Chicago officials are suing Glock Inc. over the “Glock switch,” a mechanism that converts pistols into illegal machine guns capable of firing up to 1,200 rounds per minute.
According to legal documents obtained by Reuters, the 41-page complaint reveals that Chicago police have “recovered over 1,100 Glocks that have been converted into illegal machine guns in the last two years alone in connection with a wide variety of crimes.”
The “switches,” or “auto sears,” often referenced in rap lyrics, are roughly the size of a quarter and can be illegally acquired for about $20 or produced with a 3D printer.
Officials are accusing Glock of knowing about the “switch” issue for years but refusing to modify its guns to make them less prone to easy alteration, alleging the company prioritizes “profits over public safety.”
“… Anyone with $20–$25 to spare and a desire to circumvent long-standing federal and state prohibitions on possessing fully automatic machine guns can do so by buying an auto sear and affixing it to a Glock pistol,” the lawsuit read. “The task can be accomplished with a common household tool, like a screwdriver, and it typically takes less than five minutes with instructions readily available online.”
“While Chicago has long struggled with an epidemic of gun violence, it is unquestionable that the ease of modification of Glocks and the resulting prevalence of Modified Glocks have made the situation worse,” the lawsuit continued. “Criminals armed with Modified Glocks are emboldened because of their military-grade firepower, and they kill and injure more people, increasing the terror felt by ordinary Chicagoans. According to one ATF agent, the use of guns equipped with auto sears is ‘one of the scariest things’ the agency has dealt with in decades.”
According to reports, the city aims to seek monetary damages and a court order to halt Glock handgun sales to Illinois residents.
This will be the first suit to use the state’s 2023 Firearms Industry Responsibility Act, which holds gun companies accountable for “knowingly creat[ing], maintain[ing] or contribut[ing] to a condition in Illinois that endangers the safety or health of the public.”
