An Australian man who printed replicas of guns that could not fire or accept ammunition, has been given 12 months of probation with a 50-month suspended sentence.
The first person in New South Wales to be charged over making and possessing 3D-printed guns has avoided jail.
Steven Sicen Sun was charged early last year and pleaded guilty to multiple offences after police found replica guns and blueprints to make them on a 3D printer in his Waverley apartment.
The 28-year-old also tried to sell one of the 3D-printed guns online for $1 million.
The case occurred in the Australian state of New South Wales which includes Sidney. New South Wales is the only Australian state that has made it illegal to possess the computer files used to print 3D guns.
New South Wales law also treats replica guns the same as real guns. It has one of the toughest laws on replica guns in the west. Replica guns that are legal in Japan and England are forbidden in New South Wales. Possession of non-firing replica guns in New South Wales without the same license required for real guns is a felony offense.
Replica or imitation firearms:
an imitation of any firearm which requires a licence or permit under the Firearms Act, unless approved by the Commissioner of Police.
Australian gun laws were rushed through to take advantage of the media push for extreme restrictions after the Port Arthur mass murder in Tasmania, Australia. The legislation was prepared in advance by radical disarmament proponents. It includes multiple bizarre sections that are slowly being reformed.
In Australia, slingshots and crossbows are prohibited weapons. Air rifles are treated the same as 12 gauge shotguns. Failing to lock up one .22 rimfire cartridge requires confiscation of all firearms and loss of the ability to posses firearms for life. Pocket knives may not be carried without a reason acceptable to the police.
In the United States, the State Department recently reached a settlement with Defense Distributed to allow distribution of files used to print firearms of .50 caliber or less that aren’t fully automatic or otherwise restricted by law. Such files have been already widely available on the Internet for at least five years.
A federal judge in Washington state has issued an injunction to prevent the settlement from taking effect, but Defense Distributed is challenging that.
©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.