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by chrischen 4730 days ago
He may not do that, but he could go and buy a plastic gun for $10 from someone who does know how to use a 3D printer.

Think about this: a curious kid could accidentally shoot himself now in many fewer steps than before. Download, load it into dad's printer, assemble. Though, I'm assuming these plastic guns still need real bullets.
1 comments
smsm42 4730 days ago
"Curious kid" could also drink bleach or fall from a roof or bite into an electric cable or spill a boiling soup on his head. That's what parents are for. If the kid is smart enough to use dad's printer, he has the mental capacity to understand the dangers. If the parents didn't educate him it's their failure.
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mc32 4730 days ago
But aren't parents supposed to keep dangerous chemicals away from the reach of curious children?

They can be told over and over of the dangers, but get a few together and all those warnings can flee their brains. If the stuff is inaccessible, then they can't --I mean, unless they're insolent, but most children will refrain from braking into locked closets. Leave things out and it's a different story.

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smsm42 4730 days ago
Yes, they are supposed to. That's the whole point - it's parents' responsibility, not yours or government's.
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chrischen 4730 days ago
Yea that's why it's so dangerous... because we know that many parents will fail at this.

Keep in mind a better analogy is a personal computer. A curious kid might use it and stumble on pornography. But we're not going to go locking computers into closets. Plus the dangers of printing a gun aren't that clearcut for a 10 or 12 year old, especially in our violent video game world of today.

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smsm42 4730 days ago
>>> Plus the dangers of printing a gun aren't that clearcut for a 10 or 12 year old

So explain it. Show the real gun and what happens when one is used and explain what can it do and how dangerous it is. Kids at 12, if they're not mentally damaged, can understand basic safety just fine, and guns are not magic - they are tools, and tools can be dangerous (most homes have lots of dangerous or potentially tools). So kids should be taught not to mess with dangerous tools.

Video games have little to do with it - any kid old enough to meaningfully use a computer can understand difference between fairy tale and reality.

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