Starting with the disclaimer that we all know journalists gravitate toward extreme points of view for their quotes, and the related disclaimer than an NRA friend of mine considers Gun Owners of America “the Westboro Baptist Church of gun rights,” take a peek at this quote in response to the idea of making gun parts at home:

“Obviously, that has to be one of her nightmares,” said Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, a lobbying group opposed to additional restrictions. “If her ban was to pass and this technology moves beyond its infancy, Dianne Feinstein is going to have a bit of a challenge.”

Disclaimers notwithstanding, this is hardly the first instance I’ve seen in which the first wingnut reaction to a policy question isn’t “Whoa, this is something that requires some serious thought” but “Oh cool — this’ll piss off the liberals.”

And even some of the non-GOA people in here have that attitude. Take this oh-so-previous Texas law student, Cody Wilson:

My challenge is: Regulate this. I hope with that challenge we create such an insurmountable problem that the mere effort of trying to regulate this explodes any regulatory regime.

OK, so let’s regulate nothing. Whoever has the best printer can just rule the streets.

Yes, these two are caricatures, not representative of all gun owners or all who love 3-D printers. Surely some people are interested in this topic just because it demonstrates the difficulty of making laws with rapidly evolving technology.

So maybe the media should talk to a few more grown-ups?

Weapons made with 3-D printers could test gun-control efforts – The Washington Post.