Minnesota’s Islamist/Communist Attorney General Keith Ellison is now “investigating” and will almost certain sue several auto makers because his black constituents find their cars “easy to steal.” He’s not prosecuting car thieves; he wants to sue car makers for marketing entirely legal products, for “tempting” them to do what they would do regardless. 

Ellison doesn’t have anything on Chicago and thirteen other blue state attorneys general. They’re threatening to sue iconic gun maker Glock because the Chinese—and others--are providing illegal “Glock switches, ” parts that turn legal semiautomatic Glock handguns into illegal, fully automatic handguns.

Graphic: Author. Glock 17.

Thirteen Democrat Attorneys General wrote a letter to renowned gun maker Glock, noting Chicago’s lawsuit against the company and expressing concern over “machine-gun Glocks.”

The AGs represent Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Washington D.C.

The letter, dated March 26, 2024, references a Chicago lawsuit against Glock.

Breitbart News reported the suit on March 19, 2024, noting the Windy City claimed Glock is liable for the ease with which a “Glock switch” can be used to convert the semiautomatic handguns into full-auto.

Given the right parts and/or tools, virtually any semiautomatic firearm can be converted to automatic capability. The mere possession of such parts is a federal felony. Apparently, Chicago and the thirteen state AGs want to make such things double secret illegal? Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, rather than arresting and prosecuting criminals, is intent on diverting attention from his deadly fecklessness:

The City of Chicago is encountering a deadly new frontier in the gun violence plaguing our communities because of the increase of fully automatic Glocks on our streets. Selling firearms that can so easily be converted into automatic weapons makes heinous acts even more deadly, so we are doing everything we can in collaboration with others committed to ending gun violence to hold Glock accountable for putting profits over public safety.

Keep in mind it is Chicago that won’t allow its rapidly diminishing police force to employ “stop and frisk,” an entirely constitutional practice essential to catching crooks with guns.  They also won’t let their officers chase criminals, on foot or in vehicles. All crooks have to do to escape is run or drive away, and all Chicago police officers can do is wave “bye-bye.”

Glock’s first patent, the Glock 17, quickly became popular, and its polymer materials and striker fired design have been widely copied. Glock does make a fully automatic handgun, the Glock 18—a G17 with a selector switch--but it is automatic by design, not through later alteration. 

While it’s theoretically possible for citizens to legally own an automatic weapon, it’s practically impossible. In 1986 The Firearm Owner’s Protection Act, which prohibited many of the illegal and abusive practices of the BATF of the time, passed. Unfortunately, Democrats, through a procedural dirty trick, slipped in an actual last-minute amendment that made citizen ownership of any automatic firearm manufactured after May 19, 1986, illegal. Automatic weapons made before then may be owned after an expensive and lengthy application process, but their numbers are small, few are selling them, and they bring ridiculously high prices. Republican legislators, even when they’ve held both houses of Congress and the White House, have never bothered to change that provision.

Why the focus on Glock rather than the makers of other handguns?  Glock owns 70% or more of the police and civilian handgun markets.  They’re the most popular handguns available, so popular “Glock” has become a common descriptive term for all semiautomatic handguns.

By pursuing Glock, Chicago and the 13 AGs expose their true intent: they want to accomplish through lawfare what they can’t accomplish through the legitimate legislative process, what the Constitution and The Protection of Lawful Commerce In Arms Act (PLCAA),  prohibit. The PLCAA was truly bipartisan legislation, passed in 2005, to prevent lawfare against the makers of lawful firearms. At the time, anti-liberty/gun cracktivists were pursuing a strategy of suing gunmakers for the illegal acts of third parties over which they had no knowledge or control. It’s akin to suing General Motors for the damage caused by drunk drivers.

Even with the Constitution, the Supreme Court’s Heller, McDonald and Bruen decisions and federal law against them, Chicago and the AGs know they can cost Glock untold millions, and can surely find leftist judges that will rule against Glock. Such rulings would almost surely be eventually struck down, but that will take years and huge sums of taxpayer dollars, and just might sufficiently damage Glock to run them out of business.

For such demagogues, disarming the law-abiding is their only goal. The Constitution, rule of law, and public safety are the least of their concerns. 

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.