3D Printers Defying German Weapons Legislation

By Matthew Kramer

In 1983, a new intellectual property movement began: copyleft.[1] Copyleft was pioneered by Richard Stallman and uses the principles of copyright laws to “vest[] copyright control in a large general community.”[2] Stallman’s work created a new form of software license that allowed licensees to “use, copy, modify, and distribute” another’s work while preventing them from “turn[ing] the work into a proprietary derivative.”[3] Thus, a “creation” becomes “free to run, copy, distribute, study, and modify,” and a licensee can commodify their derivative work so long as others may create subsequent derivative works for free.[4] Over the years, this movement gained traction online with groups that emphasize freedom of speech as it applies to software and computer code.[5] For example, this concept has influenced the growth and proliferation of 3D printing.[6]

Online 3D printing groups often build off each other and utilize the principles of copyleft to ensure that any code or products, and their derivatives, remain free according to the principles of copyleft.[7] This has been adopted by online firearm communities that aim to create better 3D-printed firearms in the interests of “liberty and responsibility.”[8] Early 3D-printed firearm creators successfully made models that could evade local authorities and metal detectors; however, the models were unreliable and quickly became the target of gun control advocates.[9]

In response to the attention that 3D-printed firearms were getting, one group split off to form Deterrence Dispensed, and they have remained relatively anonymous, only communicating using pseudonyms.[10] Rather than creating a model that can evade all detection, one project this new generation focuses on is creating a firearm that can be built at home while evading European weapons laws.[11] This goal culminated in the release of the FGC-9, a semi-automatic rifle that can shoot thousands of 9mm ammunition without malfunctioning.[12] The plans were released in March 2020 and utilize a combination of 3D-printed parts, readily available hardware, and basic metalworking techniques.[13] The total cost is approximately $450 USD for the first FGC-9 and $100 USD for each additional firearm.[14]

Because of the internet, the creators of the FGC-9 were able to cooperate from different points of the world, and they were able to build off older 3D-printed firearm files because the older files contained copyleft licenses.[15] In the future, creators will continue to build off the FGC-9 files.[16] 3D-printed firearms have the potential to be cheaper and more elusive to law enforcement efforts with each generation. The new reality of 3D-printed firearms is clashing with local laws, and lawmakers are having difficulty addressing the situation.[17] In fact, JStark, one of the creators of the FGC-9, designed the weapon specifically to evade Germany’s weapons laws.[18]

Germany has a conflicted view of firearm regulations as the country balances the historical right of ownership against the threat of extremism and mass shootings.[19] This balance has left German firearm regulations as “among the most stringent in Europe.”[20] Owning a firearm requires a license, and carrying a firearm requires a separate license.[21] Individuals applying for these licenses must pass a background check, skills test, and, in some instances, undergo a psychiatric evaluation.[22] Once an individual obtains their license and firearm, German authorities may, at any time, inspect any firearm and its storage space for compliance with relevant laws.[23] JStark, and many others, view any form of gun control as tyrannical overreach and responded to German laws by creating the FGC-9.[24]

While laws have not reacted to the new issue, the German Bundestag (federal parliament) is not blind to the dangers of 3D-printed firearms.[25] The Green party, in particular, criticizes the current laws for not going far enough to address homemade firearms.[26] The Green party would like to regulate 3D-printed firearms, particularly after an antisemitic attack in Halle, Germany, on October 9, 2019.[27] The gunman in that attack claimed his objective was to “prove the viability” of homemade weapons.[28] Although it was considered a failure in this regard, the attack left two people dead and brought more attention to the future use of 3D-printed firearms.[29]

Following the attack in Halle, there is particular concern that white supremacists will use 3D-printed firearms in future attacks.[30] On the neo-Nazi forum Stormfront, 3D-printed firearms, and 3D printing in general, are popular methods of modifying more conventional firearms to subvert current regulations.[31] Therefore, the release of JStark’s instructions for building the FGC-9 should be a cause for more concern and actual action because the model is widely disseminated and does not fail as quickly as previous 3D-printed firearm models.[32]

Despite being the location of a neo-Nazi hate crime centered around homemade weapons, Germany has not legislatively responded to the rise in 3D-printed firearms. The only law preventing another gunman from making and using his own weapons is a prohibition on “unauthorised individuals” manufacturing firearms in the country, which has created a “de facto ban on 3D-printed firearms.”[33] But this same ban existed before the Halle synagogue attack and requires someone alerting local authorities that printing is happening.[34] There are few other safeguards in place. If someone has access to the internet, they can anonymously download the instructions and build an FGC-9.[35]

Governments could ignore claims about the dangers of 3D-printed firearms in the past because previous models were flimsy and often blew up in a shooter’s hands.[36] Now, however, JStark’s FGC-9 and the global dissemination of how to build it prove that 3D-printed firearms are viable weapons. Almost anyone can make these firearms relatively cheaply anywhere there is electricity, a 3D printer, and basic hardware, and each successive generation is one step closer to a conventional firearm.[37] JStark was just one of the thousands of 3D-printed firearm enthusiasts, and there is no way to stop them from sharing files.[38] Germany, the country with the strictest gun laws, spurred the creation of a firearm built to defy traditional weapons regulations. Now, creative legislation in Germany and beyond is needed to specifically address the printing of firearms for any future weapons regulations to have any meaning.  

