Attorneys normal in Minnesota and New Jersey sued Glock on Thursday, accusing the corporate of constructing handguns which might be simply modified to fireplace as unlawful machine weapons by an affordable add-on referred to as a “Glock switch.”
The lawsuits mentioned that the $20 switches remodel Glock handguns into simply concealable weapons that may hearth 1,200 rounds per minute, recklessly endangering the general public.
The gun maker has recognized for many years that its weapons are uniquely receptive to the switches and has not taken steps to vary its design, in line with the lawsuits.
Glock didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Machine weapons, which federal regulation defines as weapons that may shoot greater than as soon as with a single set off pull, are strictly regulated below federal regulation.
The 2 lawsuits are the primary actions taken by a newly shaped partnership of Democratic attorneys normal from 15 states and the District of Columbia searching for to carry firearms firms accountable for gun violence.
The attorneys normal mentioned they intend to cut back gun violence by coordinating their enforcement of state civil legal responsibility and client safety legal guidelines.
Gun companies are broadly protected against legal responsibility by federal regulation, however gun management advocates have been probing methods to make use of state legal guidelines as a workaround.
The technique was most profitable in litigation towards Remington Arms, which agreed in 2022 to pay $73 million to households of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary College bloodbath.
Each lawsuits on Thursday accused Glock of making a public nuisance and of violating numerous product legal responsibility and client safety legal guidelines.
The lawsuits search courtroom orders requiring Glock to disgorge income and to pay restitution, though quantities weren’t specified.
The Minnesota case additionally sought an injunction directing Glock to design safer handguns, and New Jersey requested the courtroom to stop the corporate from distributing simply modified weapons within the state.
Glock was sued earlier this yr by town of Chicago, which mentioned its police recovered greater than 1,100 Glock pistols with the modification between 2021 and 2023.
Glock pistols are probably the most generally used gun in crimes within the metropolis, in line with the Chicago lawsuit. That case is ongoing in state courtroom.
In June, the US Supreme Court docket declared illegal a ban on “bump stocks” that allow semiautomatic weapons to fireplace quickly like machine weapons.
A number of authorized battles are underway testing the boundaries of gun restrictions after the Supreme Court docket’s 2022 choice increasing gun rights.
