On the recordDecember 9, 2013
undetectable plastic guns used to be a hypothetical security threat. But now the threat is real. 3-D printer technology has evolved to the point where a person can make a functioning plastic handgun in a matter of hours. These guns are lethal, and the technology used to make them is getting better--and cheaper--every day. It is a serious concern that the plastic in these guns does not set off walk-through metal detectors. Many of our buildings are protected by these walk-through detectors--courthouses, schools, government buildings, sports arenas, concert venues, and more. The Undetectable Firearms Act sensibly bans guns that are not detectable by these types of metal detectors. It is essential that we reauthorize this important law. I am glad the House of Representatives passed an extension of this law last week. It is important that we not let this law expire. But it is also important for Congress to update this law to close a potentially dangerous loophole. Under the current law, a plastic gun can be legal if the gun owner simply clips a piece of metal onto the gun, even if the metal is unnecessary to the functionality of the gun. This is a problem because the person could simply unclip the metal from the gun to pass through a metal detector and then have a fully-functioning gun inside a secure location. We need to close this loophole and make sure that the functional components of guns are detectable by walk-through metal detectors.…





