The attorneys general of Minnesota and New Jersey on Thursday accused Glock of producing handguns that can be easily modified to fire as illegal machine guns through an inexpensive add-on known as a “Glock switch.” I filed a complaint.
The $20 switch turns a Glock handgun into an easily concealed weapon capable of firing 1,200 rounds per minute, recklessly endangering the public, according to the complaint.
According to the complaint, the gun manufacturer has known for decades that its weapons were uniquely susceptible to switching and took no steps to change its design.
Glock did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Federal law defines machine guns as “guns that can fire multiple times with a single pull of the trigger,'' and they are strictly regulated by federal law.
These two lawsuits are the first actions taken by a newly formed partnership between Democratic attorneys general from 15 states and the District of Columbia to hold gun companies accountable for gun violence.
The attorney general said he would reduce gun violence by coordinating enforcement of state civil liability and consumer protection laws.
Firearms businesses are broadly protected from liability by federal law, but gun control advocates have sought ways to use state laws as a workaround.
The most successful example of this strategy was the lawsuit against Remington Arms, which agreed in 2022 to pay $73 million to the families of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.
Both lawsuits Thursday accuse Glock of creating a public nuisance and violating various product liability and consumer protection laws.
The lawsuit seeks a court order requiring Glock to forfeit profits and pay damages, an undisclosed amount.
The Minnesota lawsuit also sought an injunction directing Glock to design safer handguns, and New Jersey asked the court to prevent the company from distributing easily modified guns in the state. .
Glock was sued earlier this year by the city of Chicago, which said police recovered more than 1,100 modified Glock pistols between 2021 and 2023.
The Chicago lawsuit says Glock pistols are the most commonly used guns in crimes in the city. That case is ongoing in state court.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court declared illegal the ban on “bump stocks,” which allow semiautomatic rifles to fire at high speeds like machine guns.
In the wake of the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling expanding gun rights, several legal battles are underway that will test the limits of gun control.
