Baltimore, Maryland sue firearms titan Glock for alleged role in city’s gun crimes

Baltimore, Maryland (The Baltimore Sun) — Baltimore officials have filed a lawsuit against firearms manufacturer Glock, demanding that the Austrian-owned company do more to prevent its weapons from being turned into machine guns.

The effort targets Glock for selling semiautomatic pistols to Maryland civilians that can easily be converted into illegal weapons with an auto sear — a small device more commonly known as a “Glock switch.” Though the company does not make Glock switches, the device significantly increases a weapon’s rate of fire when fitted, sometimes as fast or faster than military-grade firearms.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown — both of whom are named as plaintiffs along with the Baltimore City Council — say that criminals have extensively used switches in Baltimore.

More information regarding the specifics of this case can be found here