Glock, the lawsuit argues, “has the capability to redesign its handguns so they cannot be easily switched into illegal machine guns, yet for years it willfully chose not to act. Upon information and belief, this inaction was born out of a reluctance to incur costs. In doing so, it has put profits ahead of public safety and violated the law.”
Delaware Attorney General Kathleen Jennings has filed a lawsuit against Glock, claiming that the firearm manufacturer violated state law by selling devices that can be used to convert semi-automatic weapons into “illegal machine guns.”
The lawsuit claims that Glock knows that its products are “uniquely vulnerable to this conversion.” In a press release, Jennings’ office said the design of many Glock firearms allows them to be “easily, quickly, and cheaply transformed into weapons capable of firing up to 1,200 rounds per minute using inexpensive conversion devices.”
“Glock has known for decades that its design makes these conversions possible, yet has refused to adopt safety features that would prevent them,” Jennings said in a press release. “Instead, the company continued to market these products to civilians, even as law enforcement nationwide reported a surge in violence involving converted Glock handguns.”
Glock, Jennings argues, “has the capability to redesign its handguns so they cannot be easily switched into illegal machine guns, yet for years it willfully chose not to act. Upon information and belief, this inaction was born out of a reluctance to incur costs. In doing so, it has put profits ahead of public safety and violated the law.”
The lawsuit accuses Glock of encouraging civilians to undertake illegal conversions by distributing marketing material “promoting the ‘fun’ of Glock 18 fully automatic machine guns, which are illegal for” most Americans to possess and own. Jennings’ office attached several exhibits as preliminary evidence, including examples pulled from Glock’s marketing materials and social media accounts.
In an attached statement, Jennings suggested that Glock is at least partly responsible for America’s gun-violence epidemic.
“For decades, some gun manufacturers have hidden behind the myth that their industry has no moral consequences, that their stake in our communities ends at the cash register, and that they are neutrals in the war between law enforcement and gun violence. Those days are over,” Jennings said. “Our communities, and communities across America, are being terrorized by weapons with destructive power never intended or legal for civilian use. Glock knew. They could have acted. They chose profit over people.”
The lawsuit raises five distinct claims against Glock, including alleged violations of Delaware’s firearm industry accountability statute and its common-law public nuisance rules. The lawsuit asks the court to issue an injunction prohibiting Glock from continuing to distribute “easily convertible pistols” to civilian buyers in the state. It also requests additional remedies, including restitution and damages.
Sources
Delaware attorney general files lawsuit against Glock over converted handguns
Delaware files landmark lawsuit against Glock for enabling proliferation of illegal machine guns
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