[1] Ken Friedman, Copyleft, Encyc. Britannica (Jul. 13, 2016), https://www.britannica.com/topic/copyleft.

[2] Id.

[3] Brian W. Carver, Share and Share Alike: Understanding and Enforcing Open Source and Free Software Licenses, 20 Berkeley Tech. L.J. 443, 443-44 (2005). This does not mean that the work cannot be monetized; in fact, the GNU General Public License states that copies of a derivative work can be distributed for a fee, and creators often charge fees for “distribution, service, warranty protection, and indemnification.” Id. at 449 n.42.

[4] Massy Vainshtein, To the Left, to the Left: An Introduction to Copyleft and Open Source Software, Alt Legal (Mar. 3, 2021), https://www.altlegal.com/blog/to-the-left-to-the-left-an-introduction-to-copyleft-and-open-source-software.

[5] Carver, supra note 3, at 447.

[6] See, e.g., Chet Breaux, A Case of Patent Theft: Copyright, 3D Printing, and the Future of the Commons, 15 Hyperrhiz: New Media Cultures (2016), http://hyperrhiz.io/hyperrhiz15/essays/breaux-makerbot-patent.html. Many models go contain a Creative Commons ShareALike license, which is based on copyleft. See id.; About the Licenses, Creative Commons, https://creativecommons.org/licenses (last visited Jan. 11, 2022).

[7] Id.

[8] E.g., Andy Greenberg, ‘Wiki Weapon Project’ Aims to Create a Gun Anyone can 3D-Print at Home, Forbes (Aug. 23, 2012, 9:00 AM), https://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2012/08/23/wiki-weapon-project-aims-to-create-a-gun-anyone-can-3d-print-at-home/?sh=3138482a3860.

[9] Id. American company Defence Distributed created the Liberator, the first fully 3D-printed firearm, which could evade metal detectors but would malfunction after a few firing a few rounds. Id. The release of the Liberator was met with laws banning its printing and distribution and its creator losing multiple workshops and receiving heightened media scrutiny. Id.

[10] See, e.g., Ari Schneider, 3D-Printed Guns are Getting More Capable and Accessible, Slate (Feb. 16, 2021, 2:27 PM), https://slate.com/technology/2021/02/3d-printed-semi-automatic-rifle-fgc-9.html (interviewing American member Ivan the Troll); Jake Hanrahan, 3D-Printed Guns are Back, and This Time They Are Unstoppable, Wired (May 20, 2019, 6:00 AM), https://www.wired.co.uk/article/3d-printed-guns-blueprints (interviewing Ivan the Troll); Popular Front, Plastic Defence: Secret 3D Printed Guns in Europe, YouTube, at 6:00 – 8:47 (Nov. 23, 2020), https://youtu.be/jlB2QV5wVxg (interviewing German member JStark).

[11] Schneider, supra note 10.

[12] Id. FGC-9 stands for “fuck gun control 9mm,” which reflects the ideology of its creators. Id.; Popular Front, supra note 10, at 4:21 – 6:00.

[13] Schneider, supra note 10. The most complex parts of the process can be done in an individual’s bedroom. Id. There has since been an update to the model, the FGC-9 MkII. Christian Wong, FGC-9 MkII File Package Release, Kommando Blog (Apr. 17, 2021), https://web.archive.org/web/20210425185709/https://www.kommandoblog.com/2021/04/17/fgc-9-mkii-file-package-release.

[14] Schneider, supra note 10.

[15] See id.

[16] See, e.g., Olivia Little, TikTok is Teaching Teens how to Build Fully Automatic Rifles and Make “Hollow Point” Ammunition, MediaMatters (Feb. 10, 2021, 5:02 PM), https://www.mediamatters.org/tiktok/tiktok-teaching-teens-how-build-fully-automatic-rifles-and-make-hollow-point-ammunition. Despite violating their terms of use, TikTok allows videos that show users how to 3D-print their own firearm and how to manufacture their own ammunition. Id. Some of these users have already started to build and disseminate their own weapon modifications. Id.

