VOA慢速英语--活动家赢得发布3D打印枪指南的权利

Activist¹ Wins Right to Publish Instructions for 3D Printed Guns

The United States has settled a case with a gun rights activist that permits him to publish instructions for making guns with a 3-D printer.

Activist Cody Wilson began legal action against the government in 2015 after it forced him to remove files he had placed on the internet. The files provided directions for making a handgun with a 3-D printer.

Wilson had made such a gun himself and had successfully test-fired it in 2013. He named the gun the Liberator².

Tens of thousands of people downloaded plans to make their own gun. Wilson has called such weapons “downloadable guns.” But the U.S. State Department said Wilson’s files broke laws on international gun trafficking.

Wilson and his legal team argued in court that the State Department order violated³ Wilson’s right to free speech. They noted⁴ that the files shared on the internet contained only plans, not weapons or gun parts.

Wilson teamed up in the case with an organization called the Second Amendment⁵ Foundation. The Second Amendment guarantees Americans the right to keep and bear arms.

The foundation recently announced it had reached a settlement with the U.S. government. It said the agreement - offered by the U.S. Justice Department - permits Wilson to legally put his instructional materials back on the internet.

The Justice Department did not publicly comment on the settlement. The agreement was confirmed in court documents provided to several major media organizations.

The Second Amendment Foundation’s founder⁶ and Executive⁷ Vice⁸ President, Alan M. Gottlieb, praised the settlement. Gottlieb called the decision a “victory for free speech.” He added that he believed the settlement represented a major defeat for groups seeking to increase government gun controls.

A message on Wilson’s Defense⁹ Distributed website announced he plans to relaunch the website DEFCAD on August 1. This will permit him to freely share instructions for making 3-D printed guns. “The age of the downloadable gun formally begins,” the message reads.

"I consider it a truly grand thing," Wilson told Wired magazine about the decision. "It will be an irrevocable part of political life that guns are downloadable, and we helped to do that."

The DEFCAD website currently¹⁰ lists information on a number of other 3-D printed weapons, in addition to the first gun introduced in 2013. These include the semi-automatic models AR-10 and AR-15, as well as a Beretta M9 handgun and others.

Gun control supporters are expected to oppose the settlement. They have argued against 3-D guns because they can be made without the usual government registration¹¹ requirements. These guns also do not have manufacturing numbers for identification¹² purposes. Since there is no record or history for guns created this way, they have also been called “ghost” weapons.

Wired magazine has named Wilson on several of its yearly lists of the “most dangerous people on the internet.”

Wilson told the magazine the new website will accept instructional materials from users as well. His goal is to provide a searchable, user-created collection of information on how to make any firearm.

Wilson’s organization also sells some weapons that are 80 percent complete. He explains in a website video that because they are 20 percent unfinished, he is permitted to sell them as pieces of metal instead of guns. Buyers of the unfinished firearms can then use their own equipment to complete the weapon.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

instructions – n. information explaining how to do or use something

download – v. copy computer programs or other information electronically using the Internet

ghost – n. the soul of a dead person thought of as living in an unseen world

bear – v. to carry

formally – adj. officially

grand – adj. very good or enjoyable

irrevocable – adj. not capable of being changed

1 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

2 liberator   

解放者

参考例句：

• The best integrated turf quality was recorded in Ram I、Midnight、America、Connie、Liberator, which could be adopted in Shanxi. RamI、Midnight、America、Connie、Liberator综合质量表现均衡且分值较高，是山西省推广应用的重点品种。
• It is the story of a new world that became a friend and liberator of the old. 这是一部新世界的发展史，是一部后浪推前浪的历史。

3 violated   

亵渎( violate的过去式和过去分词 )； 违反； 侵犯； 强奸

参考例句：

• Note that thick, strong angles of tibia are not violated. 注意肥厚、结实的胫骨成角部分未受损坏。
• The soldiers violated the church by using it as a stable. 士兵们把教堂当马厩，亵渎了教堂。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

6 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

7 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

8 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

10 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

11 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

12 identification   

n.视为同一，证明同一，确认

参考例句：

• He's made a formal identification of the body.他正式确认了死者身份。
• We should have identification card on the person when we go out.我们外出时应随身携带身份证。