In Major Victory for Public Safety, Baltimore & Maryland Lawsuit Seeking to Hold Glock Accountable For Sale and Proliferation of Pistols That Are Easily Converted Into Machine Guns Proceeds

Fully Automatic Modified Glocks Turning Up in Significant Numbers at Crime Scenes in Baltimore and Throughout State, Disproportionately Impacting Youth and Law Enforcement

Baltimore, MD. – Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott and Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown, alongside Everytown Law and Motley Rice LLC, secured an important victory today in their case seeking to hold Glock and its Austrian parent company accountable for facilitating the proliferation of illegal machine guns on the streets of Baltimore and across Maryland. In today’s ruling, the Circuit Court for Baltimore City denied the defendants’ motions to dismiss in their entirety, allowing both of the plaintiffs’ claims to proceed to discovery.

“Glock knew for years that these attachments allow their guns to easily be converted into semiautomatic weapons, yet they continued to put profit over safety,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott. “In our city, we’ve seen the number of recoveries of Glock pistols modified into machine guns grow dramatically in recent years. We know firsthand the damage that has caused in our communities, and we will not rest until we hold them accountable.”

“This ruling brings us one step closer to holding Glock accountable for its role in the gun violence epidemic that is stealing lives from our communities and terrorizing our neighborhoods,” said Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown. “The families who have lost children, parents, and siblings to this violence deserve justice. Our Office will not allow Glock to continue pursuing profits at the expense of the Maryland people.”

“Today’s decision marks the fifth time a court has denied Glock’s attempt to dismiss a case seeking to hold it accountable for the sale of semiautomatic pistols that can be easily converted into illegal machine guns,” said Eric Tirschwell, executive director of Everytown Law. “We are deeply committed to holding Glock accountable for the dangerous corporate choices it has made at the expense of public safety and look forward to this case proceeding to discovery.”

The lawsuit alleges that Glock has unreasonably endangered and harmed public health and safety in Maryland by manufacturing and selling to Maryland civilians 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.” According to the lawsuit, Glock has knowingly harmed Marylanders, particularly in Baltimore and among the City’s and State’s youth, by facilitating the proliferation of illegal machine guns and failing to implement reasonable controls to combat the unlawful possession, alteration, and use of its semiautomatic pistols. Filed in February 2025, the suit was the first to use Maryland’s new Gun Industry Accountability Act, passed and signed into law in 2024. 

Plaintiffs seek an order enjoining Glock from continuing to sell easily modifiable pistols to civilian residents of Maryland. Plaintiffs also seek relief in the form of restitution and abatement for the harm that Glock has knowingly and foreseeably caused.

The City of Baltimore attorneys co-leading this suit are Sara Gross and Tom Webb of the Affirmative Litigation Division of the Baltimore City Department of Law. The State of Maryland is represented by Assistant Attorneys General Joshua Chazen and Jessica Finberg. 

The Everytown Law team representing the City of Baltimore and State of Maryland includes Eric Tirschwell, Alison Barnes, and Nina Sudarsan.

The Motley Rice team representing the City of Baltimore and the State of Maryland includes litigators Mimi Liu, Paige Boggs, and Brendan Austin.

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