Stop AB2047 - California's bill that pulls 3D printers from schools and businesses
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CA Understanding AB2047 Take action
A Letter From the Industry
The letter 🔍 Click to read full letter
Organizational Signatories10 organizations PRUSA Research Printed Solid MAKE Magazine Maker Faire West3D Nikko Industries VORON Design 3D Printing Nerd Cocoa Press Greengate3D Individual Signatories7 individuals Dr. Adrian Bowyer Josef Prusa Dale Dougherty Maksim Zolin Joel Telling Anne Pauley Clayton Parker (Uncle Jessy)
California AB 2047 makes printers off-limits to students, educators and business. AB2047 requires every 3D printer sold in California to run a DOJ state-certified "detection algorithm" - a technology that can not reliably exist. If passed, it would pull a tool used in thousands of schools, libraries, labs, and small businesses out from under our communities. This page is a plain-language guide you can share with your school board, PTA, or neighbor.
At a glanceWhat's at stake in California K-12, CTE, Summer & After School programsStudents who depend on access 1.5M+ Small & Large business, labs, manufacturersCalifornia operations affected 30,000+ Engineering, innovation & curriculum built in CAInvestment at risk in the state $10.5B
1 Email every committee member One email can reach every committee office plus the legislative staff who handle these bills. Copy the full list, paste it into the BCC field so offices don't see each other's addresses, and send a single message. Suggested subject: Please vote NO on AB 2047. Tip: paste into BCC, not To.
2 Better yet, call their offices A ringing phone in a Capitol office is hard to ignore - calls often carry more weight than email. No script needed: give your name, say you're a Californian, and urge a NO vote on AB 2047. Tap any number to call that office directly. Judiciary Committee13 members · main line (916) 651-4113 Thomas UmbergD-34Chair Roger NielloR-06Vice-Chair Benjamin AllenD-24 Angelique AshbyD-08 Anna CaballeroD-14Both committees Maria Elena DurazoD-26 John LairdD-17 Eloise Gómez ReyesD-29 Henry SternD-27 Suzette Martinez ValladaresR-23
Aisha WahabD-10 Akilah Weber PiersonD-39 Scott WienerD-11Both committees Public Safety Committee6 members · main line (916) 651-4118 Jesse ArreguínD-07Chair Kelly SeyartoR-32Vice-Chair Anna CaballeroD-14Both committees Dave CorteseD-15 Sasha Renée PérezD-25 Scott WienerD-11Both committees Scroll for the full list. Anna Caballero and Scott Wiener sit on both committees, so the email list above counts each of them once.
3 Write in your own words - here are the points that matter Personal letters from real Californians carry far more weight than form letters. Pick the points that matter to you and tell them why, in your voice: The bill does not make anyone safer. The bill was rushed and now contradicts itself - after 33 amendments, its manufacturer mandate points to certification rules the same amendment deleted. The required technology is not possible - 3D printers read code, not intent; they cannot tell what a shape is for. The bill requires software that, if it could exist, would violate the First Amendment. It disrupts education at every level - K-12, CTE, libraries, community colleges, and universities. It breaks open-source 3D printing, which most classroom printers rely on, by demanding open firmware be as locked-down as proprietary firmware.
California small businesses bear the burden - they must source or build firearm-blocking software that does not exist just to keep selling printers. The penalties hit the wrong people - the $25,000-per-violation fines fall on schools, makers, and small businesses, while bad actors route around the law. The exemptions are undefined - the bill exempts printers sold "exclusively" to entertainment studios, but no printer is built for one industry, leaving makers and cosplayers out.
EngageThings you can do today. Legislators weigh messages from the people they represent most of all - so if you live in California, your own Senator and Assembly Member need to hear from you. But every informed voice adds to the pressure, in California and beyond. Each of these takes five minutes or less. Do one today. Do all three this week.
Why it doesn't workWhat the bill can't solve. AB2047 rests on two foundations that cannot bear its weight: the legal foundation conflicts with established First Amendment law, and the technical foundation assumes capabilities that do not reliably exist.
12 Legal Violations Constitutional & statutory concerns 01Prior restraint on protected speechCAD files and source code are protected expression; mandatory pre-review is a textbook prior restraint. 02Compelled speechForcing manufacturers to attest to contested algorithm output is compelled speech on a public concern. 03Vagueness in "blueprint"Shapes shared between firearm parts and countless legitimate objects give no clear notice of prohibited conduct. 04OverbreadthThe bill sweeps in general-purpose hardware used overwhelmingly for lawful purposes. 05Commerce Clause concernsA state-specific approved list for interstate hardware raises serious Dormant Commerce Clause issues. 06Federal preemptionFederal law already covers firearm manufacture, including via additive manufacturing. +Six more concerns detailedDelegation, due process, Fourth Amendment telemetry, and state constitutional issues.
12+ Technical Failures Why the tech can't actually work 01Geometry isn't uniquely a firearmA rifled barrel is a grooved cylinder. So are industrial screws, optical mounts, and thousands of other parts. 02Trivial workaroundsRotation, scaling, splitting a model into parts, or re-exporting defeats shape-based detection - without losing function. 03G-code is the wrong layerBy the time a printer sees G-code, shape context is gone. Reconstructing a "firearm" at print time is intractable. 04Firmware is openMarlin, Klipper, and RepRap firmware can be flashed in minutes. Software-level "blocks" are simply removable. 05No ground-truth datasetThere is no authoritative dataset of "firearm blueprints" - and the set grows adversarially. 06Published error rates are too highResearch on shape-based detection consistently shows error rates incompatible with general-purpose use. +Six more technical barriersRemote-print workflows, procedural generation, encrypted slicer output, multi-material composites, and more.
Bill progressWhere it stands right now. AB2047 cleared the Assembly's Public Safety, Judiciary, and Appropriations committees, survived the Suspense File, and has now passed the full Assembly floor with 33 amendments. It moves next to the State Senate, where it heads first to the Judiciary and Public Safety committees - the stage where your voice matters most right now. Take action now →
FebruaryIntroduced Bill Introduced CompletedAB2047 is introduced in the California State Assembly, framed as a public safety measure targeting 3D-printed firearms. MarchPublic Safety Passed Public Safety Committee CompletedThe bill cleared the Assembly Public Safety Committee and was advanced for further review.