CRIME WATCH: Recent California Recoveries of 3D-Printed Guns and Firearm Parts Underscore Urgent Need to Pass AB 2047

With Less Than a Week Remaining to Pass AB 2047, New Recoveries Add to Growing Evidence of Dangers of 3D-Printed Firearms Across The State

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - In recent weeks, law enforcement agencies across California have continued to recover 3D-printed firearms, firearm parts and manufacturing equipment in investigations involving people prohibited from possessing guns, illegal machine gun conversion devices and other serious criminal activity - underscoring the urgent need for lawmakers to pass AB 2047, the Firearm Printing Prevention Act.

3D-printed firearms are the next wave of the ghost gun crisis. As 3D printers become cheaper, more capable and more accessible, people who cannot legally purchase firearms can increasingly circumvent California's gun safety laws by manufacturing untraceable guns and gun parts at home.

Recent incidents include:

• Monterey County: On August 19, deputies arrested a convicted felon and recovered multiple firearms and ghost guns, along with 3D-printed firearm parts, firearm conversion kits, suppressors, high-capacity magazines and other firearm-manufacturing components, along with methamphetamines. The individual was legally prohibited from possessing firearms.
• Madera County: Earlier this month, detectives executing a search warrant recovered privately manufactured firearms, assault weapons, firearm suppressors and approximately 100 homemade and illegally purchased conversion devices for pistols and rifles. Investigators also recovered a 3D printer believed to have been used to privately manufacture firearms, and cocaine suspected for sale.
• Modesto: In July, a joint firearms trafficking investigation by Modesto Police and ATF recovered 105 machine gun conversion devices and a 3D-printed ghost gun.
• Orange County: Just last week, the Orange County Sheriff's Department found a mix of firearms, 3D-printed handgun components, ammunition, suspected methamphetamine and suspected fentanyl during a probation check.

"We are seeing the warning signs in communities across California, and lawmakers have a responsibility to act before this crisis spirals out of control," said Olaina Anderson, a volunteer with the California chapter of Moms Demand Action. "Again and again, law enforcement is recovering 3D-printed guns and illegal gun parts from people who should never have had access to firearms in the first place. California has worked too hard to build strong gun safety laws to allow dangerous people to get around them with a 3D printer. The California legislature needs to pass AB 2047 and stop illegal gun manufacturing at the source."

These recoveries are the latest in a growing series of cases across California. Earlier this year, law enforcement found 38 ghost guns, including 3D-printed firearms, and two 3D printers in the home of a convicted felon in Felton; recovered four 3D-printed handgun frames and 3D-printed machine gun conversion devices while investigating a 16-year-old San Diego student accused of supplying firearms; and arrested an 18-year-old in San Jose with 27 finished or nearly finished 3D-printed guns and two 3D printers in his bedroom.

AB 2047, authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, would help address this emerging threat by requiring consumer 3D printers sold in California to incorporate technology that identifies and blocks attempts to print firearms and illegal firearm parts. The legislation directs the California Department of Justice to adopt performance standards for firearm blocking technology following input from industry leaders, technical experts and academics, and gives manufacturers time to bring their products into compliance.

California has already taken significant action to combat the first generation of ghost guns. AB 2047 is the next commonsense step: preventing the next generation of ghost guns before they can be manufactured.

AB 2047 advanced out of the Senate Appropriations Committee earlier this month and now heads to the Senate floor.