Chicago sues Glock, alleging handguns easily modified for more power.

The City of Chicago made headlines on Tuesday with the announcement of a groundbreaking move: suing gunmaker Glock in what is being hailed as a first-of-its-kind lawsuit in the United States.

The crux of the city’s case lies in its assertion that Glock, a manufacturer of popular handguns, bears partial responsibility for the proliferation of illegal machine guns on the streets of Chicago.

According to the lawsuit, Glock’s production of semi-automatic pistols facilitates their easy conversion into illegal machine guns through the use of a relatively inexpensive tool known as an auto sear – colloquially referred to as a “Glock switch.”

This legal action marks the inaugural application of Illinois’ recently enacted Firearms Industry Responsibility Act, a law aimed at holding gun companies accountable for the consequences of gun violence.

Filed in Cook County Circuit Court, the lawsuit cites troubling statistics: over the past two years alone, Chicago law enforcement has confiscated more than 1,100 Glocks that were converted into illegal machine guns.

These illegally modified firearms have been implicated in a wide spectrum of criminal activities, including homicides, aggravated assaults, batteries, kidnappings, burglaries, home invasions, carjackings, and attempted robberies, according to city officials.

Chicago contends that Glock is fully aware of this issue and possesses the capability to rectify it but has chosen not to do so. As such, the city is seeking judicial intervention to compel Glock to cease the sale of easily convertible handguns to civilians in Chicago, along with seeking penalties and damages.

Mayor Brandon Johnson underscored the gravity of the situation, stating, “The City of Chicago is encountering a deadly new frontier in the gun violence plaguing our communities because of the increase of fully automatic Glocks on our streets.”

Echoing these sentiments, Eric Tirschwell, executive director of Everytown Law, remarked, “Right now, anyone in the United States with ₹20 and a screwdriver can convert their Glock pistol into an illegal machine gun in just a few minutes.”

The Chicago Law Department, in collaboration with Everytown Law and the esteemed firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, is spearheading this legal initiative.

CBS 2 has reached out to Glock for comment, but as of now, their response remains pending.