NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey and Minnesota sued Glock final Thursday, calling on the gunmaker to cease promoting firearms that may be tailored with dime-sized switches to fireplace as much as 1,200 rounds a minute.
New Jersey Lawyer Normal Matt Platkin and Minnesota Lawyer Normal Keith Ellison additionally introduced that prime legislation enforcement officers in 14 states and the District of Columbia are forming a coalition to cut back gun violence by coordinating enforcement of the states’ shopper safety legal guidelines.
The strikes by largely Democrat-led states quantity to early pushback in opposition to President-elect Donald Trump’s second administration, which Platkin, a Democrat, stated “routinely sides with the gun trade.”
Earlier than talking at a Boys & Ladies Membership in New Jersey’s largest metropolis, Platkin’s workplace performed a video of a legislation enforcement officer demonstrating the right way to use the Glock swap. The video reveals an officer first firing the pistol with out the swap, requiring a pause between photographs. The officer then installs the swap and is ready to hearth a number of rounds with none pause.
Girls carrying pink Mothers Demand Motion T-shirts within the gymnasium internet hosting the lawyer common let loose a pant.
“For many years, Glock has knowingly offered weapons that anybody with a screwdriver and a YouTube video can convert right into a military-grade machine gun in a matter of minutes,” Platkin stated.
The Related Press emailed Glock requesting remark. The Austrian firm’s U.S. subsidiary based mostly in Smyrna, Georgia, has not responded to earlier AP requests for touch upon lawsuits involving the switches. However an trade commerce group condemned the lawsuits as “lawfare” that abuses the judicial system and disregards federal legislation.
“That is clearly an abuse of the courts to try to bypass the Safety of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA),” Lawrence Keane, senior vice chairman and common counsel of the Nationwide Capturing Sports activities Basis, stated in an announcement. “Attorneys Normal Platkin and Ellison, together with the opposite colluding states, try to increase the frivolous claims that haven’t any basis in legislation and abuse taxpayer {dollars} to advance an unconstitutional gun management agenda.”
A September report from the anti-violence group Everytown for Gun Security concluded that Glock pistols are a preferred alternative for gun crimes, partly as a result of the switches allow straightforward conversions into totally automated weapons.
Authorities consider shooters who killed four people and injured 17 others in Birmingham, Alabama, in September had been utilizing conversion gadgets to make their weapons extra highly effective. About 100 shell casings had been recovered from that scene.
Glock isn’t the one gunmaker whose weapons will be tailored with so-called “Glock switches,” however critics say Glock’s weapons are among the many best to transform. Platkin stated Glock is profiting by persevering with to promote the adaptable model in U.S. markets, whilst they make and promote handguns in Europe that can’t accommodate such a swap.
Also called “auto switches,” the gadgets, that are already unlawful in New Jersey and some other states, will be purchased for about $20 or 3D-printed, and are in regards to the dimension of a small Lego brick. When added to a pistol, the weapon will be fired like a machine gun, which has been prohibited under federal law since the gangster era of Al Capone.
Minnesota Lawyer Normal Keith Ellison, talking at a information convention in St. Paul, stated Glock has lengthy recognized that its weapons will be simply and illegally transformed to completely automated hearth. He stated two of each three handguns offered within the U.S. is a Glock.
“Glock has recognized about this downside for many years and has executed nothing. A change of design may forestall these handguns from being become unlawful automated weapons. However Glock has turned a blind eye. And many times, the loss of life toll continues to rise,” Ellison stated.
The Minnesota lawsuit, filed in Hennepin County District Courtroom, alleges violations of Minnesota legal guidelines in opposition to shopper fraud, misleading commerce practices, false promoting, public nuisance, negligence and product legal responsibility. The New Jersey go well with, introduced in state Superior Courtroom in Essex County, alleges violations of the state’s public nuisance laws.
Ellison additionally alleged that Glock advertises its totally automated handguns to civilians who can’t legally personal them, depicting them as enjoyable and funky, realizing that it’s very straightforward for members of the general public to transform its semi-automatic handguns.
Along with New Jersey and Minnesota, the coalition consists of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
Picture: New Jersey Lawyer Normal Matt Platkin’s workplace shows a photograph of a so-called Glock swap in Newark, N.J. on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, (AP Picture/Mike Catalini)
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