3D2A is a term for the 3D-printed gun rights movement, as in, "3D" for 3D printers which are used to make firearms and other weapons, coupled with "2A" from Second Amendment of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. The movement does not adhere to any one specific ideology but rather maintains a commitment to free and open-source software design principles.
As of December 2025, the 3D2A movement has been called "a massive movement" and is seen as growing rapidly in many online communities, primarily, though not exclusively based in the United States. [1] The prevalence and availability of 3D-printed guns is seen to be rising rapidly, with 19,000 so called "ghost guns" recovered by law enforcement in 2021. [1]
Additionally, 3D-printed receivers and even full guns such as the FGC-9 have been made entirely of 3D-printing and household techniques and technologies, which have placed law enforcement entities in a position where full enforcement becomes increasingly complex or in some cases almost impossible. The 3D2A community was born out of the desire to share information and techniques around the making of such 3D-printed firearms as well as sourcing of materials and other general knowledge. Reporting out of Forbes indicates that United States government agencies and the Department of Justice have been trying to surveil and control the 3D2A movement but have largely been unsuccessful due to its decentralized and distributed form. [2]
Critics have labeled the movement or its activities as "meme d accelerationism" [3] and have labeled the movement as part of a greater "accelerationist" tendency coming from entities without a clear political agenda or motive. [4]
Courtney Nilan, Deputy Chief of the NYPD Intelligence Division, leads the most active investigation of 3D2A adherents in the United States and has stated:
“If they put out their manifesto/constitution, they call 3D2A the ‘New Second Amendment.’ They are heavy into their ideology, big, anti-government, anti-establishment. They believe everybody, everybody should be able to have a gun, should be able to make a gun label, and they’re calling it the ‘New Second Amendment.’” [5]