Anti-gun violence groups file to halt online posting of 3D-printed gun plans

Three prominent anti-gun violence groups filed a motion early Wednesday to block a settlement that would allow for plans for 3D printed firearms to be posted online.

The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Everytown for Gun Safety and Giffords Law Center jointly filed in U.S. District Court in Texas an emergency motion to intervene and an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in the case.

A representative for the Brady Center confirmed to The Hill that a closed hearing will be held in the case Thursday.

{mosads}The federal government had settled a lawsuit with gun rights activist Cody Wilson late last month, allowing him and his company, Defense Distributed, to post and sell the plans for 3D printed guns.

The government had initially ordered Wilson to remove the plans, first posted online in 2013, saying it violated international law on the export of defense materials. Wilson complied but sued the government in 2015.

The settlement exempts Wilson and his company from the restrictions on defense material exports, according to a copy of the settlement obtained by CNN.

The three anti-gun violence groups argue in the filings that the federal government was correct in initially finding that posting the plans on the internet “threatened national security.”

“The Settlement Agreement raises very serious national and international security concerns and would cause immediate and irreparable harm to the United States and its citizens and the global community,” the court documents read.

The groups had announced that they would take legal action in a letter to U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman on Wednesday.

“Simply put, the Department of Justice and State Department have suddenly and completely reversed themselves about the threats to public safety posed by plaintiffs’ proposed actions,” the letter reads. “The resulting settlement agreement, if carried through, threatens to undermine national security and the national defense of the United States by authorizing the posting and downloading of computer files allowing the fabrication of dangerous make-at-home firearms by any person anywhere in the world.”