Blocking Technology
3D printers could get built-in gun blockers in California
AB 2047 would set standards for software and hardware that screen out firearm files before a print job starts. It also would require state guidance for makers by 2028 and open the door to a compliance list.
California lawmakers are trying to stop 3D-printed guns before they start printing. Assembly Bill 2047 would require state guidance on blocking technology and detection tools for 3D printers, and it would set a path for makers to attest their machines meet the rules.
- State officials would have to study firearm blueprint files and detection algorithms.
- Guidance would be due March 1, 2028, and Sept. 1, 2028.
- Printer makers could have to prove their machines have blocking tech.
- The bill targets prevention tools, not a ban on 3D printers.
- California is trying to move the fight over 3D-printed guns upstream, toward the code and machine settings that can make those weapons easier to produce
California is trying to move the fight over 3D-printed guns upstream, toward the code and machine settings that can make those weapons easier to produce. Assembly Bill 2047, from Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, builds on existing law that already makes it a crime to help unlawfully manufacture firearms, including with a three-dimensional, or 3D, printer.
The bill would ask the California Department of Justice, or another relevant state agency, to study known firearm blueprint design files and existing firearm blueprint detection algorithms. It is aimed at the systems around the printer, not a ban on printers themselves.
What the state would have to write
By March 1, 2028, the state would have to publish guidance on how to equip three-dimensional printers with firearm blocking technology. By Sept. 1, 2028, it would also have to publish performance standards for people or companies building firearm blueprint detection algorithms for use by printer manufacturers.
The bill also allows the state to build and maintain a library of files, or to work with another government agency, an academic consortium or a major research institution to keep that library current. That gives the state a technical role that reaches beyond ordinary enforcement.
The compliance line ahead
The standards go beyond a vague warning. They would ask detection tools to identify files that could be used to print firearms or illegal firearm parts, flag disallowed files and keep false positives and false negatives within acceptable ranges. Printer-side software controls would also have to make it harder for a skilled user to get around the system.
AB 2047 also points toward a market rule with real teeth: printer makers selling or transferring machines in California could eventually have to attest that specific makes and models carry the required safeguards, and the state could publish a list of compliant printers. For manufacturers and the software developers building around them, the bill would turn gun prevention into a standards problem as much as a criminal-law one.