--- title: "Assistant Sheriff Expresses Concern About People 3D Printing Guns for Firearm Buyback Programs" description: "An upstate New York sheriff is irked that people around the US are 3D printing firearms to turn into gun buyback programs for cold, hard cash. " date: "2022-10-25" modified: "2022-10-26" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/sheriff-3d-printed-gun-buyback" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "3d printed guns" - "3d printing" - "the digest" - "weapons" --- # Assistant Sheriff Expresses Concern About People 3D Printing Guns for Firearm Buyback Programs ![An upstate New York sheriff is irked that people around the US are 3D printing firearms to turn into gun buyback programs for cold, hard cash. ]() *\Image: Robert MacPherson/AFP via Getty Images\* ## Buy It Back An upstate New York lawman is expressing concern that people around the US are 3D printing firearms to turn into gun buyback programs for cold, hard cash. "I know in Utica, New York, Houston, Texas, and Spartanburg, South Carolina that 3D printed guns were submitted to the gun buyback program," Robert Swenszkowski, the assistant sheriff of New York's Oneida County and, strangely, a professor at Utica University, [told *Spectrum News 1*](). He appeared to be referring to several stories that emerged this summer, in which people in [Texas](), [South Carolina]() and [New York ]()did indeed sell back guns they 3D printed at home to local authorities as part of state gun buyback programs. One man, who identified himself only as "Kem," [admitted that]() he 3D printed more than 100 guns to turn into New York State's gun buyback program. He was awarded $21,000 for his efforts, which was paid out to him in $500 gift cards. ## Regulatory Nightmare The NY state attorney general's office confirmed that the man known as Kem had indeed exploited the program — and as Swenszkowski noted, it's unclear what to do about the loophole, given that others are doing the same in other parts of the country. "From a public safety perspective," the Utica assistant sheriff said, "getting any gun off the street if it has the potential to harm someone may be just as effective \[as buying back traditionally-manufactured guns\] so there’s certainly considerations that need to be given." "You can’t guarantee that those guns will never be used to harm someone or never be used unlawfully," Swenszkowski added in his interview with the Utica-based *Spectrum News 1*. To the assistant sheriff's mind, people like Kem should be held accountable for fraud — but he admits that changing the language of these buyback programs, which currently operate on a no-questions-asked basis, may hurt their efficacy. "It’s a catch-22," Swenszkowski said — and it's hard to argue, given the gravity of gun violence in the US today. *Updated to correct Swenszkowski's title and more accurately reflect his outlook.* **More next-gen weaponry:** [*Drama Engulfs Plan to Zap School Shooters With Taser-Toting Drones*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()