A federal judge has blocked a website from distributing files that could be used to create guns with a 3-D printer. U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik of the Western District of Washington granted a temporary restraining order to nine state attorneys general who sought in a lawsuit on Monday to permanently stop those files from being shared nationwide. Defense Distributed, a private defense firm, planned to make several printable gun designs available online for free on Wednesday. Lasnik's order will prevent those files from being shared for the time being. The lawsuit was filed against the U.S. Department of State, which reversed a regulation last week that originally banned such files from being shared. The agency previously believed that distributing those files could be counterproductive to national security and foreign policy interests, according to the lawsuit. That changed when the State Department entered into a settlement with Defense Distributed in June. The company had sued the department for its position on the dissemination of those files, calling it a violation of free speech protections. The federal agency decided in a settlement with Defense Distributed that it would allow temporary modification to the rule to allow those files to be shared. The states claim in their lawsuit that the federal agency violated the Administrative Procedure Act by not giving proper notice or explanation of its decision. The states also claim the action violates their right to enact their own gun laws, some of which would be more difficult to enforce with printable firearms, they said. The federal agency was required to give 30 days' notice to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Relations in the Senate, according to the lawsuit. Rep. Eliot Engel, D-New York, who represents parts of the Bronx and Westchester County, said in a press release two weeks ago that the House committee had not been given notice. He's the ranking Democrat on that committee. The states also argue that the State Department's action is illegal because it allows “any United States person” to print a 3-D gun using the files. That would allow guns to be printed by individuals who are not allowed to manufacture, possess, or sell a firearm, which would violate state and federal laws, according to the states. A third cause of action claims that the federal government has not explained why it chose to allow the files to be shared. The State Department has not released any reports or analyses on the issue, the states said, and they have not considered the threat to public safety and national security. The states also claim that allowing those files to be shared would contradict their own gun laws. New York has among the strictest gun laws in the country, for example. The state has outlawed semi-automatic weapons with certain features and also regulates the possession of firearms by mentally ill residents. The lawsuit argues the state's laws would essentially be nullified by allowing individuals to obtain weapons that contradict the state's laws with a 3-D printer. Defense Distributed, which is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, is being represented by Josh Blackman, an attorney from Houston. In a letter to Lasnik sent Tuesday morning, Blackman wrote that granting injunctive relief to the states by preventing the files from being shared would violate the free speech rights of every U.S. citizen. “Granting the proposed injunctive relief would not only silence the three named Defendants, but it would immediately censor over three hundred million Americans,” Blackman wrote. “Today, the validity of nationwide injunctions is subject to a robust debate. But never before has any court entertained a global injunction on the freedom of speech of all Americans.” Blackman also argued that the State Department was not required to give notice to Congress or an explanation of its decision because the settlement granted a unique license to Defense Distributed to share the files. The State Department, in a statement issued Tuesday, said it agreed to settle the matter in the interest of national security and foreign policy of the United States. It further said the U.S. Department of Justice had been consulted on the settlement. A State Department spokesman also stressed that its role in the matter was to regulate the export of firearms and related technical data, not to pursue a policy on domestic gun regulation. “Many anti-gun politicians and members of the media have wrongly claimed that 3-D printing technology will allow for the production and widespread proliferation of undetectable plastic firearms,” said Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action. “Federal law passed in 1988, crafted with the NRA's support, makes it unlawful to manufacture, import, sell, ship, deliver, possess, transfer, or receive an undetectable firearm.” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo also announced a cease and desist letter to Defense Distributed on Tuesday that would prevent internet users with an IP address from New York from accessing the company's files for 3-D printing guns. The temporary restraining order granted by Lasnik to the attorneys general nullified that request.