New Technology Allows Anybody To Make Their Own Gun At Home, No Background Check Required [VIDEO]

Thanks to 25-year-old Cody Wilson, a law student at the University of Texas, anyone with access to a computer and 3D printer will be able to make a fully functioning handgun in the comfort of their own home in the very near future.

3D printers, which cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,000 and up, allow people to design a digital object on a computer and "print" it into a three-dimensional solid object. So far 3D printing technology has been geared toward hobbyists who are making anything from clocks to coat-hooks to iPod cases, jewelry, ornaments and more. But as the story goes in the fast-paced world of technology, the game plan is evolving.

"You can print a lethal device," Wilson told Forbes in an interview. "It's kind of scary, but what's what we're aiming to show."

In late 2012 Wilson set out to create the world's first 3D-printable handgun. He and the team at Defense Distributed, a Texas-based nonprofit organization have now turned this idea into a reality. Defense Distributed has produced a prototype of "The Liberator," Wilson's 3D-printed plastic firearm. Wilson has announced plans to publish the blueprint for the gun in the near future, where it will be easily accessible to anyone and everyone. Background check? Not required.

According to Defense Distributed's Web site, their primary goal is "to publish and distribute, at no cost to the public...information and knowledge related to the 3D printing of arms."

The Liberator was configured to connect to different barrels and designed to fire off various calibers of ammunition. It is made entirely of plastic with the exception of a nail that is used for a firing pin and a six-ounce piece of steel that was integrated into the gun so that, in accordance with the Undetectable Firearms Act, it can be detected by metal detectors. That's of course assuming the blueprint isn't intentionally altered by anyone with the know-how and desire to exclude those six ounces of steel to circumvent detection.

Rep. Steve Israel (D, NY) has voiced concern over the potential for abuse and misuse of 3D weapon printing. Israel has called for a ban on these weapons and has introduced legislation to restrict 3D printed components, according to the Washington Times.

"Security checkpoints, background checks, and gun regulations will do little good if criminals can print plastic firearms at home and bring those firearms through metal detectors with no one the wiser," Israel said in a statement. "When I started talking about the issue of plastic firearms months ago, I was told the idea of a plastic gun is science-fiction. Now that this technology is proven, we need to act now to extend the ban [on] plastic firearms."