Michael Kaelin

English 2010
Ms. Hull
T R 10:00-11:20

Meet Cody Wilson

Cody Wilson is a dark haired
individual who blends casually into
his home town in Austin, Texas. He
is

studying to become a defense

attorney. In an interview with Carole
Cadwalladr, a journalist for The
Guardian news, Wilson is described
as having an easygoing and friendly
personality. Not something that you

would expect from the 14th most dangerous person in the world. Yes, Wired
news put Wilson as the 14th most dangerous person in the world, and 5th
most dangerous person on the internet. This ranking is his, although Wilson
has a clean record, and is even the head of a non-profit organization. So
what is the deadly truth about this 28 year-old that makes him so
dangerous?
In 2013 Wilson pulled a stunt that would forever change the
world of firearms all over the globe. In May of 2013, Wilson uploaded a file

called "The Liberator," to be downloaded by any individual, free of cost, on

the world wide internet. This file contained the blueprints to the first
successfully fired 3D printed gun, The Liberator. Lawmakers and government
officials went bezerk when the news hit. Soon after, the US State
Department strongly suggested that Wilson take these blueprints down.
Wilson complied, but by this time it was too late; the blueprints had been
downloaded over 100,000 times and posted again by third party persons.
Wilson knew that he would have to take his blueprints down, but that was all
part of his bigger plan. Wilson used the government's reaction to bring public
attention to the issue of limiting open source design. In one of Wilson's
youtube podcasts he stated, We cannot limit open source design, even if we
do not support the consequences." Wilson made his point, but in the process
he also gave perhaps millions of people access to DIY firearms. Some of
these folks are doubtless responsible individuals, but others are surely
terrorists, criminals, and those underage.
After this, Wilson became the center of the the 3D printed gun debate.
Scoring hundreds of interviews, Wilson became Infamous. Many people did
not agree with what Wilson did. In an interview with Glenn Beck, a popular
radio host, Beck asked Cody if he is a hero or a villain. After a moment of
thought Wilson replied, That's a good question. So if Wilson himself does
not know if he is doing good or bad, what is pushing him to stick with the 3D
printed firearms issue?

Wilson has dedicated much of his life to manufacturing 3D printed

guns and gun parts. He has released blueprints for high capacity ammunition
magazines, lower receivers, and his pistol, The Liberator. So what are his
motives for his bold actions? Wilson argues that gun files would have been
uploaded either way. He brings up the point that files on the internet do not
have an ethical code, and that limiting what files can be uploaded is
impossible. Defending his argument Wilson states, There are people from all
around the world that are downloading our files and we say, 'good'.
Following this statement, Wilson concluded that not only can we not limit
open source file sharing, but everyone should have access to these files.
Wilson has done everything he can to see this vision happen. 3D printing
companies have reclaimed 3D printers from Wilson in retaliation, and some
of his former supporters have cut funding. This has not stopped Wilson.
When a company called Mark Forged refused to sell their Mark One printer,
made for printing very durable carbon fiber materials, to Wilson, he fought
back by offering 15 thousand dollars to whoever could get him this 5
thousand dollar printer. This shows how utterly dedicated Wilson is to his
cause. Some people, though, view his efforts as publicity stunts to fuel the
fame that this controversy has brought him.
As mentioned earlier, Wilson is the at the head of a non-profit
organization. The organization is called Defense Distributed (DD), founded by
Wilson and his partner Ben Denio, in the summer of 2012. On DDs website they
state their main main goal to be:

To defend the human and civil right to keep and bear arms as
guaranteed by the United States Constitution and affirmed by the United
States Supreme Court; to collaboratively produce, publish, and distribute
to the public without charge information and knowledge related to the
digital manufacture of arms. (About Defense Distributed, Par. 2)
In an interview with Vice news, Wilson talked about how he and Denio came to
be so involved with 3D printed guns:
"My partner Ben Denio, the guy who basically came up with the
idea with me, we were on the phone and Ben suggested we could be
arms manufacturers. What about 3D printing? And at this point we weren't
aware that anyone had done it or was trying to, and I said if we could print
a gun, other people could do this. You know, what if we gave it away open
source style. You know, what would that mean? And we realized, wow, this
is really attractive!"
Just a few months after Wilson started DD, a plan was developed to create a 3D
printable working firearm, and to release the blueprints online free of charge. This was
officially named the Wiki Project. Later in 2013, The Liberator was released. Following
the release of The Liberator, Wilson pressed his efforts, making durable lower receivers,
and high capacity magazines. This was in response to recent gun laws that have limited
assault weapons and imposed a ban on high capacity magazines. In response to these
laws Wilson asked, Why does anyone need an ammunition clip for more than 30
rounds? Why does anyone need two houses? Why does any one need to make more
than $400,000 a year? Wilson has successfully printed working high capacity

magazines along with lower receivers that held together until breaking after firing 600
rounds on an AR-15, a highly customizable assault rifle.
Wilson knows he is pushing the boundaries of the law. To avoid arrest, he has
willingfully complied with requests from lawmakers. In
2014, Wilson successfully passed the required courses
to become a legal firearm manufacturer. Now, if he
wanted to, Wilson could sell his printed gun parts. Many
people are very upset at how Wilson is revolutionizing
access to guns. Additionally, 3D printed guns have no
serial information, and can go through metal detectors
without setting off alarms. There is currently a ban on
undetectable firearms, and Cody Wilson has created a
safety and security threat, not only for the United States,
but for the security of nations all around the world.

Sources
3D Printed Guns (Documentary). Vice News, 2013. Video. Director, Erin Carr.
"DEFENSE DISTRIBUTED." DD. Defense Distributed, 6 May 2013. Web.
10 Feb. 2015.
Cadwalladr, Carole. "Meet Cody Wilson." The Guardian. 11 Feb. 2014. Web. 14 Apr.
2015.

Images:
Figure 1: Miller, Joshua. "Philadelphia Poised to Become First City to Ban 3D-printed
Guns.
Figure 2: Covertress. (2013, August 13). Retrieved February 17, 2015.