Precedent-setting lawsuit against Glock seeks gun industry accountability

A pair of states are hoping to ship a message to gun producer Glock with a lawsuit filed Dec. 12. The case, introduced by the attorneys normal of Minnesota and New Jersey, alleges that the Austrian firearms maker knowingly sells a well-liked handgun that may simply be transformed right into a machine gun.

That is hardly the primary case towards a serious gun producer; Mexico is at present suing American gunmakers in a bid to cease the alleged trafficking of weapons contributing to cartel violence, a case that’s set to be heard by the Supreme Court docket. However this marks one of the crucial high-profile instances but by American states towards a outstanding gunmaker. New Jersey and Minnesota have a big consortium of different states behind them, which might set a precedent for future authorized proceedings.

What’s the crux of the lawsuit?

The go well with considerations Glock’s 9mm handgun, which may be altered from a semi-automatic weapon to a completely computerized machine gun utilizing a plastic gadget known as a Glock change. This change “may be bought for underneath $20 or created on a 3D printer,” and “permits pistols to fireplace as much as 1,200 rounds per minute — a price as quick as or sooner than many totally computerized firearms and machine weapons utilized by the USA army — with a single set off pull,” New Jersey Lawyer Common Matthew Platkin stated in a press launch. Those that make these switches “typically print Glock logos on their merchandise, which leads customers to imagine they’re legit,” Newsweek stated.

The lawsuit alleges that Glock has lengthy been conscious that its handguns may be transformed, however “advantages from elevated gross sales” as a result of this conversion “makes them extra enticing to sure patrons, notably those that intend to make use of the machine weapons for prison actions,” stated Platkin. Because of this, Glock has been reluctant to alter the design of its 9mm handgun, the lawsuit alleges, even because the “proliferation of switches” led to a “rise in shootings and murders throughout the coronavirus pandemic,” stated The New York Instances.

Glock shouldn’t be the one producer whose weapons may be made computerized with black market units. However “critics say Glock’s weapons are among the many best to transform,” stated The Related Press. New Jersey and Minnesota need gross sales of the gun suspended in addition to restitution for the general public. Glock has not publicly responded to the lawsuit.

What is the larger image?

Whereas the lawsuit was solely introduced by New Jersey and Minnesota, the “bigger coalition that can be working collectively consists of 16 states in whole,” the New Jersey Lawyer Common’s Workplace stated to Newsweek. These states are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont, in addition to Washington, D.C.

These states can be working collectively to coach the general public on gun security, and one other lawsuit towards Glock was introduced by Illinois earlier this yr. If these authorized proceedings are profitable, it might set a precedent for gun firm laws. The states are “asking the naked minimal of the gun business: to take primary steps to maintain our communities secure,” Delaware Lawyer Common Kathy Jennings stated in an announcement. They’re additionally “partnering with legislation enforcement and client safety leaders all through our nation to maintain our neighbors secure from unlawful firearms.”

These initiatives by “principally Democrat-led states quantity to early pushback towards President-elect Donald Trump” and his administration, stated the AP. It comes as gun management teams are “bracing for [Trump] to maintain his marketing campaign promise to signal a nationwide ‘hid carry reciprocity’ legislation,” stated ABC Information.