A Voice for the Voiceless

Opinion

Ghost Guns are the Solution to Restrictive Gun Control

It’s tough to witness your own rights being threatened in the wake of an even harsher tragedy.

Ghost Guns are the Solution to Restrictive Gun Control
Seized plastic handguns made with 3-D printing, displayed at a police station. (Reuters)
By Ellie McFarland

America was struck this week with a hail storm of tragedy. This week there were three mass shootings- one in El Paso Texas, one in Dayton Ohio, and one in Gilroy California. The gunmen in these various crimes murdered, in all, at least 32 from the time of writing. So far in 2019 alone, there have been at least 17 deadly mass shootings in America. These bi-monthly cataclysms make America a unique figure amongst first world countries in the most shameful way possible. Among nations with gun control, America tops the list in the category of number mass shootings.

These murders and their following heartaches motivate people to enact restrictive gun legislation in the name of public safety. But this is not the answer. What is less obvious is the way we ought to combat restrictive gun control. The answer lies in the kryptonite to all gun regulation, Cody Wilson’s Ghost Gun. 

First a Shooting, Then Come Infringements

After the Las Vegas shooting in 2018, the United States Congress and various activists pushed a ban on bumpstocks. President Trump approved the legislation and later that year, it became officially illegal to own, sell, or manufacture bump stocks. Bump stocks are the gun component the Las Vegas shooter used to convert his semi-automatic rifles into automatic weapons. Supposedly, President Trump maintains his status as a “pro-2A” politician because bump stocks are not technically firearms. It is clear the current administration is nowhere above infringing on the rights of everyday citizens. This is true whether the motivation is to quell innocent concerns or it is towards a conspiracy to remove the agency of the individual. 

We should expect this same reaction to an even more extreme degree following these latest shootings. Although their death toll is less than the Las Vegas shooting, their closeness in occurrence, absolute shocking horror, and El Paso’s political implications will likely get the legislative wheels turning just as quickly.

This time is will not just be bump stocks– a mere “gun accessory”. It is not unreasonable to wonder if now Congresses’ target will be “assault rifles”. Yes, Assault Rifles, a term as nebulous as “suspicious person” and about as specific as big black scary gun, could motivate Congress into legislation. 

It’s tough to witness your own rights being threatened in the wake of an even harsher tragedy. It’s even more difficult to know what to do as a practical action. If the current trends continue, the United States will follow the path of nations like the United Kingdom, France, and Canada- the path of stripped rights and false security. If Congress passes even more restrictive anti-gun legislation, America should turn to Ghost Guns. 

America, Turn to Ghost Guns

Cody Wilson is a cryptoanarchist and second amendment rights advocate who developed what the world now knows as a Ghost Gun. The Ghost Gun is a firearm without a serial number. In the context of this conversation, a ghost gun refers to a gun manufactured at home via a 3D printer. When Wilson developed the code for the Ghost Gun, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that he was completely within his rights to publish the material. Effectively, Cody Wilson demolished any future gun control legislation as soon as he published his code. It was now impossible to ever again legislate against guns.

Many second amendment supporters have unfounded reservations about breaking the law. It’s childish and downright immoral to act within the law when the laws themselves are a debasement of our rights. To bend to the will of a law that takes away our rights is more than immoral, it’s weak. Congress will likely never ban the circulation of Ghost Gun files, but they can Illegalize the physical production. But that is an impractical and impossible solution. The only way they could achieve the abolishment of the Ghost Gun is to ban the sale of 3D printers altogether. If you really want to participate in securing the right to personal protection, you need to recognize the utility of legal escapes and breaking the law.

Wilson’s Ghost Gun is the key to subversive innovation. If and when gun laws become so restrictive the second amendment might as well not even exist, Ghost Guns and other would-be illegal work-arounds will be an unstoppable escape from that oppression. It is impossible to deny that America is heading in the direction of other first world nations as far as gun control goes. Similarly, it will thus move in the direction of authoritarianism and tyranny. But it’s volatile and reationary to pretend as if when libertarian gun laws go, freedom will go with it. People, gun rights advocates and gun control supporters alike, will realise the right to protection and true safety is not something anyone is willing to forfeit.

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