Glock Inc. Sued by the City
This particular gun manufacturer is now facing controversy. Allegedly, the city accuses the company of the increase of the use of illegal machine guns. With this increase of gun accessibility, it also increases the rates of gun violence in the communities around the Chicagoland area. Therefore, now the city of Chicago sues Glock Inc. for facilitating gun “switches.” They want the company to take accountability and to actually do something about this problem. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office also spoke up on this lawsuit about this situation, they said the following, “first-of-its-kind lawsuit.”
This lawsuit was filed on Tuesday, March 19, in Cook County Circuit Court. Now, in terms of what the lawsuit argues is that, “Glock Inc. should stop selling its semi-automatic pistols that can easily be modified to achieve fully automatic fire by installing what’s known as an auto sear or ‘Glock switch’ on the firearm.” As for the switch aspect of these guns issues, the company itself does not manufacture it per say. However, according to the lawsuit, “the company hasn’t done anything to prevent the use of them on its guns.” Meaning that they do not create the switches. But they still sell the guns being able to easily install them, and they are not considering how this is creating a problem for society.
Individuals Susceptible to Easily Access this Gun Problem
Furthermore, Chicago sues Glock Inc. for facilitating gun “switches” because as mentioned before this issue can definitely increase crime rates in many communities. Also because more people can be exposed to having access to these illegal guns that are more “convenient.” Moreover, according to the lawsuit, “Due to the susceptibility of Glock pistols to modification and Glock’s refusal to correct the problem, anyone with $20 [to] $25 to spare and a desire to circumvent long-standing federal and state prohibitions on possessing fully automatic machine guns. They can do so by buying an auto sear and affixing it to a Glock pistol.”
Meaning that it’s very important for Chicago to sue Glock Inc. for facilitating gun “switches” because now with just a few dollars people can now go a long way with owning an illegal Glock pistol. Plus having those features of switch in the guns. This fact is shocking and unbelievable because this shows that now people don’t even need to go through all the legal aspects to own a gun and especially these guns that Glock Inc. is now providing.
“Switch” Is Now Easier to Install, This is a Problem for the Safety of Chicago
Chicago also sues Glock Inc. for facilitating gun “switches” for a really strong reason. The reason being that now this is becoming easier for individuals and especially for criminals to access any gun. All of this situation is becoming very frightening. It is a very scary issue because it jeopardizes the safety of society. Now, a Glock switch can be simply bought online and install it right away.
The switch can also incredibly even be just built through 3D printers and also simply be installed with a screwdriver, using only tutorials to make it come together. This is something that the lawsuit emphasizes, and that needs to be taken very seriously. Hence, why now Chicago sues Glock Inc. for facilitating gun “switches.” Also for making it “easier” for people to obtain one and build it themselves.
Statistics of Modified Glock Guns Recovered
Now, regarding how many Glock Inc. guns have been recovered by the Chicago Police Department, they have recovered an astonishing amount of 1,100 guns in total. This was only the amount recovered between the years 2021 and 2023. It has also been expressed that with this facilitation in guns, it definitely, also increases the amount of bullets that are fired at a time.
Chicago sues Glock Inc. for facilitating gun “switches” also because these types, of modified guns, once they have a switch on, it can turn from a pistol to a machine gun is a second. Meaning that now they can go from being a semi-automatic gun to a fully automatic gun. In terms of numbers, it can go from one bullet per trigger pull to up to 1,200 rounds per minute.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Statements
Mayor Johnson entirely supports the fact that now Chicago sues Glock Inc. for facilitating gun “switches.” Essentially, he supports it for the safety and wellbeing of the communities. In a statement he said the following, “Selling firearms that can so easily be converted into automatic weapons makes heinous acts even more deadly. So we are doing everything we can in collaboration with others committed to ending gun violence to hold Glock accountable for putting profits over public safety.” This statement demonstrates that this problem is now being seriously considered. They are also doing everything possible to make the company take accountability.
There is already a long record history of gun shootings all across Chicago. Now with this issue, it can just make it even worse for all residents. In fact, the National Firearms Act. is a law that has been established since 1934, in regards to firearms. This particular law expresses and emphasizes that the people that can own a fully automatic machine gun can only obtain it, only if they qualify for it. This being said, those individuals have to also own a special federal license for it. This is also why now, Chicago sues Glock Inc. for facilitating gun “switches” because with this, the wellbeing of the community will be ensured.
Written by Jeanette Sanchez
Sources:
Block Club Chicago: Chicago Sues Glock Over “Switches” That Turn Pistols Into Illegal Machine Guns
FOX 32 Chicago: Chicago Sues Glock, blaming gun manufacturer for increase of illegal machine guns
FOX BUSINESS: City of Chicago Sues Glock Inc. over “facilitating” illegal gun conversions
ABC 7: Chicago Sues Glock, alleging company facilitates proliferation of machine guns in city
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Inset Image Courtesy of James Song Flickr Page-Creative Commons License
