GUNS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Several U.S. states on Monday [7-30-18] said they would jointly sue the Trump administration for allowing the public to download blueprints for 3-D printable guns in a last-ditch effort to block the designs from becoming available on Wednesday [8-1-18]. Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson said at a news conference in Seattle that the states will ask a federal judge to issue a restraining order and an injunction to block the publication of the designs, which they say would allow criminals easy access to weapons. Along with Washington state, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Oregon, Maryland and the District of Columbia are working on finalizing the lawsuit and plan on filing it later on Monday, Ferguson said. At issue is a June settlement between the U.S. government and Texas-based Defense Distributed company that will allow it to legally publish gun blueprints online. Defense Distributed, which had challenged an earlier government ban as a violation of its First and Second Amendment rights, says on its website that it plans to release the plans by Aug. 1. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump failed to explain why it settled the case and allowed the publication of the blueprints, Ferguson said.”
-Tina Bellon, “U.S. states make last-minute legal bid to halt 3-D online guns,” Reuters, July 30, 2018 11:43 am