Last week, Defense Distributed announced that they had successfully created and test-fired the first 3D printed weapon. Self-proclaimed “crypto-anarchist” Cody Wilson has made the plans for the “Liberator” available online. Now lawmakers are scrambling to try and figure out what todo about this particular problem.

There have been renewed calls to extend the Undetectable Firearms Act, which is set to expire this year. The UFA stipulates that firearms must be detectable by walk-through metal detectors and must not generate an inaccurate image of the gun when exposed to an X-ray. Renewing it would’ve been a good idea regardless of Mr. Wilson’s 3D-printed weapon.

Beyond that, what should lawmakers do? Probably nothing, for two reasons.

First, there’s the practical side of the situation. The current Liberator — named after a cheap, barely-deployed pistol in World War II — has more in common with its namesake than a democratizing ideal. Forbes test fired the thing and reported that higher calibers blew the gun apart on the second firing. Another video shows the gun surviving 10 shots, but dying on the 11th. Misfires are common and the weapon currently requires an $8000 3D printer.

Low-accuracy firearms that require $8000 printers and can shatter when you pull the trigger aren’t a considerable threat to the gun industry or your personal safety. Wilson, of course, is devoted to improving his design. Odds are, he’ll do it — but this is an iterative process, not a sprint. Building the weapon is impressive, but it’s not the same as building a price-competitive weapon that people will want to own compared to a traditional firearm, especially not when a basic handgun, like the Hi-Point 9mm, starts at a $179.

But let’s assume that 3D printing guns follow a steady curve in which the price of manufacturing gets lower while the quality improves. What then?
Information isn’t a panacea.

Wilson makes repeated reference to the Liberator as a means of guaranteeing liberty. In hisblog, he writes: “The political “discussion” about mental health, the background check, and gun control is invidious and follows a disciplinary desire. Remember that power produces truth. Individual subjects are made administrative objects through a documentary process.The tendency is toward an ultimate result where no one really meets an artificial behavioral “norm,” and all are unfit to own a weapon.”