Eight states and the District of Columbia have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to block 3D-printed gun designs from being available online.
Blueprints for the guns will become legal to post and download Wednesday, though according to the Pennsylvania attorney general's office, at least 1,000 people had already downloaded plans for an AR-15 assault-style rifle by Sunday.
Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson is leading the suit and said Monday, "These downloadable guns are unregistered and very difficult to detect, even with metal detectors, and will be available to anyone regardless of age, mental health, or criminal history."
In June, the government reached a settlement with the founder of Defense Distributed, Cody Wilson. That allowed for Defense Distributed to legally make 3D-printed gun blueprints available on its website on Aug. 1. A lawyer for Wilson had called attempts to block the designs' publication a freedom of speech issue.
Meanwhile, in a separate action, 21 state attorneys general wrote a letter asking Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to withdraw from the settlement.
It read, "In addition to helping arm terrorists and transnational criminals, the settlement and proposed rules would provide another path to gun ownership for people who are prohibited by federal and state law from possessing firearms."
Correction: A previous version of this story said nine states are planning to sue the Trump administration, but it is actually eight states and the District of Columbia. This story has been updated.
Additional reporting by Newsy affiliate CNN.
