City of Chicago sues Smyrna-based gunmaker Glock over conversions to machine guns

A security guard stands outside the Glock, Inc. headquarters, Oct. 8, 2014, in Smyrna, Ga. The city of Chicago sued Glock Inc. on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, alleging the handgun manufacturer is facilitating the proliferation of illegal machine guns that can fire as many as 1,200 rounds per minute on the streets of the city. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

The city of Chicago sued Glock Inc. on Tuesday, alleging the Smyrna, Georgia-based handgun manufacturer is facilitating the proliferation of illegal machine guns that can fire as many as 1,200 rounds per minute on the streets of the city.

The lawsuit alleges Glock unreasonably endangers Chicagoans by manufacturing and selling semiautomatic pistols that can easily be converted to illegal machine guns with an auto sear — a cheap, small device commonly known as a “Glock switch.” The switches are the size of a quarter and are easily purchased illegally online for around $20 or manufactured at home using a 3D printer.

The complaint filed in Cook County Circuit Court is the first to use Illinois’s new Firearms Industry Responsibility Act, passed and signed into law in 2023 to hold gun companies accountable for conduct that endangers the public.