on the bigger pipe, and you drill and tap a small hole into that to thread a screw through for the firing pin. If I was a gangbanger who didn't give a shit about being a felon, I could walk into a hardware store with a pocket full of 20 gauge shells and build the thing inside the store.

              Why not just buy a real gun at the corner store?

              - They knew they couldn't pass a background check

              - They didn't want the traceability of a serial number

              - They didn't want to take the time filing off serial numbers

              - It's what they had laying around at the time

              - Cheaper than buying a real gun (legitimately or on the black market)

              - Can be disassembled and disposed of. It'll just look like random plumbing fittings in the trash can because that's literally what it breaks down to.

              - Deniability

      • Leave it to the DIY community to turn a confiscation program into a new budding industry :-)
        • by cayenne8 ( 626475 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2022 @08:31AM (#62959503) Homepage Journal
          One thing that stand out to me here is that part about the fully printed out "auto sears".

          That is a heavy federal crime if you do that....I could see him printing lower receivers, etc....but those sears are something that will get you 10 years in federal prison REALLY fast plus heavy fines.

          I'm surprised the Feds haven't been trying to find this guy for possessing these.

          Overall, I like the protest and being innovative to get some govt. $$....

          But wow...putting yourself at risk like that, not good.

          There's been recent cases of the ATF trying to imprison people for making and selling metal "cards" that just have the sear components outlined on the metal, not even cut out, but outlined...as being full blow illegal machine guns.

          This guy with the 3d printed ones needs to be a bit worried I'd think.

          • These buybacks are usually done in an "amnesty zone" where no one asks for any name or ID.

            Auto sears and guns with serial numbers removed are both illegal, yet are both specifically listed as items NY will pay for. That wouldn't work if people couldn't turn them in and receive their money anonymously.

          • Except he wasn't stockpiling them. He made them to take advantage of a State-run buyback program, that paid a premium for those parts, no questions asked.
            • Except he wasn't stockpiling them.

              Well, you don't need to.

              Possession of even "1" functional auto sear will get you a quick 10 years plus fines in Federal Prison.

              Really pretty much with no questions asked.

              • Did he travel across state lines with them ? NYS may be able to waive their own laws but I don't think they can unilaterally waive federal law.
          • One thing that stand out to me here is that part about the fully printed out "auto sears". That is a heavy federal crime if you do that....

            Perhaps the feds don't care because there is no way a plastic sear will ever work.

        • by Geoffrey.landis ( 926948 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2022 @09:49AM (#62959807) Homepage

          Leave it to the DIY community to turn a confiscation program into a new budding industry :-)

          Except this wasn't a confiscation program.

          This should be the gun-lover's ideal scenario: instead of confiscation, this is a program for people to voluntarily relinquish their handguns, no coercion involved.

      • Re: (Score:2, Flamebait)

        Pipe guns are easy to make, and they're already quite popular in places like Haiti and the Philippines. But they have similar (or worse) issues than 3D printed guns. They're almost as likely to misfire and blow your hand off, as to send the bullet where you point it. The ammo has to be individually loaded into the barrel like a 16th-century musket.

        It's basically impossible to commit a mass shooting with that kind of weapon. Your bodycount tops out at 1 or 2, versus 10 or 20 with a professionally-manufacture

        • Pipe guns are easy to make, and they're already quite popular in places like Haiti and the Philippines.

          In the Philippines, they are called Paltiks [wikipedia.org].

          Guns are not hard to buy in the Philippines, so people make pipe guns mainly to save money. Many people in the countryside use them to keep the NPA from stealing their chickens.

          There are machine shops where you can take any gun, and they will build an exact replica.

          Disclaimer: I am currently living and working in the Philippines.

      • It is very easy to make .22 hand guns from brass plumbing parts with little more than an electric drill and a file.

        Brass? A gun that will fire once, if you're lucky.

        A .22 is a pretty low energy cartridge, so it you're going to make a gun out of brass, that's a good choice. But nevertheless there are good reasons you don't make guns out of brass.

    • by gosso920 ( 6330142 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2022 @08:46AM (#62959559)
      Leftists hate it when Saul Alinsky tactics ("Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules") are used against them.
    • by I75BJC ( 4590021 )
      Bingo!
      This enterprising person showed the missing piece in the program (and its proponents)!
  • Smart guy (Score:5, Insightful)

    by memory_register ( 6248354 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2022 @08:07AM (#62959421)
    If the government wants to play stupid games, it can win stupid prizes.

