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3D-printed devices can turn firearms into machine guns. NY is trying to end that.
By
Ben Feuerherd
Published May 16, 2025
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Ben Feuerherd / Gothamist
By
Ben Feuerherd
Published May 16, 2025
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New York state lawmakers and law enforcement officials are pushing for a bill that aims to curtail the spread of homemade devices that can turn average firearms into machine guns capable of spraying hundreds of bullets in a matter of seconds.
The devices, called “auto sears,” are a few inches in size and can be made on 3D printers. They allow users to automatically fire bullets from handguns or rifles by holding the triggers down.
The number of devices law enforcement officials have seized across the country has grown rapidly in recent years, as more people are manufacturing them at home, according to data cited by the Manhattan district attorney’s office on Friday. In 2019, they recovered 658 of the devices across the country. They seized 5,816 in 2023, according to data from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. Now, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is partnering with state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal and state Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal to push for legislation that criminalizes sharing online files that provide blueprints for how to 3D print the devices.
“As technology evolves, we have to keep pace in law enforcement,” Bragg told reporters Friday. “We talk about the iron pipeline all the time. We have the kitchen table pipeline.”
Bragg said his office has seen more 3D-printed guns in criminal cases, seizures and gun buyback programs.
Assistant DA Bonnie Seok said Friday that auto sears were also recovered in two recent cases. In one case, prosecutors said, a suspect is accused of selling guns and illegal firearm modifiers, including auto sears, on a secretive digital channel out of federal prison. Seok said the suspect allegedly espoused racist, neo-Nazi and anti-government views.
Prosecutors also came across an auto sear device in a case they brought against four defendants, including one alleged member of the Tren de Aragua gang, for gun trafficking.
The bill pushed by Bragg and the state lawmakers on Friday is currently in committee in the state Senate and will need approval from both chambers of the state Legislature before it heads to Gov. Kathy Hochul.
“New technology has created the possibility for anyone, not just registered gun manufacturers, to self manufacture guns, magazines, and rapid modification devices with 3D printers, creating a dangerous loophole in our state gun laws,” Hoylman-Sigal said.
“No one should be allowed to create an instrument of war with a 3D printer,” Rosenthal added.
Tagged
public safety
new york state
manhattan
Ben Feuerherd
Ben Feuerherd covers public safety and policing for WNYC and Gothamist. He previously covered federal courts for The New York Post and The Messenger. His work has also appeared in POLITICO, the Daily Beast and NBC New York. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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