House Republicans’ top investigator on Friday said he fears the Biden administration is colluding with gun control advocates in a lawsuit that seeks to hold Glock Inc. responsible for how criminals are altering its pistols.
Chicago launched the lawsuit, with the aid of gun control group Everytown Law, saying Glock’s design makes it too easy to convert the popular handguns from semiautomatic to automatic weapons, helping fuel the city’s violence problem.
But Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said the lawsuit misplaces blame away from lax federal enforcement.
“The simple yet reliable design of Glock handguns is what has led to its massive appeal to both law enforcement and civilians who desire reliability when faced with the high level of crime plaguing America. And rather than aggressively prosecuting criminals, government agencies are colluding with anti-gun interest groups to cripple a manufacturer who sells a legal product in a highly regulated sales market,” Mr. Comer said.
In a letter to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, obtained first by The Washington Times, Mr. Comer asked the agency to detail any links or lawsuit assistance it provided to the plaintiffs.
Mr. Comer also asked for data from the ATF on its own attempts to prosecute those who possess or use auto sears, which keep the striker cocked, on Glocks or other guns.
The Kentucky Republican suggested there are other reasons for the Glock’s popularity than its conversion ability. He pointed out that the weapon is considered so reliable that law enforcement — including ATF agents and the Chicago Police Department — arm themselves with Glocks while on the job.
A semiautomatic weapon is one where each press of the trigger fires a round. An automatic weapon means the gun fires continuously as long as the trigger is pressed.
Owning an automatic weapon, or machine gun, is heavily restricted.
Semiautomatic weapons can be converted to automatic through the use of an auto sear device. They are frequently called Glock switches because they are commonly identified with Glock pistols, even though the company doesn’t manufacture them.
The conversion is illegal under federal law.
Chicago argues that Glocks are particularly susceptible to modification and the company could — and should — alter its design.
“Glock knows that it takes little effort to convert its pistols into illegal machine guns and that criminals frequently do so. Glock also knows it could fix the problem, but has chosen not to, putting profits over public safety and violating the law,” the city said in its lawsuit.
Mr. Comer suggested gun control advocates should find better targets for their ire.
“These plaintiffs are seeking to financially punish and restrict continued operation of a firearm manufacturer for illegal, aftermarket alterations being made by criminals to their product after they have been lawfully sold,” he said in his letter. “This misguided action ignores the responsibility of federal law enforcement agencies to aggressively prosecute criminals who violate federal statutes and local prosecutors who have taken a soft-on-crime approach to prosecutions.”
Glock switches are increasingly in the news, with local authorities saying conversion devices are increasingly turning up at crime scenes, helping explain shootings where dozens of rounds are fired.
The four U.S. attorneys in Texas announced an initiative this month offering cash rewards to those who report someone with a conversion device.
“We’re here to talk about a roughly 1-inch piece of plastic. It looks innocuous enough, a little like a Lego or a K’Nex block. But this 1-inch piece of plastic is killing people,” said Leigha Simonton, the U.S. attorney for northern Texas.
The attorneys said the ATF saw a spike in the number of such devices confiscated in Texas last year.
Nationwide, the ATF said it seized 5,454 conversion devices from 2017 to 2021, or nearly six times the rate of the previous five-year period.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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