[17] Yannick Veilleux-Lepage, CTRL, HATE, PRINT: Terrorists and the Appeal of 3D-Printed Weapons, Int’l Centre for Counter-Terrorism (Jul. 13, 2021), https://icct.nl/publication/ctrl-hate-print-terrorists-and-the-appeal-of-3d-printed-weapons.

[18] Popular Front, supra note 10. JStark is not the only creator of the FGC-9, but he lived in Germany, and his contributions to the project focused on evading German law. See id.; Schneider, supra note 10. Although JStark never stated where he lived, it was revealed after his death in late 2021 that he lived in Germany. Maik Baumgärtner et al., The Shadowy, Homemade Weapons Community Just Keeps on Growing, Spiegel Int’l (Oct. 12, 2021), https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/guns-from-the-3d-printer-the-shadowy-homemade-weapons-community-just-keeps-on-growing-a-649578f3-0522-40b4-931c-97d347b0f320; Jake Hanrahan (@Jake_Hanrahan), Twitter (Oct. 9, 2021, 7:12 AM), https://twitter.com/jake_hanrahan/status/1446840997867147278.

[19] Elizabeth Schumacher, Germany Approves Stricter Gun Control Laws, DW (Dec. 13, 2019), https://www.dw.com/en/germany-approves-stricter-gun-control-laws/a-51657321.

[20] Gun Laws in Germany, German Culture, https://germanculture.com.ua/daily/gun-laws-in-germany (last visited Jan. 11, 2022).

[21] Ben Knight, Gun Control and Firearms Possession in Germany, DW (Feb. 20, 2020), https://www.dw.com/en/gun-control-and-firearms-possession-in-germany/a-52450664.

[22] Waffengesetz [WaffG] [Weapons Act], Oct. 11, 2022, Bundesgesetzblatt, Teil I [BGBl. I] at 3970, §§ 4 - 7, last amended by Gesetz [G], Mar. 4, 2013, BGBl I at 362, art. 2 (Ger.), https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_waffg/englisch_waffg.html.

[23] Waffengesetz [WaffG] [Weapons Act], Oct. 11, 2022, BGBl. I at 3970, § 36(3), last amended by Gesetz [G], Mar. 4, 2013, BGBl I at 362, art. 2 (Ger.), https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_waffg/englisch_waffg.html.

[24] Popular Front, supra note 10, at 6:00 – 8:47.

[25] Schumacher, supra note 19.

[26] Id.

[27] Id.

[28] Veilleux-Lepage, supra note 17. However, the gunman’s firearms failed during the attack, and the only 3D-printed components were the “grip, feed ramp, trigger clip, torch barrel, and magazines.” Id.

[29] Beau Jackson, Interview with the ICSR: A 3D Printed Gun Was Not Used in the Halle Terror Attack, 3D Printing Indus. (Oct. 18, 2019, 5:28 PM), https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/interview-with-the-icsr-a-3d-printed-gun-was-not-used-in-the-halle-terror-attack-163643.

[30] See Veilleux-Lepage, supra note 17.

[31] Id.

[32] Schneider, supra note 10.

[33] Veilleux-Lepage, supra note 17.

[34] See Waffengesetz [WaffG] [Weapons Act], Oct. 11, 2022, BGBl. I at 3970, § 21, last amended by Gesetz [G], Mar. 4, 2013, BGBl I at 362, art. 2 (Ger.), https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_waffg/englisch_waffg.html (updating the ban in 2013, six years before the Halle synagogue attack).

[35] See, e.g., Craig Kapitan, Gang Member Accused of Having 3D-Printed Semi-Automatic Weapon, NZHerald (Nov. 7, 2021, 2:34 PM), https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/gang-member-accused-of-having-3d-printed-semi-automatic-weapon/D7NOQGYCD2LSVFDYPVFLNELYIA (discussing a New Zealand gang member charged with possessing an FGC-9); Jake Hanrahan (@Jake_Hanrahan), Twitter (Dec. 9, 2021, 7:30 AM), https://twitter.com/jake_hanrahan/status/1468966318317531140 (showing members of the People’s Defence Forces in Myanmar/Burma using the FGC-9).

[36] See, e.g., Lisa Marie Payne, Texas Company Cleared to Put 3D-Printed Gun Designs Online, Chi. Trib. (Jul. 26, 2018), https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-texas-3d-printed-gun-20180726-story.html; Dan Tynan, ‘I Wouldn’t Waste My Time’: Firearms Experts Dismiss Flimsy 3D-Printed Guns, Guardian (Jul. 31, 2018, 8:54 PM), https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/31/3d-printed-guns-danger-problems-plastic.

[37] See Schneider, supra note 10.

[38] Hanrahan, supra note 10.