    In all seriousness, gun buyback programs do not solve street crime. Criminals do not sell back their guns.
    • Re:Smart guy (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Kokuyo ( 549451 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2022 @08:20AM (#62959463) Journal

      It's basically the same argument with legal gun ownership as a whole.

      The only thing you can influence, perhaps to a degree, is crimes in affect and accidents.

      If that was all the reasoning they come up with, I'd have no problem entering that discussion but always, truly always, they list reasons for their laws that just can't be explained away by lack of knowledge or incompetence anymore.

      As a gun owner, in Switzerland though, I'd like to see people having to go through basic training courses and have to prove competency like with a car license.

      I mean it's already a bit problematic that you can get a license at 18 and then basically never have to prove your skill again until a doctor actively claims you unfit to drive.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        Including training in how to manage anger & impulsive behaviour?
        • Including training in how to manage anger & impulsive behaviour?

          Is there any evidence that such training reduces crime?

          Is there even any evidence that such training reduces anger and impulsive behavior?

        • Most gun violence is not from angry and impulsive behavior. You have to be a really high level moron to shoot someone impulsively. Most gun violence is from criminals engaging in criminal activity.

      • Re:Smart guy (Score:4, Interesting)

        by e3m4n ( 947977 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2022 @08:54AM (#62959583)
        the problem with basic training courses is the government can go out of their way to make those courses impossible to attend by limiting frequency or venue. Only certifying one school located in Nevada, etc. Yes the government can be that much of a douchebag to do shit like that. They have done shit like that on other things. What you can do instead is setup enhanced allowances based on training. At a min you are allowed X in compliance with constitutional amendments. Complete this level training and get awarded concealed carry. Complete this other level course and get enhanced conceal carry, etc. etc. But the idiots in government that are pro-gun confiscation seem to think by outlawing something, god himself goes around with his magic fairy wand and makes these items vanish into the ether. Murder has been illegal for 235years now. We see how infrequent that happens as a result. There are ways to get people to line up for training without even having to make it a requirement. There are some adv tactical courses taught in Nevada that law enforcement sends some of their tactical squads to. If something even close to that existed in my state I would pay to attend. I have a military background and I still would pay for a refresher course and range. Shooting still targets is no where near as fun or good as running these drill courses. I even have DVD versions of the courses, but knowing and doing are not the same. Usually its the street thugs that pack and dont practice. Most lawful gun owners enjoy taking their weapons to the range from time to time.
        • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          But the idiots in government that are pro-gun confiscation seem to think by outlawing something, god himself goes around with his magic fairy wand and makes these items vanish into the ether.

          Resorting to strawman arguments suggests your argument isn't very strong.

          Nobody expects guns to go away completely. If they are not legal to own (except for limited exceptions like farmers who need them for pest control) then they become much more difficult and expensive to obtain, and being caught with one is itself a crime that law enforcement can act upon.

          That would make it much harder for disgruntled guys to shoot up schools, for example. Much harder to steal guns for use in crimes too, because there ar

        • I really like your points, I live in a state where I'd have to take a class just to buy a handgun and at least one more for concealed carry, and probably have to travel out of state not to get ripped off on the purchase. Then I might even have to buy special fugly magazines limited to 10 rounds... I'm a writer, never shot a gun before 2015 but a couple vets took me to the range for starters around the time I got interested in writing a Zombie apocalypse type book, and then I joined a group that goes once

      • Re:Smart guy (Score:4, Insightful)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2022 @08:55AM (#62959591) Homepage Journal

        Plenty of other countries have had successful gun buybacks and amnesties. Much of Europe had them after WW2, Australia had one a few years back. They seem to work just fine and had a positive effect on serious crime rates.

        The difference in the US is that a decent proportion of the population doesn't want to give up its guns. In other countries removing guns from circulation was seen as a good thing, in the US many people see it as a direct attack on their freedom.

      • by I75BJC ( 4590021 )
        AT the time of the adoption of the Second Amendment, 1791, there were no license and no official training. Gun owners (men, women, children, freemen) were allowed to own firearms their entire lives and without Government intervention. Checking the history books, it worked out well for us.
        That's the New Standard.
        Get with these times and the New/old Standard!
        • AT the time of the adoption of the Second Amendment, 1791, there were no license and no official training. Gun owners (men, women, children, freemen) were allowed to own firearms their entire lives and without Government intervention. Checking the history books, it worked out well for us.

          That's the New Standard.

          Get with these times and the New/old Standard!

