Parkland father 3D prints sculpture of son to protest 3D-printed guns 

The father of a student killed during February’s school shooting in Parkland, Fla., unveiled a life-size, 3D-printed sculpture of his son in Times Square this week to protest the legality of 3D-printed guns.

Manuel Oliver, whose son, Joaquin “Guac” Oliver, was one of 17 people killed inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine’s Day, dubbed the statue the world’s first “3D-printed activist,” ABC News reported Thursday.

{mosads}The figure is dressed how Joaquin Oliver was dressed on the day he died and was personalized with accessories to depict his character, Now This News reported.

“Joaquin belongs to a new generation of dead kids and that generation of dead kids is growing and growing and growing every single day,” Oliver said.

“And Guac is back to let you understand what happens when we let these laws get out of our hands,” he continued.

A 3D-printed statue of teen Joaquin “Guac” Oliver, one of the victims from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting, has been unveiled in #TimesSquare to protest 3D guns. #GuacIsBack #3Dactivist pic.twitter.com/rca6vSzhGu

— Times Square (@TimesSquareNYC) October 25, 2018

Manuel Oliver has made several art installations in the wake of the Parkland shooting to protest gun violence, including depicting President Trump as a ringleader of a circus outside the annual National Rifle Association convention in May. 

“Of course, this guy’s not replacing my son. Of course not,” Oliver told Now This News of the 3D-printed sculpture. “But part of the story is to share those painful moments with the rest of the people.”

“You won’t see me in line in Washington, D.C. waiting to talk to a legislator to try to tell him what’s going on with my family,” he said. “I’d rather do this,” he said of his art.

Nineteen states and Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit against Defense Distributed and the State Department after blueprints for the 3D-printed weapons were permitted to be uploaded to the internet as part of a government settlement with gun rights activists.

In August, U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik temporarily upheld a ban on publishing instructions to make guns with a 3D printer amid ongoing litigation. 

3D-printed guns emerged as a national point of contention this summer when Trump tweeted that he was “looking into” the concept, adding that it “doesn’t seem to make much sense.”

Critics have warned that 3D-printed guns can be made by individuals who would otherwise be prohibited from owning a firearm, and that the guns would untraceable.