ARS Technica – by Cyrus Farivar
On Saturday, Defense Distributed—America’s best-known group of 3D gunsmiths—announced on Facebook that its founder, Cody Wilson, is now a federally licensed gun manufacturer and dealer. The group published a picture of the Type 7 federal firearms license (FFL) to prove it.
“The big thing it allows me to do is that it makes me [a manufacturer] under the law—everything that manufacturers are allowed to do,” he told Ars. “I can sell some of the pieces that we’ve been making. I can do firearms transactions and transport.”
Wilson and his colleagues have been making prototypes of guns for months now. Most recently, the group demonstrated an AR-15 semi-automatic, which is allowed under American law without a license. The legal difference now is that Wilson can sell and distribute the guns he makes.
Earlier this month Wilson told Ars that he had submitted the application to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (a division of the Department of Justice) back in October 2012. The process can take as little as 60 days, but in this case it took around six months.
Currently, Wilson said he will not actually begin manufacturing and selling guns until he receives an “add-on” to his FFL, known as a Class 2 Special Occupational Taxpayer (SOT), as licensed under federal law (PDF). This would allow him to manufacture and deal a broader range of firearms under the National Firearms Act. The Class 2 SOT would grant Wilson the ability to manufacture, for example, a fully-automatic rifle. Wilson applied for the SOT on Saturday and expects to receive approval within a few weeks.
As a gun dealer, Wilson will also be required to keep records on all the guns he makes and sells. The group already takes in thousands of dollars monthly in donations. But with the SOT, Wilson said the group can begin selling guns to offset some of the group’s costs for printers and materials.
“In a way it’s like we’re just beginning—I’m not going to begin until we have that SOT,” he said. “[We’re going to] sell some of the stuff we’ve already made. We’ll probably make some stuff to sell and that will be a better way of covering the prototyping.”
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Cyrus Farivar / Cyrus is the Senior Business Editor at Ars Technica, and is also a radio producer and author. His first book, The Internet of Elsewhere, was published in April 2011.
They got to him…..he is a sell out period!
So long as he still puts out the blue prints and know how for free- he hasn’t.
I strongly disagree foe,the company has every right to make a living.Long before they got a FFL license Cody and company put out many plans/tests/upgrades to different 3D receivers.Yes,they took plans off of own site at govt. request but knew millions had downloaded(cough!cough!)and mirrored the downloads across the net,the horse had left the barn and was far,far.away.Any one with a desire can still buy 80% receivers and do own work for custom build,I believe that may change but that knowledge/products have been around for years so those that really wanted to should be all set and one still can.DD is just another firearm manufacture now building firearms and selling them hopefully creating a few jobs along the way.
You’ve captured the gist of it James – well said
Thanks SB,though I knew this the article on interview with Cody will back what I am saying and will also show Cody has a lot of thoughts of the brave new world and how tech ect. will change it.I am sure others thru viewing the net have contributed custom home making articles/videos but honestly cody and co. were at the forefront of it and really jammed it in the publics eye,in part to show people how to make tools but also to show govt.s unless they want to head back to stone age tech trumps any laws unconstitutionally passed in the long term,that to me was the most important lesson out of all this.On a side note,though functional the 3D pistol looked like a leggo project,the irony is folks are making working receivers out of building blocks along with other materials,too funny!
James, at the coffee shop this morning I spoke with an engineer friend of mine (we were discussing the “Oceanside, Ca. 80% lowers” case (it’s near where we live) – and he said the internet is rife with NC programs for just about anything you could ever think of – if you’ve got an NC mill and a block of aluminum – apearently you’re good to go – as you stated: those horses are gone
I agree with your friend,but do not limit yourself to just aluminum!I know someone who did a 1911 built on his mill,the advantage of aluminum is you can drill out 90+% with a drill press of a stought nature and just mill the pockets to a nice finish,bit tough with steel though!Man,Ares has gotten screwed with,first town doesn’t like their sign then a visit from the alphabet soup folks.I may just order a t-shirt from em to show a little financial/moral support to their endeavors.