          Things have changed a little [wikipedia.org] since the 18th century 18th century [wikipedia.org]. I'm not sure if the concept of how to operate a gun has become vastly more complicated or that people have just gotten more stupid since the 18th century when Americans emerged from their mother's womb clutching a Charleville musket, a tomahawk clenched between their teeth and loudly yelling “No Taxation Without Representation” !!! ... but training has definitely become a must since the days of the founding fathers: https://youtu. [youtu.be]

      • "I'd like to see people having to go through basic training courses and have to prove competency like with a car license."

        I'm an ardent 2nd amendment advocate, and I completely agree.

        The problem is that in the US we have slid so far down into the swamp of politicization.

        If someone could GUARANTEE that the qualification process was objective and never potentially politicized/politicizeable, I think most reasonable people would agree with this common sense proposal for a tool that is potentially very dangerou

    • Isn't the stat that 2/3 of gun deaths are suicide? And a fair number of additional ones are accidents or crimes of passion?

      We don't need a solution to be 100% effective. The benchmark for a buyback program doesn't have to be "the shittiest most violent person with a weapon is compelled to turn them in".

      I don' know the stats on gun buybacks, and there is obviously an incentive issue with any rewards program. But your argument doesn't hold water.

      For guns in general, govt. could tag the gun and test it offsite

    • If the government wants to play stupid games, it can win stupid prizes.

      In all seriousness, gun buyback programs do not solve street crime. Criminals do not sell back their guns.

      As someone who thinks the US has a huge gun problem I briefly looked for evidence on this question and I have to agree with you [pewtrusts.org]:

      The study cited research showing buybacks offer too little money, tend to take place in low-crime areas and collect firearms that tend to be older and less functional.

      “Who’s choosing to turn their gun in?” Anderson asked. “It’s probably not the person on the margins whose gun we’re trying to get off the street. That gun from Grandpa is not the on

    • I don't understand what gun buybacks solve. Criminals are not going to sell theirs. If someone needs to dispose of their guns, a firearm shop or pawn shop would give them far more cash than a buyback would. If someone had something illegal, maybe a no-questions-asked buyback, but perhaps that could just be solved by not a buyback... but just a dropbox on the side of a police station?

    • In all seriousness, gun buyback programs do not solve street crime. Criminals do not sell back their guns.

      While I'm a gun nut, I approve of gun buyback programs. Anybody willing to trade a gun for a gift card is probably better off without the gun.

      What does bother me is that they typically destroy the guns. Most of them will be junk, but there'll be that person who hands in grandpa's M1 Garand and it goes into the blast furnace with all the junk. They should skim off the collectibles and auction them to people who will take care of them.

  • The seller is moving dozens of gun parts across state line. Isn't there a law against gun trafficking in NY?
    • This is actually kind of an interesting question. Does it matter where the part was printed?
      • In this case I think the quantity is more important than where, he crossed state lines with what I think would be enough parts to qualify as a dealer or manufacturer.
        • It is not illegal to transport unloaded guns across state lines, regardless of quantity.

          You are not a dealer unless you buy and sell guns to the public.

          There are no special laws that apply to manufacturers transporting guns.

          Removing a serial number from a gun is illegal, but possessing a gun that never had a serial number is legal.

      • by e3m4n ( 947977 )
        while the 1968 gun control act makes provisions for making firearms for personal use, making 60 exceeds personal use reasonable interpretations. At that point not registering with ITAR also becomes a big issue and a costly annual expense.
    • Itâ(TM)s the United States. There is this thing called the 2nd amendment and interstate commerce is specifically the federal governmentâ(TM)s domain.

    • The seller is moving dozens of gun parts across state line.

      Gun parts aren't guns...and can move freely about the country.

      Now, receivers, the parts that are usually serialized on a commercial gun, that legally are "the gun" might be problematic due to NY's draconian laws.

      Then again, with the SCOTUS ruling, maybe it decimated those laws too.

    • I think the bigger problem is that due to the "no questions asked" policy, they don't even ID people and make sure they're NY residents.

      The gun trafficking itself, no problem because they say they are selectively not enforcing that if you are surrendering the weapon. But the whole program is intended for New Yorkers and by not asking any questions at all, they've opened it to the world.

    • It's an amnesty program run by the State.
    • by mrex ( 25183 )

      Your proposal is to investigate and arrest someone who turned guns into an amnesty buyback?

      Lol. So we're not going to investigate murder weapons, rape weapons, etc. turned in at amnesty buybacks, but someone making money off the government legally, that's unforgivable?

    • by I75BJC ( 4590021 )
      That isn't gun trafficking.
  • personnel more discretion to determine the value of weapons being handed in, and setting a standard that all 3D-printed guns accepted by the program must be capable of being fired more than once.

    So the gun buyback programs will need to provide shooting ranges, ammo crates, and people capable of haggling?

