Plans for 3D-printed guns explode across internet amid court battle to repress them

Plans for 3D-printed guns have spread across the internet over the past three weeks despite the efforts of a federal judge and some of the country’s largest social media companies to try to impose limits.

Gun rights supporters say the online explosion — one website owner who posted the plans said his site logged 1.4 million requests over the past three weeks — shows the futility of efforts to put the genie back into the bottle.

But gun control advocates are still battling and will be back in court Tuesday to ask U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik to extend his order halting a settlement between Texas-based Defense Distributed and the State Department, which struck a deal rolling back Obama-era restrictions on posting the plans.

Second Amendment supporters say it’s too late.