# Security Theater, or OMG! He MIGHT HAVE a PLASTIC GUN!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 1, 2013, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-theater-or-omg-he-might-have-a-plastic-gun/667750 "2013-09-01T19:46:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-theater-or-omg-he-might-have-a-plastic-gun/667750/21 "2013-09-02T09:39:19Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Back in the day, I found some of the best counterfeit bills being circulated (engraved plate work) by touch alone, counting stacks. It’s not hard and while there are a few exotic papers available that closely resemble bill stock, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. The best printers today can do no better, they just don’t require an engraving expert to get to “almost good enough.” > > I have no expectation that “printed guns” will ever be different. That seems implausible, given that there’s so much incentive to make 3-D printers as capable as possible. And “ever” is a long time; it’s unrealistic to make claims about what we’ll be able to do hundreds or thousands of years from now unless you are talking about basic constraints of physical law. Personally, I’m less worried about printed handguns than I am about printed bombs and heavy weapons. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-theater-or-omg-he-might-have-a-plastic-gun/667750/22 "2013-09-02T09:59:26Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Can I ask, OP, what the fuck are you talking about? You work somewhere where there’s a metal detector. Got it. It sets off the metal detector. Got it. > > What does that have to do with plastic guns or forging your leg into a gun? Do you work in a metal shop that’s protected by magnetometers and X-ray machines? Are the security people frisking you for plastic guns? Ha! Thanks. I read this OP and for a moment thought I might have been misreading, as it makes no sense of any kind to me. But no, I’m not misreading, and the OP actually is saying… well, I’m not sure what he’s saying. But he said what he said. And here I was all excited about another TSA rant. Harrumph. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-theater-or-omg-he-might-have-a-plastic-gun/667750/23 "2013-09-02T11:55:06Z")
The OP makes sense to me. I’m not sure if I understand what **Cheshire Human** is saying better, or if we all understand him perfectly and it’s the question itself that is confusing. If I understand it rightly (and please correct me if I’m wrong), he’s asking: **Why is anyone concerned about plastic guns when, supposedly, the metal in his leg will not be detected by security, and could be used to make a real gun?** I’d guess part of the answer is that the metal is only supposed to be allowed through, and only expected to go undetected, when it’s inside your leg. So you’d have to smuggle the it in inside your leg, somehow remove it from your leg while in whatever place you just infiltrated, then somehow make it into a gun while still in this place. > [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I don’t know if me being “slightly concerned” crosses the line into _agita_, but I can picture 3D printing (or the 2023 version thereof) being used to make components that now require some skill, i.e. the timer mechanisms for improvised explosive devices or mailbombs. The number of people killed will still be trivial compared to the casualties from drunk driving or straight-up domestic murder. Is the mechanical side of bomb-making even the tough part? I assumed you could easily find all the mechanical and electrical components you need, either alone or as part of another product, and that the chemistry would be the limiting factor for most would-be bomb-makers. I know you can easily make some pretty basic explosives, but I thought the best ones are a little harder to make. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-theater-or-omg-he-might-have-a-plastic-gun/667750/24 "2013-09-02T12:03:31Z")
I work in an electronics warehouse. There are metal detectors on the way out. It is required to, at all times, wear safety boots with steel toe caps. So the procedure is that you put your keys and belt in the box, go through and set off the detector with your boots, then push a button which randomly decides whether you get searched. If you get searched they use a wand… on your feet, and visually inspect your boots. You could have stolen goods in your pocket, no problems. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-theater-or-omg-he-might-have-a-plastic-gun/667750/25 "2013-09-02T12:17:09Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > Is the mechanical side of bomb-making even the tough part? I assumed you could easily find all the mechanical and electrical components you need, either alone or as part of another product, and that the chemistry would be the limiting factor for most would-be bomb-makers. I know you can easily make some pretty basic explosives, but I thought the best ones are a little harder to make. I’m not claiming any expertise, but it seems to me that making a reliable timer/detonator is the part requiring actual technical skill. I can picture a printable “detonator kit” that just needs the user to add a battery and a container of diesel fuel and fertilizer. It’s not a major concern - anyone now willing to build and use an explosive can readily gather instructional material - just something that might pop up in the next decade or so. I can picture anti-terrorist operations who are trying to track down and eliminate bomb-makers (identifying them by the distinctiveness of their scratch-built devices) being stymied by generic printable parts. Possibly along the way someone will call for feed materials to carry some kind of identifier, like the taggants some want added to explosives, so a printed component can be partly traced to a particular supplier and buyer, but I don’t know how effective that might be. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-theater-or-omg-he-might-have-a-plastic-gun/667750/26 "2013-09-02T13:57:37Z")
You think it’s bad now, just wait till they implement plastic detectors and you have to tell every security guard about your penile prosthesis. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-theater-or-omg-he-might-have-a-plastic-gun/667750/27 "2013-09-02T14:06:58Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > You think it’s bad now, just wait till they implement plastic detectors and you have to tell every security guard about your penile prosthesis. Double barrel? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-theater-or-omg-he-might-have-a-plastic-gun/667750/28 "2013-09-02T16:13:22Z")
