SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio/ AP) — New Jersey is joining several other states in suing gunmaker Glock, claiming the company has failed to address concerns about add-ons that can easily turn handguns into fully automatic machine guns.
A dime-sized device called a switch can be easily installed into the back of a Glock pistol, allowing it to fire as many as 1,200 rounds per minute. New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said this is a product feature, not a bug, known far and wide for decades.
He and attorneys general from other states, including Minnesota, are seeking to hold the company accountable.
“The danger is clear, but Glock has failed to take any meaningful step to protect American lives,” Platkin said. “Machine gun conversion devices are illegal under federal law and under state law.”
The New Jersey suit, brought in state Superior Court in Essex County, alleges violations of the state’s public nuisance laws.
Platkin and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison also announced that top law enforcement officials in 14 states and the District of Columbia are forming a coalition to reduce gun violence by coordinating enforcement of states’ consumer protection laws.
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.”
Before speaking at a Boys & Girls Club in New Jersey’s largest city, Platkin’s office played a video of a law enforcement officer demonstrating how to use the Glock switch. The video shows an officer first firing the pistol without the switch, requiring a pause between shots. The officer then installs the switch and is able to fire multiple rounds without any pause.
Women wearing red Moms Demand Action T-shirts in the gymnasium hosting the attorney general let out a gasp.
“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.
A September report from the anti-violence organization Everytown for Gun Safety concluded that Glock pistols are a popular choice for gun crimes, in part because the switches enable easy conversions into fully automatic weapons.
Also known as “auto switches,” the devices, which are already illegal in New Jersey and some other states, can be bought for about $20 or 3D-printed, and are about the size of a small Lego brick. When added to a pistol, the weapon can be fired like a machine gun, which has been prohibited under federal law since the gangster era of Al Capone.
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 it makes and sells handguns in Europe that cannot accommodate such a switch.
New Jersey boasts some of the strongest gun laws and lowest gun violence rates, Platkin noted, so holding companies accountable for what he said are illegal business practices is a top priority.
“Glock’s owners sat in Austria, where they are based, and lined their pockets with products, paid for by American bloodshed,” he added.
Glock did not reply to KYW Newsradio’s request for comment.
Meanwhile, an industry trade group condemned the lawsuits as “lawfare” that abuses the judicial system and disregards federal law.
“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.”
In addition to New Jersey and Minnesota, the coalition includes California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.