California’s new law targets Glocks, which critics say can be easily converted into machine guns. Other states are also struggling with this problem.
ATF adjusting 3D printed machine gun conversion device
The ATF is concerned about the proliferation of 3D-printed “machine gun conversion devices” and has announced plans to restrict them.
A new law passed in California would limit the sale of a popular type of handgun that critics have long said is too easy to convert into a machine gun.
The law, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 10, bans the retail sale of semi-automatic handguns that can be easily modified using a category of tools commonly known as “Glock switches,” machine gun conversion devices that jam the gun’s trigger device and allow it to fire continuously while the trigger is pressed.
The law was enacted after years of criticism and lawsuits targeting Glock, which continues to make guns compatible with the Switch. The device allows the pistol to fire up to 1,200 rounds per minute, according to gun control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety.
For example, last year’s shooting in Birmingham, Alabama, which left four people dead and more than a dozen injured, authorities believe used a gun with a modified Glock switch.
The move in California comes as a number of Democratic-led states are seeking their own solutions to the problem of illegal machine gun converters, turning to lawsuits and considering their own countermeasures against Glock while the company has not taken steps to stop the converters, said Jennifer Dineen, a University of Connecticut professor and member of the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium at the Rockefeller Institute of Government.
“California is the first time we’ve had success here,” Dineen said. “The state is taking action even though the manufacturers are not taking action.”
Although the law significantly tightens enforcement of modified semi-automatic handguns, California does not completely ban Glocks from the state, but instead focuses on making them harder to obtain.
“No one is taking away anyone’s Glock. No one is removing guns that are already there,” Dineen added.
What does the new law say?
The law, Assembly Bill 1127, targets Glock handguns and similar handguns that use a “cruciform trigger bar.” The report notes that the sale of machine guns is already prohibited, and expands the definition of machine gun under state law to include handguns that can easily be modified to fire automatically.
Firearms dealers will be prohibited from selling guns starting in 2026. Dealers will still be allowed to sell guns they owned before the law took effect, but there are exceptions for law enforcement and private sales.
It does not affect the ownership of handguns, only the sale of them.
Why ban the sale of Glock handguns?
This small converter part is not affiliated with or sold by Glock, but it is a “do-it-yourself” hack that is causing problems in the United States. Illegal “autoshears” can be easily and cheaply made using 3D printers, and can instantly turn a handgun into an illegal machine gun.
Federal authorities say they are the most commonly seized weapon in gun-trafficking cases and are commonly used by young people. From 2017 to 2021, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives seized 5,454 machine gun conversion devices, including Glock switches. This is a 570% increase over the previous five years, when the agency recalled 814 parts.
The bill states that a gun can be “easily converted into a machine gun by hand or by the use of common household tools by the installation or attachment of a pistol converter…any device or instrument that, when installed or attached to the rear of the slide of a semi-automatic pistol, substitutes for the backplate and interferes with the trigger mechanism, thereby enabling the pistol to fire multiple shots automatically by the single function of the trigger.”
“Now people can (3D) print things and get things from the internet,” Dineen said. “The ability to do DIY modifications is better than it was 10 years ago.”
Even guns that are completely legally purchased and compliant can be quickly turned into illegal weapons, she said.
NRA immediately challenges new law in court
The National Rifle Association announced on October 13 that the Firearms Policy Coalition, Second Amendment Foundation, Poway Weapons and Gear, and two members of the NRA would join in filing a lawsuit challenging the new law. The lawsuit claims the law violates the Second Amendment, citing previous Supreme Court decisions striking down handgun bans.
“California’s ban on many of America’s most popular handguns clearly contradicts court precedent,” the NRA’s Legislative Action Institute said in a statement.
But Dineen said that argument could be difficult to prove because the new law does not ban all firearms, or even all handguns. It only prohibits the sale of handguns of certain types and designs, not their ownership.
A coalition of states also sued Glock.
Dineen said manufacturers are ignoring growing calls to change the design of Glock handguns to make it harder to “switch” to a machine gun. As a result, countries are beginning to take matters into their own hands.
“Gun violence is an epidemic and we cannot afford to turn a blind eye as manufacturers turn firearms into illegal machine guns,” said California Congresswoman Katherine Stefani (D).
Dineen said that by banning the sale of handguns similar to the Glock, California, which ranks third among states for gun sales in 2023 behind Texas and Florida, could put significant financial pressure on Glock to pursue these reforms.
The pressure is also coming in the form of lawsuits against Glock. States including New Jersey, Minnesota and Maryland, and cities including Baltimore, Chicago and Portland have filed lawsuits against the company in recent years, accusing the company of allowing the proliferation of machine guns by promoting the sale of easily modified guns, according to reports.
Some of the lawsuits allege that Glock has known for years that its weapons could easily be converted into machine guns and did nothing about it.
Glock did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the California law or the lawsuit’s claims against it.
Other states, including New York and Illinois, are also considering legislation that would ban the sale of Glocks and similar handguns.
Glock switches are already prohibited under specific laws in at least 28 states, including California, according to a tally by Everytown for Gun Safety.
