What is a Glock switch?
Here’s what you need to know about illegal devices that make firearms more dangerous.
Watchit
- California has banned new sales of semi-automatic handguns that can be easily converted into fully automatic weapons.
- The law, Assembly Bill 1127, specifically targets handguns like Glocks that use a “cruciform trigger bar.”
- Lawmakers argue that manufacturers have failed to address design flaws that make it easy to make illegal modifications.
- Second Amendment supporters say the law is unconstitutional and plan to challenge it in court.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law banning the sale of the most popular type of handgun in the United States.
Assembly Bill 1127, authored by State Representative Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino) and State Representative Katherine Stefani (D-San Francisco), received the governor’s signature on Friday, October 10th.
The law prohibits new sales of “semi-automatic handguns that can easily be converted into fully automatic machine guns using a simple ‘switch,'” according to a statement from Gabriel’s office.
The targets include Glock handguns and similarly designed handguns that feature a “cross-shaped trigger bar,” which lawmakers say makes it easier to fire fully automatically.
What does the new law prohibit?
The law goes into effect on January 1 and prohibits gun dealers from selling Glock-style handguns.
It also includes exemptions for law enforcement officers, and private sales of weapons will remain legal.
Dealers will be allowed to sell Glock-style guns received before January 1st.
Why are Glocks banned in California?
The bill’s authors argue that while it has been known for decades that Glock handguns can be easily converted into machine guns, gun manufacturers have failed to address this issue.
“While most handgun designs cannot be modified in this way, the select few manufacturers that can modify their guns refuse to adjust their designs to prevent the modification,” a statement from Gabirel’s office said.
“As parents and legislators, we cannot stand by while our schools and communities are threatened by illegal machine guns,” he said. “This common sense legislation will ensure that the firearms industry is held accountable and that we do everything we can to protect our communities from mass shootings.”
Stephanie agreed.
“What do you want to call it? Reckless greed on the part of gun manufacturers who know their products can be turned into illegal machine guns,” she says. “AB 1127 says enough is enough. If these companies don’t redesign their weapons to protect our communities, California will hold them accountable.”
Critics slam California’s Glock ban
Second Amendment advocates said they plan to challenge AB 1127 in court.
“Governor Newsom has proven once again that California’s political class will stop at nothing to attack peaceful people and their rights,” the Firearms Policy Coalition said in a statement. “AB 1127 is an unconstitutional and malicious attempt to outlaw some of the most common firearms in the United States.”
“But no tyrant, no politician, no nation can ever be allowed to extinguish the rights of a free people. It cannot be allowed now and it will never be allowed,” the statement said.
“FPC and our legal team have been preparing to challenge AB 1127 for several months,” the statement said. “We and our allies will act swiftly to defeat this illegal and immoral ban in federal court. The Constitution, not Gavin Newsom, defines the limits of government power, and we will make sure he learns that lesson again.”
The full text of AB 1127 is available online at https://legiscan.com.
