Cody Wilson
Cody Wilson | |
---|---|
Wilson in Austin 2012 | |
Born |
Cody Rutledge Wilson January 31, 1988 |
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Director and spokesman for Defense Distributed |
Known for | Defense Distributed |
Cody Rutledge Wilson (born January 31, 1988) is a crypto-anarchist[1][2] and free-market anarchist, and activist,[3] best-known as a founder/director of Defense Distributed, a non-profit organization that develops and publishes open source gun designs, so-called "Wiki Weapons", suitable for 3D printing.[4][5]
Defense Distributed gained international notoriety in 2013 when it published plans online for the Liberator, a functioning pistol that could be reproduced with a 3D printer.[6][7][8] USA Carry named Wilson one of America's "30 Influential Pro-Gun Rights Advocates," and Wired Magazine's "Danger Room" has named him one of "The 15 Most Dangerous People in the World."[9][10]
Early life and career
Wilson is a former student of [11] the University of Texas School of Law.[10][12]
Defense Distributed
In 2012, Wilson and associates at Defense Distributed initiated the Wiki Weapon Project to raise funds for designing and releasing the files for a 3D printable gun.[13] Wilson is, to date, the only spokesperson on behalf of the organization, of which he describes himself as "co-founder" and "director".[14][15]
Learning of his organization's plans, manufacturer Stratasys threatened legal action and demanded the return of a 3D printer it had leased to Wilson.[14] On September 26, 2012, before the printer was assembled for use, Wilson received an email from Stratasys suggesting he was using the printer "for illegal purposes".[14] Stratasys immediately cancelled its lease with Wilson and sent a team to confiscate the printer the next day.[14][16]
While visiting the ATF enforcement office in Austin to inquire about legalities related to his project, Wilson was subsequently interrogated by the officers there.[14] Six months later he was issued a federal firearms license to manufacture and deal.[17]
In May 2013, Wilson successfully test-fired a pistol, called "the Liberator", reportedly made by a Stratasys Dimension series 3D printer bought on eBay.[18] After test firing, Wilson released the blueprints of the gun's design online through Defense Distributed.[19]
Political and economic views
Wilson claims an array of influences from anti-state and libertarian political thinkers,[20] including leftist market anarchists like the mutualist scholar Pierre-Joseph Proudhon,[21][18] capitalist libertarians such as the Austrian School scholar Hans-Herman Hoppe, and classical liberals including Frederic Bastiat.[3][20]
On American Gun Politics
Asked during an interview with Popular Science if the Newtown Massacre had affected his thinking or plans in any way, Wilson responded:"... understanding that rights and civil liberties are something that we protect is also understanding that they have consequences that are also protected, or tolerated. The exercise of civil liberties is antithetical to the idea of a completely totalizing state. That's just the way it is."[12]
On Subversion and Resistance
During a January 2013 interview with Glenn Beck on the nature of and motivations behind his effort to develop and share gun files Wilson offered:"That's a real political act, giving you a magazine, telling you that it will never be taken away. ... That's real politics. That's radical equality. That's what I believe in. ... I'm just resisting. What am I resisting? I don't know, the collectivization of manufacture? The institutionalization of the human psyche? I'm not sure. But I can tell you one thing: this is a symbol of reversability. They can never eradicate the gun from the earth."[22]
Journalist Brian Doherty of Reason described Wilson as "more than just a gun guy", adding that Wilson may be "right about how it has to end: the people will have the power."[23]
Dark Wallet
In 2013, Wilson began work on a Bitcoin wallet called "Dark Wallet".[11][24][25]
See also
References
- ↑ Kopstein, Joshua (April 12, 2013). "What happens when 3D printing and crypto-anarchy collide?". The Verge. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
- ↑ Pangburn, DJ (September 13, 2013). "Whistleblowers and the Crypto-Anarchist Underground: An Interview with Andy Greenberg". Motherboard.tv. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fallenstein, Daniel (December 27, 2012). "All markets become black". Blink. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
- ↑ Doherty, Brian (December 12, 2012). "What 3-D Printing Means for Gun Rights". Reason. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
- ↑ Brown, Rich (September 7, 2012). "You don't bring a 3D printer to a gun fight - yet". News.yahoo.com. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
- ↑ Greenberg, Andy (May 7, 2013). "Meet The 'Liberator': Test-Firing The World's First Fully 3D-Printed Gun". Forbes. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
- ↑ Morelle, Rebecca (May 6, 2013). "Working gun made with 3D printer". BBC News. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
- ↑ Hutchinson, Lee (May 3, 2013). "The first entirely 3D-printed handgun is here". Ars Technica. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
- ↑ "30 Influential Pro-Gun Rights Advocates". USACarry.com. May 20, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "The 15 Most Dangerous People in the World". Wired. December 19, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Del Castillo, Michael (September 24, 2013). "Dark Wallet: A Radical Way to Bitcoin". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on September 25, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Dillow, Clay (December 21, 2012). "Q+A: Cody Wilson Of The Wiki Weapon Project On The 3-D Printed Future of Firearms". Popular Science. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
- ↑ Greenberg, Andy (August 23, 2012). "'Wiki Weapon Project' Aims To Create A Gun Anyone Can 3D-Print At Home". Forbes. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 Beckhusen, Robert (October 1, 2012). "3-D Printer Company Seizes Machine From Desktop Gunsmith". Wired News. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
- ↑ Hotz, Alexander (November 25, 2012). "3D 'Wiki Weapon' guns could go into testing by end of year, maker claims". The Guardian. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
- ↑ Coldewey, Devin (October 2, 2012). "3-D printed gun project derailed by legal woes". NBC News. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
- ↑ Farivar, Cyrus (March 17, 2013). "3D-printed gun maker now has federal firearms license to manufacture, deal guns". Ars Technica. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Rayner, Alex (May 6, 2013). "3D-printable guns are just the start, says Cody Wilson". The Guardian. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
- ↑ Brown, Steven Rex (May 13, 2013). "Man who used 3-D printer to create gun hopes efforts can 'destroy the spirit of gun control itself'". Daily News. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Steele, Chandra (May 9, 2013). "Dismantle the State: Q&A With 3D Gun Printer Cody Wilson". PC Magazine. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
- ↑ Ostroff, Joshua (March 12, 2013). "'Wiki Weapons' Maker Cody Wilson Says 3D Printed Guns 'Are Going To Be Possible Forever'". Huffington Post. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
- ↑ , January 17, 2013; accessed November 21, 2013
- ↑ "3D Guns Advocate Cody Wilson is About More Than Weapons and That's What Most Frightens People About Him". Reason. December 19, 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
- ↑ Greenberg, Andy (October 31, 2013). "Dark Wallet Aims To Be The Anarchist's Bitcoin App Of Choice". Forbes. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ↑ Feuer, Alan (December 14, 2013). "The Bitcoin Ideology". The New York Times. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cody Wilson. |
- "Click. Print. Gun." Motherboard (VICE Media.) (March 25, 2013) (Video broadcast)
- "Cody Wilson" TheBlaze.com (January 17, 2013) (Video broadcast)
- "Cody Wilson: troll, genius, patriot, provocateur, anarchist, attention whore, gun nut or Second Amendment champion?" Arkansas Times (January 9, 2014)