In a controversial move, the attorneys general of New Jersey and Minnesota filed lawsuits on December 12 against Glock, accusing the gun manufacturer of knowingly producing pistols that can be easily modified into illegal machine guns using inexpensive conversion devices known as “Glock switches.” We’ve all seen this movie before!
The lawsuits claim these switches, which can cost as little as $20 or be fabricated using a 3D printer, enable Glock handguns to fire up to 1,200 rounds per minute with a single trigger pull, according to Reuters. The New Jersey Attorney General’s office alleges that Glock has been aware of this issue since the 1980s but has failed to make design modifications to prevent such conversions.
In a press release, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin emphasized the public safety threat posed by these modified firearms.
“With this lawsuit, we are putting the homemade machine gun industry out of business,” Platkin said in a press release, accusing Glock of prioritizing profits over public safety. Platkin’s lawsuit, filed in the New Jersey Superior Court’s Chancery Division, seeks to halt the sale of these handguns to civilians in the state and demands restitution for the alleged harm caused.
Similarly, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a separate lawsuit, citing incidents where converted Glock handguns have been used in violent crimes in his state. One notable case is the 2021 Minneapolis nightclub shooting that resulted in two deaths, including a college student, Charlie Johnson, who was killed hours before his graduation ceremony. Ellison argues that Glock’s failure to address these risks constitutes negligence and violates Minnesota’s consumer protection laws.
“Glock’s actions, and their inaction, violate Minnesota law and put kids, communities, and law enforcement in danger. This has to stop,” Ellison said in a statement, calling for design changes to prevent such conversions and for the return of profits Glock allegedly earned through these sales.
Background and Broader Implications
Glock, known for producing one of the most trusted and reliable handguns favored by law enforcement agencies worldwide, has faced mounting legal challenges. Earlier this year, the City of Chicago filed a similar lawsuit, alleging that Glock’s design facilitated illegal conversions into machine guns. Glock’s reputation for reliability and simplicity is often cited as a selling point, with many gun enthusiasts, concealed carry practitioners and law enforcement agencies relying on its products. However, these lawsuits highlight concerns about the unintended consequences of the firearm’s design, while neglecting the obvious criminality of the people who misuse the firearms to do harm to others.
The lawsuits from New Jersey and Minnesota are part of a broader push by a coalition of Democratic attorneys general from 15 states and the District of Columbia to hold gun manufacturers accountable. This legal strategy mirrors actions taken against other manufacturers, such as the $73 million settlement reached with Remington Arms following the Sandy Hook shooting, according to Reuters. It’s a clear admission by these state’s that they are either unable or unwilling to combat crime at the root cause level, so instead, will go after legally operating companies in a blatant money-grab to fill their state’s coffers.
Industry Pushback
The NSSF and other 2A organizations have criticized these lawsuits as baseless, noting that Glock does not manufacture or sell the conversion devices. Glock has not yet issued a public statement on the lawsuits but has previously denied responsibility for modifications made to its firearms by third parties, Reuters reports.
Platkin’s office shared a video in their press release of an ATF demonstration of a switch in use on a Glock pistol:
I’d like to see a setup that let you fire 1200 rounds through a Glock in one minute.
Wowzer. That beast would be hot enough to flash burn your hands.
Glock should file a lawsuit for the tarnished reputation they have due to the cities not prosecuting criminals for violent crime.
Amen to that.
Which came waaaay first? The giggle switch or Glocks? Another frivolous lawsuit concocted by Gun Control an Agenda History Clearly Confirms is Rooted in Racism and Genocide.
Anti-Gun Lawfare: Blue State AGs Sue GLOCK Over Illegal Conversion Switches.
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We Can’t Stop Crime, So We’ll Go After Glock
They stop what they want to stop. They go after what they want to go after. Just like immigration, debt, inflation, etc. the results of actions are known and intentional.
They could choose to spend billions on medical treatments for their own population and instead they choose to spend billions to prolong stalemate wars killing hundreds of thousands.
They could choose to rebuild states devastated by natural disasters and instead they choose to prop up terrorist regimes in other nations.
They could choose to support American industry and they choose to send our money to international corporations profiting from slave labor in the third world.
Every day is a clean slate and we all get to choose who we want to be with every option we are presented and our government has consistently chosen to be malicious, evil and cruel to its own people for generations occasionally tossing out some scraps that only serve to worsen the situation by stringing along a dependent population that has been psychologically beaten down into believing there is no other way.
Amen! All we need is another 5% of the population to understand that to really be able to turn the corner.
John Browning invented the first gas operated machine gun by converting a Winchester 1873 lever action with a flapper on the end and a linkage rod. During WWII the Charlton Automatic Rifle was a Lee Enfield bolt action rifle converted to a machine gun. Fact is any modern firearm can be converted to a machine gun just like any glass bottle can be converted to a destructive device with gas and a rag.
The Charlton required rather extensive modifications to the bolt action lee enfield. A better analogy is the conversion of an M16 to full auto with a flapper and an extra hole in the lower receiver. A couple of guys printing the needed parts on a credit card piece of aluminum were recently convicted for making machine gun parts and selling them.
Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. nuff said.
They are all going after an exception to that law, which excludes products liability and perhaps violations of consumer protection laws (as was alleged in the Remington case).
Piling on, just as it was before the PLCAA was enacted to stop such suits. They claim the Glock can be modified to prevent installation of a Glock switch…I think they will have to prove not only that that can be done, but that the resulting modification is safe. I don’t think that they can cast that burden on Glock, which has already stated that it cannot be done.