City Of Chicago Suing Glock For Selling Handguns That Are Easily Convertible Into “Machine Guns”

(PatriotPostNews.com) – Gun manufacturer Glock is facing a lawsuit launched by the city of Chicago, which accuses the company of selling pistols that run a high risk of being converted into automatic firearms, which are illegal.

The city argues that pistols produced by Glock can be easily transformed into “machine guns” by modifiers called “Glock switches.” This changes the semi-automatic guns into fully automatic weapons. According to city officials, law enforcement has gathered at crime scenes over a thousand Glock guns modified to be automatics since 2021.

“Glock switches” or auto sears can be easily installed with a simple screwdriver. The small pieces can be inexpensive, with a price tag as low as $20. But the impact of the small change is significant. The sears raise the rate at which a Glock gun can fire to roughly 1,200 rounds per minute. This is the same as and could be higher than the firing rate of automatic weapons prohibited by law.

The lawsuit was backed by Chicago’s Democratic mayor, Brandon Johnson, who emphasized in a statement that the city is facing “a deadly new frontier” in the already-prevalent gun violence it sees, thanks to the “increase” of the modified firearms in communities. The mayor further described the manufacturing of the easily adjusted guns as enabling “heinous acts” to become “even more deadly.”

Johnson added that the city is “doing everything” in its power to put a stop to the drastic amount of gun violence in Chicago and will “hold Glock accountable” for its manufacturing shortfalls. The lawsuit also accuses the company of intentionally avoiding responsibility and refusing to “take any meaningful action” to fix the issue.

Federal agencies have noted a 400% rise in the number of modified machine guns between 2020 and 2021, as well as a 570% rise in auto sales between 2017 and 2021, compared to the five years before.

In Chicago, modifying guns to make them automatic is a violation of a 2023 law signed by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, which includes gun manufacturers taking responsibility for businesses that pose a safety risk to the public.