The larger issue is the fear of printed and ‘ghost’ guns may be about to explode while American society remains chary of revisiting gun control measures. Wilson’s objective is universal access to arms, this being the gun creed of a radical libertarian who feels compelled to take on every restriction imposed, be it gun control or clamping down on hate speech. If the printed gun seemed the worst nightmare of the authorities, imagine the sleepless nights the ‘ghost gun’ will impose on those tasked with keeping order and making the laws stick..Even should the authorities strain every sinew to regulate the sale and use of weaponry, the problem is that the underworld is never more than one step behind, and probably several steps ahead, in adapting technology to beat the regulatory system. And now, Wilson is on to making a ‘ghost gun’ — a concealable, untraceable and entirely unregulated metal handgun, according to Wired magazine. But such procedures are unheard of in a city that came up in the middle of nowhere, with the original Italian Mafioso from the eastern seaboard seeking legitimacy by backing casinos in the Nevada desert.
It is chilling that the inventor of a couple of fierce DIY guns believes technology will doom governments to failure while the Internet spreads knowledge without borders. There’s the gun milling machine that can finish a handgun’s frame in about an hour with minimal human interaction.The Las Vegas gunman increased his firepower manifold with a “bump-stock” on two semi-automatic weapons, converting them into fully automatic death dispensers shooting 400 to 800 rounds per minute with just one touch of the trigger.Las Vegas, the holiday capital of the world, is so easygoing on security protocols that the killer Stephen Paddock could take 23 guns in his luggage to his room. Such new technologies that retrofit weapons and bump up their capabilities are bad enough. He has gone a step further in making a milling machine that could churn out an untraceable AR-15 rifle from a chunk of aluminium.Gunrunning remains the most profitable business in many parts of the world. While the US may be fundamentally wrong in allowing just anyone to buy a firearm, emerging new tech may make any controls redundant. The illegal sales of countrymade guns are more of a problem in India, which has one of the tightest controls on firearms ownership, even if corruption dilutes the principle behind such rigid controls. ‘Under current US law, every other part of the gun, from its barrel to its slide to its tiny firing pin, can be ordered online with no questions asked. How do you solve a problem posed by people with such beliefs? Technological advances, when used to suit a specific nefarious purpose, can be deadly.
