The Chicago v Glock lawsuit

[DeepSouth]

In light of the Chicago sues Glock thread
And the related news articles.. one of which can be found here …. I got to wondering, is this potentially more than a frivolous lawsuit.

Even if it fails, does it open the door (or maybe point at it) for the ATF to deem the Glock “readily convertible”? While I’ve never seen a “Glock switch” (nor do I even own a Glock) my understanding is that they install relatively easily. So could that be enough for someone in the anti gun world to mount a credible legal attack on Glocks?

The definition of “readily convertible” seems to be the kind of vague language the ATF loves to reevaluate.

Edited by Spats McGee to upload the complaint.

 

[Frank Ettin]

In light of the Chicago sues Glock thread
And the related news articles.. one of which can be found here …. I got to wondering, is this potentially more than a frivolous lawsuit.

Even if it fails, does it open the door (or maybe point at it) for the ATF to deem the Glock “readily convertible”? While I’ve never seen a “Glock switch” (nor do I even own a Glock) my understanding is that they install relatively easily. So could that be enough for someone in the anti gun world to mount a credible legal attack on Glocks?

The definition of “readily convertible” seems to be the kind of vague language the ATF loves to reevaluate.

Okay, a legal/technical focused discussion of those matter could be interesting and relevant. So I'll leave this open for a while to see if a serious, substantive, evidence based discussion develops.

 

[DeepSouth]

Okay, a legal/technical focused discussion of those matter could be interesting and relevant. So I'll leave this open for a while to see if a serious, substantive, evidence based discussion develops.

Thank You, I’m certainly not up to a “legal/technical” discussion. That’s well above my pay grade and wasn’t my intention. I was asking more out of a curiosity if such a thing could even be entertained in a realistic legal setting.

On its face, it seems to me that the argument from a legal standpoint could be logical.

In my head it goes like, “guns can’t be readily convertible, so if new tech comes along that makes a gun readily convertible, can they then ban the gun?”

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Glock. One of the most common civilian and police weapons in the world.

 

[armoredman]

That IS an interesting take, and if explored by ATFE and the gov lawyers to that extreme it could be used to strip one of the most common pistols in the world from civilian possession. It would then open all kinds of negatives, like saying any semi auto rifle in the world could be "manufactured" to fire full auto by using a 40 year old Hellfire crank device. However illogical, it is possible the people in power could try to push that...but highly unlikely , I wager with my completely uninformed and wild guess. Interesting idea for certain.

 

[DeepSouth]

It occurred to me today that a 14” piece of string can make (has made) a Mini-14 a machine gun. So it seems logical that nearly any semi auto rifle with a bolt handle could be considered “readily convertible.”

I really wish someone would tell me I’m dreaming up nonsense that can’t happen.

 

[BobCat]

Here is the "shoestring machine gun" story from 2010. In the story, it was not the rifle the ATF wanted to call a machine gun, it was the string.

A "fair use" tidbit; the story title is "In September 2004 the ATF decided that a 14 inch long shoestring was considered a machine gun"
In 2007 they changed their minds. There is more to the story, at the link.

I have read but cannot readily find the source that J. M. Browning made the first "semiautomatic" rifle (semiautomatic, not automatic) out of a lever action rifle, by capturing (with a paddle) some of the muzzle blast to operate a linkage to work the lever. So if a lever gun is that easy to convert to semiauto, then "readily converted" needs to be clearly defined in the context of weapons.

 

[Spats McGee]

I have added the Complaint to Post #1.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Isn't the Glock Switch analogous to the T17 and T18 M1 Carbine conversion kits?
They make the M1 function as an M2 select fire rifle, ie a machine gun.
Under existing ATF rules, the conversion kits are NFA items but the M1 Carbine is not.

 

[rust collector]

Merciful heavens, that's not a pleading, that's a press release/short story. It is also an excellent argument for limiting the page count for a document intended to concisely state a cause of action and the relief requested. Some might also argue that it is jury tampering. The complaint cites articles in The Trace, rap artists and other unimpeachable sources. Lead counsel is Everytown Law based in DC. Surprised? Any other court would drop kick this within 2 business days.