Deputy Secretary of Safety Sabrina Bierer, right, speaks as Gov. Kathy Hochul looks on during a news conference at the State Police Forensic Investigation Center in Albany on Tuesday. (Alexander MacDougall/Times Union)
Alexander MacDougall/Times Union
Gov. Hochul holds up a 3D-printed gun part with a Lego piece for size comparison.The printers are increasingly being used to be make guns and also parts that can transform a firearm into an automatic weapon. (Alexander MacDougall/Times Union)
Alexander MacDougall/Times Union
Gov. Kathy Hochul, left, inspects 3D-printed gun parts with State Police Technical Sgt. Paul Rittereiser during a news conference at the State Police Forensic Investigation Center in Albany on Tuesday.(Alexander MacDougall/Times Union)
Alexander MacDougall/Times Union
ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul continues to push for regulating 3D printers in the state as part of an ongoing crackdown on ghost guns, though her administration acknowledged there is some difficulties with implementation.
On Tuesday, Hochul joined local and state law enforcement officials at the State Police Forensic Investigation Center in Albany to highlight the gun safety proposals included as part of her proposed fiscal budget. One of the proposals would require all 3D printers sold in New York to include software that would block the printing of a gun.
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“All too often these (3D printers) are being used to create entire weapons, homemade killing machines, assembled materials you can purchase or print without a background check,” Hochul said. She added that the weapons they can produce are “absolutely undermining everything that we stand for in our state” in connection with gun possession laws.
But limits on how 3D printing technology actually works could pose a roadblock on how to enforce any preventative mechanisms. For example, there are several types of open-source software for 3D printing, meaning that anyone is free to view and modify the software’s code to their liking. That type of software adds a layer of complication for any statutes intended to enforce a prohibition of 3D gun printing.
During Tuesday’s news conference, Sabrina Bierer, a deputy secretary for public safety in the administration, acknowledged that the feasibility of regulating 3D printers would require some effort on the part of the state.
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“There are certainly going to be technological challenges,” Bierer said. “It’s figuring out what works for each particular type of printer.”
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Hochul expressed confidence that the measure would be able to pass the Legislature this year and can be successfully implemented.
“We feel very confident that all the elements of ours make sense. And I believe that they’re all doable,” Hochul said. “I do believe that there could be an opportunity for everyone to get behind it as we proposed it without any watering down.”
The language within the governor’s proposal calls for forming a working group within 90 days of the budget’s passage this year that would be convened by the State Police, the Department of State and the State University of New York. The group, consisting of experts in “manufacturing technology, artificial intelligence and digital security,” would have one year to make recommendations regarding the minimum safety standards that a 3D printer’s blocking technology must meet in order to comply with the requirements.
Bierer said discussions with experts in that sector have already started to take place.
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“We’ve had a number of conversations, not just with our government partners, but also with our industry partners,” she said. “There are a lot of academics who are already thinking about this, and thinking about the library of files that the software technology would pull from in order to block it. So those conversations are ongoing.”
Hochul and Bierer were joined by Albany County District Attorney Lee Kindlon, who referred to 3D printed guns as “weapons of war.” He cited a case from 2024 when State Police executed a search warrant on Orange Street in Albany and seized numerous firearms and parts that were either made or partially made via a 3D printer.
“Gov. Hochul’s proposal attacks this at its source,” Kindlon said. “This is clear enforceable law, exactly what we prosecutors need.”
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Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple also expressed support for the proposed regulation.
“It puts responsibility where it belongs on the manufacturers, not on law-abiding gun owners. It doesn’t take anything away from responsible people,” Apple said of the proposal. “It just stops companies from selling products that can be turned into illegal weapons in seconds. We’re not going to let years of progress get wiped out by a cheap piece of plastic.”