The newest victim of our baser human instincts? 3-D printing, the snazziest reinvention of an office supply since the electric stapler, and now, according to a Vice documentary, our newest way to manufacture illegal guns and drugs. Good work, humanity.

3-D printers, which have been hailed as the future of manufacturing, are able to “print” 3-dimensional solid objects by weaving together plastic polymers into any shape the maker desires. And hey, guess what shape Americans like the most?! Guns.

Last week, the first fully functional handgun was created using 3-D printing. Since these guns are made of plastic, they can pass unrecognized through metal detectors, which has left law enforcement worried about how the new method could impact the illegal arms trade.

In an equally predictable act of lefty reactionism, yesterday, Senator Chuck Schumer proposed a bill entitled the Undetectable Firearms Modernization Act, that would ban the 3D printing of guns.

"A terrorist, someone who's mentally ill, a spousal abuser, a felon can essentially open a gun factory in their garage," Sen. Schumer said. “And the only thing they need a computer and a little over a thousand dollars. No background check and you don't even need to leave your house to make hundreds of these guns."

Hopefully the bill passes, and 3D printing can go back to being used what it was rightfully intended for: making miniature replicas of your own head.

Via Twitter

Are you guys ready to read tweets from  Rep. Steve "The most conservative Congressman in Texas! 100% lifetime NRA, GOA, NAGR, Right to Life rating. Offended? Yell at @DonnyFerguson" Stockman?

Are you??! Because fair warning, he's got himself a new bumper sticker idea, and it definitely includes some nonsensical sloganeering about abortion, babies and guns.

So...you ready for it?

What does this even mean? Or, what does this statement mean to you? Because the best reading we've come up with is: "If fetuses had guns, no mother would have a chance to even try to carry it to the first trimester--let alone abort it--before it accidentally knocked off the safety and blasted itself out of utero."

Which would be...a...bad thing? No? So this is definitely a pro-fetal guns message? Really? Is that what this is?

Incredible. Happy Friday, everyone. Pick these up on your way out of the DMV and don't forget to buckle up, T.G.I.F.

A picture promoting the NRA presidential coin set from the group's online store. (Photo: NRAStore.com)

In 1995, President George H.W. Bush gave up his lifetime membership in the National Rifle Association via an angry open letter in which he expressed his outrage over a fundraising pitch made by current NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre that described federal agents as "jack-booted government thugs" wearing "Nazi bucket helmets and black storm trooper uniforms." Though President Bush said he was "deeply" offended and asked the organization to "remove my name from your membership list," seventeen years later, the NRA is still promoting his past association with the group in its online gift shop.

One of the "premium" items in the NRA store is the "NRA Presidential Series Collectible Coin Set." The full set of eight coins sells for $89.95 and features portraits of what the site describes as "all eight NRA-affiliated Presidents" and a "bonus" coin with the NRA logo. President Bush is depicted on the coins along with John F. Kennedy, Dwight Eisenhower, Teddy Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, Ulysses S. Grant, William Howard Taft and Richard Nixon. Interestingly, three of the presidents in the NRA's commemorative coin series, Reagan, Roosevelt and Kennedy, were victims of gun violence during their careers (in JFK's case the wound was, of course, fatal).

The Observer reached out to the NRA to ask why they were still including President Bush as an "NRA-affiliated President" in their coin set despite his break with the organization. As of this writing, we have not received a response. We also spoke to Jim McGrath the spokesman for President Bush. Mr. McGrath said he was unaware of the coin set, but would not be able to get back to us with a response until at least next week as President Bush is currently in intensive care at a Houston hospital.

President of the NRA at today's conference (Washington Post)

Today, the president of the National Rifle Association of America, Wayne LaPierre, made his organization's highly-anticipated statement regarding the shooting at Newtown, Connecticut. Anyone who was hoping for anything less than usual b.s. about how the school system needs more guns should probably stop reading right here. Also, the NRA wants us to note, that it is our culture's glorification of Splatterdays (what?), Mortal Kombat and Natural Born Killers--specifically--that causes mass shootings, not military-style assault weapons that we can buy online.

