Hochul Comes to Buffalo to Take on 3D-Printed Ghost Guns
After making progress on illegal gun trafficking, Governor Hochul is now targeting the 'plastic pipeline' โ the growing world of 3D-printed weapons and homemade modifiers.
Governor Kathy Hochul made a Buffalo stop on Tuesday to announce her next front in gun control: the so-called "plastic pipeline" of 3D-printed ghost guns and homemade weapons modifiers. After years of work cracking down on the iron pipeline of guns flowing illegally into New York, she's now turning attention to what she called "homemade killing machines."
The proposal centers on requiring future 3D printers sold in New York to block the ability to print ghost guns and auto-sear switches โ devices that are already illegal to make, but increasingly accessible to anyone with the right files and a cheap printer. Hochul is also proposing sharply increased penalties for anyone caught with these weapons.
Local law enforcement has been raising the alarm about plastic modifiers for a while now, and the hope is that legislation like this can get ahead of the problem before it becomes more entrenched in Erie County neighborhoods.