New Jersey, Minnesota sue Glock over switch that allows pistols to fire like machine gun
New Jersey and Minnesota filed a lawsuit against Glock on Friday, asking the gunmaker not to sell firearms that could be modified with switches as small as a dime to fire 1,200 rounds per minute.
New Jersey Attorney-General Matt Platkin, and Minnesota Attorney-General Keith Ellison announced the formation of a coalition of top law enforcement officials from 14 states as well as the District of Columbia to reduce gun violence through the coordination of enforcement of consumer protection laws.
The majority of the states are led by Democrats. This is an early response to President-elect Donald Trump’s second administration. Platkin, a Democrat said that this administration “routinely side with the gun industry.”
Platkin’s Office played a video before Platkin spoke at a Boys & Girls Club located in the largest city of New Jersey. The video showed a police officer demonstrating how he uses a Glock switch. The video shows a police officer firing a pistol without putting on the switch. This requires pauses between shots. After installing the switch, the officer is able fire multiple shots without a pause.
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In the gymnasium where the attorney general was being hosted, women wearing red Moms Demand Action t-shirts let out a gasp.
Platkin stated that “for decades, Glock sold weapons which anyone with a screwdriver could convert to a military grade machine gun within minutes.”
The Associated Press emailed Glock requesting a comment. The Austrian firm’s U.S.-based subsidiary in Smyrna (Georgia) has not responded to prior AP requests regarding lawsuits involving switches. A trade group for the industry condemned the lawsuits, calling them “lawfare,” which abuses the court system and ignores federal law.
Lawrence Keane said in a press release that this was a clear abuse of courts in an attempt to circumvent Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. Attorneys General Platkin, Ellison and the other colluding state are attempting, with the help of the other states, to expand frivolous claims which have no legal basis and to abuse taxpayer dollars in order to promote an unconstitutional agenda on gun control.
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Everytown for Gun Safety, a non-violence group, released a report in September that concluded Glock pistols were favored by gun criminals because of the switch’s ability to convert them into fully automatic weapons.
The authorities believe that the shooters in Birmingham, Alabama in September who killed four and injured seventeen others used conversion devices to increase their weapons’ power. Around 100 shell casings have been recovered from the scene.
Glock is not the only manufacturer whose guns can be converted with “Glock switches,” yet critics claim that Glock’s weapons are the easiest to convert. Platkin claimed that Glock profits by selling the adaptable versions in U.S. market, while they manufacture and sell handguns which cannot be fitted with such a switch in Europe.
The devices are also known as “auto switch” and can be purchased for $20 or printed in 3D. They are roughly the size of a Lego brick and cost about $20. The weapon, when added to a handgun, can be fired as a machine gun. This has been illegal under federal law ever since Al Capone’s gangster days.
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Speaking at a press conference in St. Paul on Thursday, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said that Glock knew for a long time that their guns could be converted easily and illegally to fire fully automatic. He stated that two out of three handguns in the U.S. are Glocks.
“Glock knew about this problem since decades but did nothing.” A design change could stop these handguns being converted into illegal automatic guns. Glock, however, has chosen to ignore the problem. Ellison stated that the death toll is continuing to increase.
The Minnesota lawsuit filed in Hennepin County District Court alleges violations against Minnesota laws regarding consumer fraud, deceptive business practices, false advertisement, public nuisances, negligence, and product liability. The New Jersey lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of Essex County in New Jersey, alleges violations to state laws against public nuisance.
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Ellison also claimed that Glock advertised its fully automatic handguns as cool and fun to civilians, who are not legally allowed to own them. They were portrayed as being very simple for the public to convert.
The coalition also includes California, Connecticut, Delaware the District of Columbia Hawaii, Maine, Maryland Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada Oregon Rhode Island and Vermont.
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