From Mr. LaPierre's statement:

And here’s another dirty little truth that the media try their best to conceal. There exists in this country, sadly, a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and stows violence against its own people. Through vicious, violent video games with names like “Bullet Storm,” “Grand Theft Auto,” “Mortal Combat,” and “Splatterhouse.”

And here’s one, it’s called “Kindergarten Killers.” It’s been online for 10 years. How come my research staff can find it, and all of yours couldn’t? Or didn’t want anyone to know you had found it? Add another hurricane, add another natural disaster. I mean we have blood-soaked films out there, like “American Psycho,” “Natural Born Killers.” They’re aired like propaganda loops on Splatterdays and every single day.

That would be a very good point, Mr. LaPierre, and if you were anyone other than the guy telling us that everyone needs a semiautomatic machine gun with 20 magazines, we might listen. Unfortunately, Kindergarten Killers has not prompted anyone to go on a rampage, since, as you say, no one has ever seen that film outside of your office. Also, Patrick Batemen didn't really use guns, and Natural Born Killers came out 18 years ago. I'd also advise you to Google "Mortal Kombat death statics" and compare it to "gun death statistics." It's quite enlightening.

Not to worry though, because it looks like the travesty at Newtown has only caused an increase in gun sales. Thanks, Kindergarten Killers.

Reddit user "Mebbeatroaway" took to the message board late last night to answer questions that have "cropped up due to last weeks [sic] shooting.”

Needless to say, he's got some pretty interesting things to say about Guns and The City. Emphasis ours ...

Who He Is:

Born and raised here, doing what I always wanted, but the politics is terrible. I don't think I could leave, all my family is here and despite what everyone sees, it's real easy to fall in love with NY. Hopefully something will change when our mayor leaves.

On the NYPD's Gun Training Regimen:

Any average CCW [concealed-carry weapon] citizen who practices more then twice a year pretty much has most of the department beat in terms of training.

On NYPD Bureaucrats Changing the Gun Training Regimen Due to Public Complaints:

I honestly don't think they will listen. Change has to come from within the department. Maybe a PC [police chief] more interested in tactics then sending detectives to New Jersey and middle America to hunt 'terrorist' college clubs.

On Whether or Not Anyone Pushes for Changes in the NYPD Training Regimen:

There are many that do, and they are ignored, because a majority don't care. Certain 'tactics' sessions we have involve bullshitting about deferred compensation or who went on disability. It's fucking disgusting. But anyone that speaks up is considered a 'buff'.

'Shouldn't we be discussing active shooter situations?'

'WHOA EASY THERE COWBOY. First let's look at some slides a chief in Queens made about preteens joining gangs, then take an hour break and come back and sit down playing on your iPhones some more'

To be fair, a lot of the people 'training' us are cops who have back problems from wearing gunbelts for too long & never exercising so they stuck them in some crap teaching gig. It's despicable.

On What Cops Make, and Whether or Not He Loves His Job:

Here's the thing, I honestly don't know. [The salaries] are all posted online ... All I know is I'm making around 70 this year and I'm six years in. I went in the academy at 21 because that's all I've ever wanted to do. I'd shovel shit for pay and do this for free if I had too. I don't love this job because of the shit training, but because I actually love dealing with people out there that might need my help. Living in the boroughs is expensive, but I make enough to be happy.

On Gun Training Standars:

The majority of the NYPD has never been trained on any of the M4's, MP5's or Ithaca shotguns we have. The last four academy classes were allowed to shoot 5 rounds each from an M4, and now they are all 'rifle qualified'. When I ever get an AR [assault rifle], it will be my own.

There's more where that came from.

If the thread and the user in question are in fact legitimate—and they certainly seem to be—at the very least, it's an enlightening and refreshing change of pace from the constant obfuscation of matters like these that typically emerges from the department (in the form of NYPD spokesman DCPI Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne). In other words, savor what little is there. What most New Yorkers know about their police force and the way they deal with guns is likely cloudy at best, and despite the slight light this may shed on the matter, there likely won't be more where this came from.

Or as the supposed cop in question, "Mebbeatroaway”—who hasn't provided verification that he is an NYPD officer—put it: "My job has a zero tolerance policy on officers making it look bad online."

fkamer@observer.com | @weareyourfek

The hottest thing in fashion!

