Fourteen state attorneys general and the District of Columbia have filed lawsuits against Glock, one of the most popular gunmakers in the world, saying the company’s handguns can be easily modified into concealable weapons that can fire 1,200 rounds per minute, recklessly endangering the public, reports WNYT.
New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in announcing the suit said top law enforcement officials in those states and D.C. are forming a coalition to reduce gun violence by coordinating enforcement of the states’ consumer protection laws.
Glock isn’t the only gunmaker whose weapons can be adapted with so-called “Glock switches,” but critics say Glock’s guns are among the easiest to convert. Platkin said Glock is profiting by continuing to sell the adaptable version in U.S. markets, even as they make and sell handguns in Europe that cannot accommodate such a switch.
An industry trade group condemned the lawsuits.
“This is clearly an abuse of the courts to attempt to circumvent the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA),” Lawrence Keane, senior vice president and general counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said in a statement. “Attorneys General Platkin and Ellison, along with the other colluding states, are attempting to extend the frivolous claims that have no foundation in law and abuse taxpayer dollars to advance an unconstitutional gun control agenda.”
The moves by mostly Democrat-led states amount to early pushback against President-elect Donald Trump’s second administration, which Platkin, a Democrat, said “routinely sides with the gun industry.”
“For decades, Glock has knowingly sold weapons that anyone with a screwdriver and a YouTube video can convert into a military-grade machine gun in a matter of minutes,” Platkin said at a press conference.
Glock is an Austrian company, and its U.S. business is based in Smyrna, Ga.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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