> [@Cheshire\_Human](#): > > I told them I would beep because of my metal leg. They said ‘No, that stuff doesn’t set it off’. Yes, yes it did. It’s been setting metal detectors off for the past year and a half since it was planted in my leg. But if they’re right, _IF_ they’re right, then why can’t terrorists make their guns out of that kind of steel? The steel inside your leg will (supposedly) not set off metal detectors because it’s _inside your leg_. This is obviously not a feasible hiding place for terrorists (it just pushes the problem off to “how to hide the knife so they can cut open their legs to retrieve the gun”). ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-theater-or-omg-he-might-have-a-plastic-gun/667750/29 "2013-09-02T17:29:17Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I don’t know if me being “slightly concerned” crosses the line into _agita_… Well, you do carry your madcap insouciance proudly, so you caring enough about something to be “slightly concerned” is alarming. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Razncain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@Razncain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Razncain)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-theater-or-omg-he-might-have-a-plastic-gun/667750/30 "2013-09-04T11:23:35Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > I read this OP and for a moment thought I might have been misreading, as it makes no sense of any kind to me. But no, I’m not misreading, and the OP actually is saying… well, I’m not sure what he’s saying. But he said what he said. He’s disappointed about security not doing enough. He also wants x-rays done to ensure no one has a bomb planted inside them. This as well as being fully stripped searched each and every time he comes back from smoke breaks, and was also highly let down that they didn’t do a cavity search. Looking on the bright side, since they no longer do cavity searches, he has greatly reduced his smoking and no longer takes as many breaks. Before, he was up to four packs a day. ---
**Author:** ![Penny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@Penny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penny)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-theater-or-omg-he-might-have-a-plastic-gun/667750/31 "2013-09-04T15:15:45Z")
Cheshire, I understand what you are saying about hype around something that could potentially be bypassed anyway. It’s the trouble we endure for the illusion of security. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-theater-or-omg-he-might-have-a-plastic-gun/667750/32 "2013-09-04T15:28:45Z")
I think security needs to be enhanced to protect air travelers from one legged terrorists hopping out of the airplane lavatories brandishing blody weapons! 😃 Or maybe all they need is the proper triggering mechanism and a willingness to shoot the sole of their foot off! What move was that where the female character had a leg that doubled as a shotgun or somesuch? Grindhouse? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-theater-or-omg-he-might-have-a-plastic-gun/667750/33 "2013-09-04T15:40:14Z")
I’m still trying to imagine the scenario where security guards are so busy and obsessed with frisking people for plastic weapons, that they allow a terrorist through the metal detector, who then goes on to remove a metal rod from his body, sets up a blacksmith or machine shop, fashions the metal into a gun, and then terrorizes the whole joint with his artificial femur firearm… and all because the security guards were too focused on plastic weapons! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-theater-or-omg-he-might-have-a-plastic-gun/667750/34 "2013-09-04T16:01:31Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I’m still trying to imagine the scenario where security guards are so busy and obsessed with frisking people for plastic weapons, that they allow a terrorist through the metal detector, who then goes on to remove a metal rod from his body, sets up a blacksmith or machine shop, fashions the metal into a gun,\*\* and then terrorizes the whole joint with his artificial femur firearm\*\*… and all because the security guards were too focused on plastic weapons! The problem with such a gun is accuracy. You can only shoot from the hip. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-theater-or-omg-he-might-have-a-plastic-gun/667750/35 "2013-09-04T16:12:53Z")
If you outlaw legs, only outlaws will have legs. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-theater-or-omg-he-might-have-a-plastic-gun/667750/36 "2013-09-04T16:14:45Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > The problem with such a gun is accuracy. You can only shoot from the hip. Bravo! ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-theater-or-omg-he-might-have-a-plastic-gun/667750/37 "2013-09-04T19:29:06Z")
I for one am happy we have metal detectors and fake secuirty at hospitals to keep out the terrorists with plastic guns. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-theater-or-omg-he-might-have-a-plastic-gun/667750/38 "2013-09-04T19:45:52Z")
> [@Cheshire\_Human](#): > > … at least, you can’t tell the difference between a metal leg, and a gun, and wave me off when you see my brass belt buckle… When to approach the detector, do you smile and point at your belt buckle area? Because it’d be funny if you pointed and caught someone looking at your buckle and coyly muttered, “You meat-gazer.” ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-theater-or-omg-he-might-have-a-plastic-gun/667750/39 "2013-09-04T19:48:17Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > who then goes on to remove a metal rod from his body, sets up a blacksmith or machine shop, fashions the metal into a gun, and then terrorizes the whole joint with his artificial femur firearm… I \*think \*(hard to tell for sure, given the OP) that the OP was implying he could take a rod made of the same metal, make a gun out of it, and smuggle it into the hospital, because if he had no trouble getting the rod in his leg through the metal detector, he could get such a gun through as well. I may be reading more sense into the OP than is actually there, though. And the rest of your post, all the stuff I didn’t copy in the quote box, is totally on target. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-theater-or-omg-he-might-have-a-plastic-gun/667750/40 "2013-09-04T23:44:56Z")
The opening scene of _Darkman_ depicts the proper use of leg-concealed firearms. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-theater-or-omg-he-might-have-a-plastic-gun/667750.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/security-theater-or-omg-he-might-have-a-plastic-gun/667750.md?page=3)