Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said that allowing the blueprints for 3D-printed guns to be posted online would be “catastrophic.”
In a conversation with CP24 Wednesday morning, Saunders referenced a controversial issue sweeping across the United States in which blueprints for 3D-printed plastic guns were set to be released to the public. He said that the mass production of these easily-concealed and untraceable guns would create concerns along the border between Canada and the U.S.
“Think of how catastrophic that is going to be when that is released to the public,” Saunders said. “Anyone that is motivated will have the ability of making untraceable firearms and think of that concern going forward. I’m looking at people motivated to shoot because access to firearms is only going to magnify.”
Texas-based company Defence Distributed was previously ordered by the State Department to cease the publication of the blueprints in 2013, but had reached a settlement in June allowing them to make the plans available for download as of Aug. 1.
The State Department argued making the blueprints available online constituted illegal arms trafficking.
On Wednesday, just as the blueprints were scheduled to be released, a federal judge in Seattle issued a temporary restraining order against Defence Distributed to stop the publication of the gun designs. The decision was made after eight Democratic attorneys general filed a lawsuit earlier in the week seeking to block the settlement.
"There is a possibility of irreparable harm because of the way these guns can be made," U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik said.
Public Safety Canada said it is closely monitoring the court’s decision, but also said it would still be illegal to make or possess a firearm without a licence or certificate.
"Regardless of manufacturing method, a business licence is required to produce a firearm and all firearms are subject to the Firearms Act, the Criminal Code and their associated regulations," the department said in a statement.
Jooyoung Lee, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Toronto, says that the introduction of 3D printed guns is “uncharted” and it will impact how police officers do their jobs.
“There is a lot of different things that go into tracing, surveilling, and monitoring legally purchased firearms,” he told CTV News Toronto. “The introduction of 3D technology will change that completely because now people will have the capacity to build guns on their own, which will be totally off the grid.”
According to CTV’s public safety analyst Chris Lewis, there is only one reason why someone would want a plastic, 3D printed firearm.
“You are going to pay as much as you would a good quality gun,” he said. “There is no legitimate purpose to have one, except bad guys wanting to threaten people, maybe kill people.”
Toronto police seize four firearms over weekend
Saunders said that since launching an anti-violence initiative that saw an additional 200 front-line officers patrol at-risk Toronto neighbourhoods two weeks ago, the police have seized “quite a few guns.”
“Over the last weekend, we seized four firearms. One of them was a MAC Tec-9 or -10,” he said. “Just a real ugly weapon. So we are out there and working and we like the numbers right now, but rest assured we are not saying all is well. We have a long summer to go.”
The city has also applied for a federal grant to fund programs that would help curb gun violence in Toronto. The grant would be for $32.6 million over five years.
There have been 233 reported shootings in 2013. According to police statistics, 316 people have been shot and 30 have died.
-With files from the Canadian Press
