NEWARK, N.J. — New Jersey and Minnesota have initiated legal action against Glock, urging the firearm manufacturer to halt sales of guns that can be modified with small switches to fire up to 1,200 rounds per minute.
Attorney General Matt Platkin from New Jersey and Attorney General Keith Ellison from Minnesota unveiled that law enforcement leaders from 14 states, along with the District of Columbia, are collaborating in a coalition aimed at minimizing gun violence through coordinated enforcement of consumer protection laws.
The actions taken by these predominantly Democrat-led states represent a proactive response to the anticipated administration of President Donald Trump, which Platkin criticized for frequently favoring the gun industry.
While addressing a Boys & Girls Club in New Jersey’s largest city, Platkin’s office showcased a video where a law enforcement officer illustrated the usage of the Glock switch. The demonstration displayed the officer firing a pistol without the switch, leading to pauses between shots, and then utilizing the switch to achieve rapid-fire capability without interruption.
Members of the Moms Demand Action group, identifiable by their red T-shirts, anxiously reacted to the demonstration.
“For decades, Glock has deliberately sold firearms that can be transformed into military-grade machine guns within minutes by anyone equipped with a screwdriver and access to a YouTube video,” stated Platkin.
Requests for comments sent to Glock by email were not returned. The company’s United States subsidiary, located in Smyrna, Georgia, has previously refrained from commenting on lawsuits related to these switches. Meanwhile, a trade association for the industry criticized the lawsuits, describing them as misuse of the legal system that violates federal law.
“This is a clear misuse of the courts aimed at bypassing the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA),” asserted Lawrence Keane, senior vice president and general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. “The attorneys general involved are pursuing unfounded claims which squander taxpayer resources to promote an unconstitutional agenda around gun control.”
A recent report by the anti-violence group Everytown for Gun Safety highlighted that Glock pistols are frequently involved in gun-related crimes, especially because the switches facilitate easy conversions into automatic weapons.
Authorities are investigating whether the individuals responsible for a recent shooting in Birmingham, Alabama, that left four dead and 17 injured were employing such conversion devices for enhanced firepower, as roughly 100 shell casings were recovered from the scene.
Glock is not the sole manufacturer whose firearms can be modified with these so-called “Glock switches,” but they are deemed among the most straightforward to alter. Platkin emphasized that Glock continues to profit from these adaptable firearms in the U.S. while producing handguns in Europe that cannot accommodate such modifications.
These devices, often referred to as “auto switches,” are illegal in New Jersey and several other states. Priced around $20 or obtainable through 3D printing, they are about the size of a small Lego brick. Once attached to a pistol, the firearm can function like a machine gun, a capability that has been outlawed federally since the days of Al Capone’s crime era.
Minnesota Attorney General Ellison stated in a news conference in St. Paul that Glock has been aware of the ease with which its firearms can be converted into fully automatic weapons for decades. He highlighted that approximately two-thirds of handguns sold in the U.S. are Glocks.
“Glock has been aware of this issue for years but has chosen inaction. A modification in design could prevent these handguns from being illegally converted into automatic weapons, but Glock has ignored the situation, leading to an increasing death toll,” Ellison remarked.
The Minnesota lawsuit, submitted in Hennepin County District Court, asserts that Glock has violated consumer protection laws, engaged in deceptive practices, and failed in terms of product liability, while the New Jersey case filed in Essex County Superior Court claims breaches of public nuisance laws.
Additionally, Ellison accused Glock of marketing its fully automatic handguns to civilians who cannot legally own them, depicting them as exciting and fun while knowing that converting their semi-automatic models is relatively easy for the public.
The coalition formed by New Jersey and Minnesota includes states such as California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont, highlighting a unified effort to address gun violence issues.
