Reality Check! At least 18 states plus Congress have touched 3D printing bans in some form over the past two legislative cycles. The blocking-technology mandate cluster of NY, CA, WA and now DE is the sharpest.
What state is next? Yours?
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I think, if my memory is correct, the ban on information has already been argued and won in the DeCSS case. The argument being that source code is free speech, and it was about publishing source code (the algorithm) to unlock the encryption used in DVDs to prevent copying.
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I live in NY and am of course very frustrated and disappointed that the 3DP mandates were buried inside the 150 page budget bill and passed as a result.
I sent over 200 emails to legislators: one to every single one of the NY assembly and senate. I got a few auto replies, and followed up on every one that said to “talk to this person, they handle legislation.” I got fewer real responses and even fewer invitations to connect and discuss.
I and another person with whom I’ve done some manufacturing work personally met with one senator prior to my email campaign, and later as a result of the emails, met online with the offices of a senator and several assemblypersons. Every office we spoke to was unaware of the presence of the manufacturing restrictions. I wish I could say this was surprising, but it wasn’t.
We leaned into the economic impact of the threatening mandates. The jobs potentially affected by it. The threat to manufacturing, innovation, and education. The impact on traditional manufacturing. Guns were a minor side note if mentioned at all. After discussing the proposals with the offices, they all came away agreeing that it was not great, some were alarmed. I few understood 3D printing and recognized the threat. Our plea was simply to detach the legislation from the budget bill so it could be more thoroughly evaluated and discussed.
Despite our efforts, it still passed. NY played us by burying it in a budget bill that simply couldn’t fail without disrupting salaries and government funding. And few members of the legislature would have voted against protecting the public had the “gun” law parts of it been separate anyway.
The NY mandates do propose a “working group” to evaluate the feasibility of the blocking technology. It will be very interesting to see how that develops. Part of me does wonder if (and maybe hopes that), in NY at least - maybe in other states - that this is some kind of charade. The feasibility studies leave a sort of escape hatch out of actually implementing and enforcing some of the mandates. That means that the actual proposed restrictions could die quietly while the state politicians can stand on their apple boxes and cheer, “Rah rah rah, WE passed gun control laws to protect the public!” They (and Everytown) get their sound bite.
Every advocate for fighting legislation says, “Contact your legislators!”
I question how effective that really is. I fear the only voices that they listen to any more are the ones that have dollar signs coming out of their mouths.
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As someone who’s trying to design and create new things in the world that will help people and make life easier I swear, this is bad. The big companies that started from 1880-1980 want control and nobody should have the chance they had to build themselves into something… We need to fight back and push back for the right to make something and design freely. This is scary and going to affect so many small business’s, we need to pushback and have our freedom to build and create. Without it we will be a country governed by big businesses and corporations and nobody will be allowed to have what they have. Keep the rich rich and the poor poorer… that’s their ideology. I want to disrupt it and change how things are in that world of rich or elite. And I won’t stop until I’m on their level and use that influence to bring the little guy back up to the top
And again it’s not about safety. It’s about:
That son of a farmer that uses his skills with CMC manufacturing in his room. Printing and cutting parts.
That one helpful neighbour that replaces that broken knob on your dishwasher.
You who is making the next big step forward.
Companies want to disable our capabilities to repair, replace, improve. Because every time they literally loose money.
Noooo you can’t repair it yourself with tools and skills you have acquired for yourself, please government, private people can’t just refuse to give us their money.
Every innovation that is not their product is now becoming illegal. This is the logic consequence of you don’t owning your [things] . And I see the same thing happening in Germany, as soon as the US succeeded with it.
At some point, knowledge or skills will be licensed. Or declared dangerous.
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