Everytown Applauds Minnesota, New Jersey Attorneys General for Joining the Fight to Hold Glock Accountable for the Proliferation of Illegal Machine Guns

Newest Lawsuits Filed Against Glock Come as 16 Attorneys General Launch Multistate Coalition to Hold Irresponsible Firearms Industry Actors Accountable for Their Role in Our Nation’s Gun Violence Epidemic

NEW YORK – The Offices of New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed lawsuits today against Glock, seeking to hold the company accountable for endangering the health and safety of New Jersey and Minnesota residents, respectively. The lawsuits allege Glock knowingly manufactures and sells pistols that can easily be converted to fully automatic fire with an auto sear – a cheap, small device commonly known as a “Glock switch.”

The filings come with the announcement that 16 Attorneys General – Platkin and Ellison included – formed a first-of-its-kind multistate coalition to hold irresponsible firearms industry members accountable for their devastating impact on gun violence. The coalition aims to reduce gun violence through the coordinated enforcement of the States’ respective civil liability and consumer protection laws, among other authority, thereby promoting public safety and saving lives.

“Glock’s role in facilitating the proliferation of illegal machine guns nationwide has been widely known, yet Glock refuses to take basic and meaningful steps to fix the problem,” said Eric Tirschwell, executive director at Everytown Law. “These were not the first such lawsuits to be filed against Glock – and we do not expect them to be the last. We are proud to represent the City of Chicago in its lawsuit against Glock and are thankful to Attorneys General Platkin and Ellison, along with all those who have joined our fight, to hold Glock accountable.” 

Earlier this year, Everytown Law joined with the City of Chicago Law Department and the law firm Motley Rice to bring a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against Glock for its role in flooding the City of Chicago with weapons that can easily be converted into illegal automatic weapons. A few weeks later, a coalition of attorneys general from twelve states and Washington, D.C., sent a letter to Glock, calling on the company to preserve documents related to its pistols being able to be converted into machine guns, an indication that the states and D.C. may be investigating whether the sale of such easily modifiable guns violates their laws.

According to a recent Everytown for Gun Safety report on the top manufacturers of guns used in crimes across 34 studied cities, just four gun manufacturers accounted for over 40 percent of the recovered crime guns in 2023 – with Glock leading at 18.4%. Additionally, the top manufacturer of recovered crime guns was Glock in 28 of the 34 reporting cities. And, twenty cities reported recovering more than 560 machine gun conversion devices in 2023, at least two-thirds of which were “Glock switches.”

For interviews or to learn more, please don’t hesitate to reach out to press@everytown.org.