New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is launching a massive effort to infringe on the Second Amendment rights of residents.
The governor announced last week that the state is cracking down on ghost guns, 3D-printed gun parts, and DIY machine guns by not only trying to seize these weapons but also restrict the technology used to manufacture them.
The proposal would require all 3D printers sold in the state to include features that block files designed to produce firearms, parts, and illegal accessories while creating new penalties for those who create 3D printed guns.
"We were all minding our own business until they decided to break my door down"
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) November 14, 2024
Dexter Taylor AKA Carbon Mike explains how New York raided his home and arrested him over his federally legal firearm hobby. pic.twitter.com/uCJP0ObcuA
The measure would also ban the sale and distribution of digital design files used to print firearms, expand prohibitions on unlicensed gun manufacturing, and require law enforcement to report all recovered “ghost guns” to the state.
Dexter Taylor, a Brooklyn native serving a 10-year sentence for building his own firearms, argued this shows how little New York’s government cares about curbing violent crime.
When asked whether Hochul’s approach would make the public safer, Taylor told Townhall, “Well, not at all” and pointed out that criminals did not need 3D printers to obtain firearms in the first place. “Look, everyone knows that long before 3D printers became a mass market thing, everyone who ever wanted to get a gun and shoot up this place was able to get a gun and shoot up the place.”
Taylor’s legal troubles began in 2022 when a joint ATF/NYPD task force raided his home after the ATF found that he legally purchased several components to make rifles and pistols. He spent a week on Riker’s Island before being released on bail.
He noted that serial numbers do not necessarily guarantee that law enforcement will be able to solve gun homicides. “A serial number is not a GPS transponder,” he said, also arguing that New York officials are hiding behind the language of public safety because they “have given up on actual policing.”
Instead, they are choosing to target peaceful people instead of violent offenders. “So, what we’re going to do is we’re going to make life as difficult as possible for people who are not committing crimes,” he said.
During his trial, Judge Abena Darkeh admonished Taylor and his lawyer not to bring up the Second Amendment in his defense.
“The Constitution does guarantee you a right to bear arms, right?” Taylor said, also pointing out that New York is trying to “handicap” 3D printers because its government cannot admit that they are actually trying to target private gun ownership overall. “3D printing is to the Second Amendment as desktop publishing is to the First,” he said.