    I feel like it probably takes quite a bit of setup and regulation to open a shooting range, they will probably have to rent a gun store to accomplish this.

    • I feel like it probably takes quite a bit of setup and regulation to open a shooting range

      Less than you might think, depending on where you are. Even in California you just have to have a plan for cleanup, especially if you permit lead. Most of the rifle ranges have disappeared though, which is unfortunate. If you want to shoot a pistol you can find a place to do that pretty much anywhere, even around e.g. SF (actually, there's a rifle range in Richmond... nothing around the Humboldt coast any more, though, where people actually hunt.)

  • ...a genuine & apparently quite successful effort by NY to save lives by getting deadly weapons off the streets." - TIFTFY
    • by leonbev ( 111395 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2022 @08:34AM (#62959515) Journal

      They just paid $21,000 for a handful of 3D-printed plastic parts. Sounds more like a waste of taxpayer money than a legitimate way to protect New York citizens from illegal gun violence.

      It makes you wonder what else they're paying money for... odds are that most of the guns that they're collecting aren't even functional anymore. Otherwise, they would have taken them to a pawn shop for real cash instead.

      • by bws111 ( 1216812 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2022 @08:54AM (#62959587)

        You nailed it. A city (in NY) close to me proudly displayed their 'bought back' guns while claiming how successful the program is. Many of the guns looked like they had been submerged in seawater for a few decades. About 1/3 of them were non-functional replicas. Most of the rest looked like something found while cleaning out grandmas attic. I would say exactly zero of those guns were turned in by violent criminals.

      • No, sounds like a legitimate to "do something", which is anti-American, and also a case where immediately somebody found a loophole and screwed others over, which is... well, I was going to say "very American"... but in truth it's just very "people". You can't throw out an endeavour just because some people subvert it... that's what jackasses do.

    • by nyet ( 19118 )

      citation needed for evidence that any buyback has reduced violent crime rates

  • The NY government literally pays you to destroy a guns serial number before you sell it?

  • by e3m4n ( 947977 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2022 @08:41AM (#62959537)
    I considered selling my guns "back' to the government, but after a background check and thorough investigation into the buyer, I determined the buyer has a long history of violence and is mentally unstable. Big risk to everyone around it.
  • by trelanexiph ( 605826 ) on Wednesday October 12, 2022 @08:57AM (#62959597) Homepage
    the 3d printed part in question, if added to an AR-15 with a M-16 BCG, would convert it to full auto. Not only was it an unserialized ghost gun part, it was, at least legally, a machinegun.
    • in February 1993 Zimmermann became the formal target of a criminal investigation by the US Government for "munitions export without a license". At the time, cryptosystems using keys larger than 40 bits were considered munitions within the definition of the US export regulations;

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

  • Lower end CNC machines are getting cheaper every year. Firearms are not that difficult to make once you've got that bit of kit. The barrels are not quite that easy, but they are not regulated and easy to buy online or at gun shows. Given that the southern border of the US is pretty much wide open to people/drugs/cash/guns moving in both directions, I don't think there's any real chance of any of these buy back programs making any difference whatsoever in the ability of criminals to acquire a gun.

    Personal

  • 1) an autosear is not capable of firing ANYTHING so the 'more than once' rule is stupid on its face. 2) according to the NFA division of the ATF, drop-in auto-sears (DIAS) count as machine guns, subject to the NFA. 3) In other words, a part incapable of firing any sort of projectile on its own, is now classified as a Machine Gun, by which must be registered under the Form 1 construction form and entered into the machine gun database otherwise subject to $10,000 and 10 years imprisonment. But, since the hug
    • by jjn1056 ( 85209 )

      Because these buyback programs usually come with pretty much blanket 'give us the gun and wake away' policies. They are designed to make it easy for people with all sorts of illegal guns to get rid of them for a bit of cash and with the promise of not being prosecuted. The thought here is that lots of people have gun illegally and maybe some of them decide they don't want them anymore. Sometimes people buy a gun illegally when they encounter some sort of life threat and sometimes people inherit weapon

      • by e3m4n ( 947977 )
        except that the state of new york has no authority to waive or bypass federal laws or enforcement. They can hold amnesty against state laws, but not federal.
    • Bingo. The ATF probably is too busy with actual problems but this guy is probably on their watch list now.
  • You just have to make the offer enticing enough. Say $500,000 per gun.
    What the gun buyback programs are trying to do, but wont come out and say, is they are putting a price on human life, it just happens to be insultingly low, which is why these programs fail every time.

In the long run, every program becomes rococco, and then rubble. -- Alan Perlis

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