Precedent-setting lawsuit against Glock seeks gun industry accountability

A pair of states are hoping to send a message to gun manufacturer Glock with a lawsuit filed Dec. 12. The case, brought by the attorneys general of Minnesota and New Jersey, alleges that the Austrian firearms maker knowingly sells a popular handgun that can easily be converted into a machine gun.

This is hardly the first case against a major gun manufacturer; Mexico is currently suing American gunmakers in a bid to stop the alleged trafficking of weapons contributing to cartel violence, a case that is set to be heard by the Supreme Court. But this marks one of the most high-profile cases yet by American states against a prominent gunmaker. New Jersey and Minnesota have a large consortium of other states behind them, which could set a precedent for future legal proceedings.

What is the crux of the lawsuit?

The suit concerns Glock's 9mm handgun, which can be altered from a semi-automatic weapon to a fully automatic machine gun using a plastic device called a Glock switch. This switch "can be purchased for under $20 or created on a 3D printer," and "allows pistols to fire up to 1,200 rounds per minute — a rate as fast as or faster than many fully automatic firearms and machine guns used by the United States military — with a single trigger pull," New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in a press release. Those who make these switches "often print Glock logos on their products, which leads consumers to believe they are legitimate," Newsweek said.

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The lawsuit alleges that Glock has long been aware that its handguns can be converted, but "benefits from increased sales" because this conversion "makes them more attractive to certain buyers, particularly those who intend to use the machine guns for criminal activities," said Platkin. As a result, Glock has been reluctant to change the design of its 9mm handgun, the lawsuit alleges, even as the "proliferation of switches" led to a "rise in shootings and murders during the coronavirus pandemic," said The New York Times.

Glock is not the only manufacturer whose guns can be made automatic with black market devices. But "critics say Glock's guns are among the easiest to convert," said The Associated Press. New Jersey and Minnesota want sales of the gun suspended as well as restitution for the public. Glock has not publicly responded to the lawsuit.

What's the bigger picture?

While the lawsuit was only brought by New Jersey and Minnesota, the "larger coalition that will be working together includes 16 states in total," the New Jersey Attorney General's Office said to Newsweek. These states are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont, as well as Washington, D.C.

These states will be working together to educate the public on gun safety, and another lawsuit against Glock was brought by Illinois earlier this year. If these legal proceedings are successful, it could set a precedent for gun company regulations. The states are "asking the bare minimum of the gun industry: to take basic steps to keep our communities safe," Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings said in a statement. They are also "partnering with law enforcement and consumer protection leaders throughout our country to keep our neighbors safe from illegal firearms."

These initiatives by "mostly Democrat-led states amount to early pushback against President-elect Donald Trump" and his administration, said the AP. It comes as gun control groups are "bracing for [Trump] to keep his campaign promise to sign a nationwide 'concealed carry reciprocity' law," said ABC News.