Overview
- Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the measure on May 27, making New York the first state to require 3D printers sold there to include hardware, firmware, software or other measures that stop the printers from producing firearms or illegal gun parts.
- The law sets a $5,000 civil penalty per noncompliant product, creates criminal offenses for manufacturing 3D‑printed guns, requires pistol designs that resist conversion to machine guns, and orders police to report recoveries of 3D‑printed weapons.
- A multi‑disciplinary working group of experts in additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence and public safety must recommend minimum performance standards to the Division of Criminal Justice Services, which will write final regulations unless the group finds the requirement technologically infeasible.
- Civil‑liberties and gun‑rights groups including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the NRA say the rule raises First and Second Amendment and free‑expression concerns, and both have signaled likely legal challenges to the law.
- Officials and advocates say the rule could cut the number of untraceable 'ghost guns' recovered in New York, but implementation will likely take years and hinge on the working group's technical findings and subsequent DCJS rulemaking.