It seems in poor taste to run a fashion item about designers who cater to gun-concealing chinos and jackets while the Trayvon Martin case is still on the forefront of everyone's minds, but you know what they say: Fashion trends (and bullets) stops for no man. Just like the skirt stories before them, a new ridiculous piece in The New York Times claims "Fashion Statement in Clear," only to add  "...the Gun Isn't."

Taking that condescendingly bewildered tone of amusement that NYT prefers whenever they don't really understand why a segment of the population (usually belonging to the flyover states) does something, the approach to gun concealment fashion may at first be written off as an article for The Onion.
Shawn Thompson from Kentucky is quoted (from his blog) talking about the Woolrich Elite Concealed Carry line pants, "for the fashion-aware gun owner." As The Times reports:

"Most of the clothes I used in the past to hide my sidearm looked pretty sloppy and had my girlfriend complaining about my looks,” he wrote, adding in an interview, “I’m not James Bond or nothing, but these look pretty nice.”

By the way, here's the description for one of the "concealment" chinos sold by Woolrich:

This pant is ideal for situations where discretion is important. The Elite Concealed Carry Chino has the clean profile of a standard pair of pants with no external cargo or utility pocketing, but offers the added advantage of a hidden chamber pocket strategically constructed to reduce printing.

Oh! And special features include "two knife openings." Why these clothes are available for sale to civilians is a much better story than how sleek they are. Heavier laws on gun control: good. Lightweight gun concealment fashion: better?

Next up: A Sunday Homes piece about how to protect your property with DIY bombs...made from things you keep in your own refrigerator!

The Daily News is reporting that an off-duty police officer may have pulled his gun on a cyclist Saturday night as the two vied for space on Bleecker Street. The biker tried to confront the driver, knocking on the "heavily tinted" window of his black Volkswagen GTI, the off-duty officer brandished his pistol in reply. The cyclist called 9-1-1, and when he saw two cop cars near the Wagen, he told the officers about it, who quickly surrounded the car.

When the cop inside identified himself, the officers turned on the cyclist instead. "They started getting physical with him," the biker's attorney told the News. "He got upset, but he certainly didn't break any laws."

Granted cop-on-bike animosity is nothing new, having grown increasingly worse since the 2004 Republican Convention led to a swell of arrests for bicycle protesters. Most infamously, there was the case last year of Officer Patrick Pogan, who was caught on camera shoving a rider off his bike in Times Square. Pogan claimed he had been assaulted by the biker, and even threw him in jail for it, but a video later surfaced revealing the truth.

Perhaps there is some mysterious natural law at work here. Maybe the more mainstream cycling becomes, the more loathsome it gets, like Snuggies and beet salads. Maybe for every new bike lane that gets built, a cyclist must be accosted to pay for it.

mchaban [at] observer.com / @mc_nyo

Avoiding getting shot, for starters. The last time Fuld granted an interview, all the way back in November 2008, he greeted a Reuters reporter with, "You don't have a gun. That's good." And at a meeting with Lehman managing director Ken White, Fuld asked him, "You're not going to shoot me, are you?"

Although Fuld's worries about assault at the hands of gunmen disguised as journalists and former colleagues may be a little excessive, there are still plenty of people gunning for him in a figurative sense. The SEC, the Department of Justice and others are hot on his trail, and he's been working what sounds like 12-hour days at his firm, Matrix Advisors, to help him fight a legal onslaught: "Many in Fuld's circle believe that he would not be working so hard if he did not need the money to pay for his luxurious lifestyle and ongoing legal bills related to Lehman's collapse."

Fuld is also learning to tone down his profile and live on a more modest budget—which is to say he's taking commercial flights (instead of a private jet) to and from estates in Sun Valley and Jupiter Island. But further details on Fuld are scattered and opaque, thanks to strict orders from his attorney not to talk. He's got millions, but how many is unclear, and it's unlikely that we'll find out for sure until litigation against him ramps up in public. Dead men tell no tales, and in that sense, Fuld is acting like one of those imaginary assassins has already gotten to him.