Teasing an upcoming panel discussion on Wednesday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer proclaimed: "Today's Professionals are going to weigh in on what could be a game changer in the gun debate, a plastic pistol undetectable by most security systems that almost anyone can make at home using some modern technology." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]
Fretting over details being released on how to construct the weapon using a 3D printer, Lauer posed this questions to the usual group of liberal pundits: "What do we do about it?" Attorney Star Jones admitted that there wasn't much that could be done under existing law, "other than really step up our efforts at gun control....if you make the behavior, the penalty for the behavior, the possession of a gun, no matter how it's manufactured, much more stringent."
Lauer worried that the new technology "gets around gun control." Fill-in panelist and talk show host Wendy Williams declared: "But by the time they get on the plane and kill us all, I mean, TSA's going to be horrible. This is horrible. It's like the process of making this gun is ahead of the gun laws." Jones added: "Well, the gun laws are so much behind every part of society."
The hand-wringing continued as Lauer fueled the anti-gun panic: "But what do you crack down on? Do you crack down on the technology or do you crack down on a guy like this who might release this information?"
Advertising executive Donny Deutsch rounded out the hysteria by asserting: "...technology equals terrorism. And there is such a dark underbelly to every advancement in technology and I don't think we have a fence to catch up with it. I worry for my children going into the future..."
Lauer agreed: "This seems to be a good example."
Here is a full transcript of the May 8 segment:
7:31AM ET TEASE:
MATT LAUER: Also ahead, Today's Professionals are going to weigh in on what could be a game changer in the gun debate, a plastic pistol undetectable by most security systems that almost anyone can make at home using some modern technology.
8:17AM ET SEGMENT:
LAUER: Now to Today's Professionals, here to weigh in on the hot topics of the day. Star Jones, Donny Deutsch, and sitting in for Dr. Nancy this morning, talk show host and author Wendy Williams. Hi Wendy, good to have you here.
WENDY WILLIAMS: Hello, Matt.
LAUER: And it's nice to have you all here. Let's get right to this one. We've talked on this show about 3D printers, these amazing technological devices, allows you to make objects in plastic. Well here's the downside, now apparently, someone has perfected making a gun, a plastic gun that cannot be detected by most security systems, with one of these 3D printers. A 25-year-old law school student named Cody Wilson says he may release the details of how to do this soon. What do we do about it?
STAR JONES: Donny, I know that this was concerning you, but legally, you say to yourself, "I'm not sure how much we can do about it at this point," other than really step up our efforts at gun control, but more importantly, the behind-the-scenes of it. You're not going to-
LAUER: This gets around gun control.
JONES: Well, it actually – if you make the behavior, the penalty for the behavior, the possession of a gun, no matter how it's manufactured, much more stringent.
WENDY WILLIAMS: But by the time they get on the plane and kill us all, I mean, TSA's going to be horrible. This is horrible. It's like the process of making this gun is ahead of the gun laws.
JONES: Well, the gun laws are so much behind every part of society.
WILLIAMS: This printer's-
LAUER: But what do you crack down on? Do you crack down on the technology or do you crack down on a guy like this who might release this information?
WILLIAMS: Well, what about the place that's going to sell it? Who's going to sell it? I was reading it was only going to be $1,200 at
LAUER: Well, the printers can be bought for as little as $500. You can get these plans, you can buy one of these printers and do this at home.
DONNY DEUTSCH: The problem, and this is one instance, and I've talked a lot about it, I don't want to sound like a broken record, technology equals terrorism. And there is such a dark underbelly to every advancement in technology and I don't think we have a fence to catch up with it.
JONES: We don't.
DEUTSCH: I worry for my children going into the future that technology is getting ahead of prevention and we can't catch up to it.
LAUER: This seems to be a good example.
