WASHINGTON.-- Anyone with a computer and a 3-D printer could soon make a firearm right at home with no background check required. 

A settlement between the State Department and Texas-based Defense Distributed will allow the nonprofit to release the blueprints for guns online starting Aug. 1.

  • 3-D printer could soon make a firearm
  • Blueprints for guns could be released online starting Aug. 1
  • Lawmakers calling for hearings & legislation to block release of blueprints

Now, there's growing concerns over the do-it-yourself weapons some call "ghost guns."

"Goodness gracious, the last thing in the world we want is plastic guns that are lethal," said Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida.

Nelson warns that making this blueprint available will only give people more access to untraceable firearms.

"If you put the plans up there, then it's anybody that can go on and has access to a 3-D printer, and then they’re going to be able to make a lethal weapon that will evade detection," he explained.

Nelson wants an explanation as to why the State Department settled and is allowing the blueprints to be published. He's not alone.

Sen. Edward Markey,D-MA, asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to review the policy during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing on Thursday.

"I ask the State Department to please reconsider this decision. I think it has long term national security and domestic security considerations for our country," Sen. Markey said.

"You have my commitment, I'll take a look at it," Mike Pompeo responded.

It was back in 2013 when Defense Distributed posted the original printing manual of the 3-D gun online -- five days later the government ordered them to remove it. But by then it was too late, it had already been downloaded over 100,000 times and reposted elsewhere.

"The drawings are out there already, people have them that are interested in them," said Lawrence Keane with National Shooting Sports Foundation.

Keane said the concern over 3-D guns is being blown out of proportion.

"The reality is the printers are extremely expensive, they cost many thousands of dollars to purchase them, and even if you print one of these items, they don't work very well, they don't last very long," Keane explained. "Early iterations would only see fire one shot and would fall apart and break."

Experts emphasize it's still illegal for a convicted felon to have a 3-D printed gun because it is a firearm. However, some lawmakers are calling for hearings and legislation to block the release of the blueprints. 

"The clock is ticking," Sen. Bill Nelson said.

Gun rights advocates stress that all 3-D printed guns must comply with the Undetectable Firearms Act, which requires any firearm made contain metal, so it would not be able to pass through a metal detector without being seen.