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Gov. Hochul seeks restrictions on 3D printers and ghost guns
By
Walter Wuthmann
Published Jan 8, 2026
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Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
By
Walter Wuthmann
Published Jan 8, 2026
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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul plans to further crack down on the production of ghost guns as a new legislative session kicks off in Albany.
The proposed bill would require all 3D printers sold in New York to include software that blocks the creation of ghost guns and their components. It would also establish criminal penalties for the sale, distribution, or possession of digital instructions for manufacturing 3D-printed firearms.
“ We will not allow do-it-yourself gun traffickers to convert their homes into unsanctioned firearm factories,” Hochul said at a press conference Wednesday at the West Hill Community Center in Albany.
New York already has some of the strictest gun control laws in the country, and among the lowest levels of gun violence. The Legislature passed a ban on ghost guns in 2021.
“Shame on us if we rest on those laurels and say we're done,” Hochul said.
Police, district attorneys and law enforcement groups say ghost guns are increasingly used in shootings, with the NYPD recovering hundreds of 3D-printed guns every year. The NYPD said it seized more than 25,000 guns during Mayor Eric Adams’ administration, more than 1,600 of which were ghost guns.
In a release last week, the NYPD described the firearms as “a dangerously escalating trend,” noting police seized 17 ghost guns in 2018 and 295 in 2025.
Hochul’s plan would create minimum safety standards for 3D printer manufacturers “to ensure their products are equipped with technology that blocks the printer from creating firearms and component parts,” according to the governor’s office.
The bill would make it a crime to possess or distribute the online instructions to make ghost guns.
In a separate provision, Hochul said she aimed to pass new requirements on gun manufacturers to design pistols that can’t be easily modified into automatic weapons using external devices like Glock switches.
Hochul said she’d provide more details during her State of the State address next week.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg praised the proposal.
“These are real killing machines,” he said. “We’ll have new tools if this passes, when this passes, to hold people accountable.”
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Walter Wuthmann
Walter Wuthmann is a reporter covering public safety and the legal system.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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