By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) – Maryland and the city of Baltimore sued Glock on Wednesday, seeking to force one of the country’s largest gun sellers to take steps to prevent owners from modifying its products into automatic weapons resembling machine guns.
The lawsuit filed in Baltimore City Circuit Court is intended to help reduce gun violence on the streets, and is the first test of Maryland’s Gun Industry Accountability Act adopted last year.
Authorities said owners of Glock semiautomatic pistols can easily install “auto sears,” also known as Glock switches, that make the weapons more lethal, capable of firing 1,200 rounds a minute.
The complaint said sears cost as little as $20 when bought from third parties, and can be produced on 3D printers.
Federal law banned most sales of machine guns to the public in 1934, when the weapons were associated with gangsters like Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly.
Glock, a unit of Austria-based Glock Ges.m.b.H., did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Minnesota, New Jersey and the city of Chicago filed similar lawsuits against Glock last year.
According to the Washington Post, Glock has argued in the Chicago case it was not liable for actions of third parties, and said a 2005 federal law shielded gun makers from liability.
Baltimore, Maryland’s largest city with a population of about 565,000, has long had one of the highest murder rates among large American cities.
At a press conference announcing the lawsuit, Mayor Brandon Scott said that while homicides and non-fatal shootings in Baltimore are falling, the proliferation of sears on Glocks and so-called ghost guns poses a growing safety threat.
Ghost guns are largely untraceable, privately made firearms.
Scott said Baltimore police recovered more than 65 modified Glocks in 2024, up from 35 in 2023.
The complaint also highlighted modified Glocks’ presence in popular culture, including in video games and the 2022 Billboard No. 1 song “Jimmy Cooks” by Drake featuring 21 Savage, which includes the lyric “This Glock .45 came with a switch.”
“By failing to implement reasonable controls to prevent illegal modifications, and prioritizing profits over safety, Glock has knowingly contributed to this rising issue and jeopardized the safety of our neighborhoods, our citizens and our law enforcement officers,” Scott said.
The lawsuit seeks to stop sales of easily-converted Glocks in Maryland, and to recoup profits and restitution, among other remedies.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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