Lawsuits allege company leaders have long been aware that certain design features of the weapon can easily be modified into a machine gun.
Minnesota and New Jersey have filed lawsuits against Glock, a well-known manufacturer of 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistols, alleging that the company has not taken necessary steps to prevent the easy conversion of its pistols into illegal machine guns. Criminals, gang members, and teenagers have been modifying Glock handguns with plastic blocks known as switches or auto sears, which can transform the semiautomatic pistols into automatic weapons capable of firing multiple bullets with a single trigger pull.
The use of these switches has contributed to a rise in shootings and murders, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, posing a significant threat to law enforcement officers and innocent bystanders. The lawsuits, brought in collaboration with the gun control group Giffords, accuse Glock of being aware of the design flaws that make its pistols susceptible to conversion into machine guns. Despite this knowledge, the company has allegedly ignored requests from law enforcement to enhance the gun’s security features, instead promoting it as customizable.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison stated in the lawsuit filed in Minneapolis that Glock is aware of the ease with which its semiautomatic handguns can be illegally converted into fully automatic machine guns using Glock switches, emphasizing the serious public safety risk posed by such firearms. The legal action is part of a broader effort by Democratic attorneys general and gun control advocates to hold manufacturers accountable for the misuse of their products.
Source: The NY Times
