By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
Baltimore City Mayor Brandon M. Scott (D) and Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown announced a lawsuit on Feb. 12 against Glock, a major firearm manufacturer, for their “easily” convertible pistols that, according to Brown, can turn into “illegal machine guns.”
Credit: Courtesy Photo
“Each bullet fired in Baltimore streets leaves behind more than shell casings–it leaves shattered families, grieving parents and communities in fear,” said Brown. “The use of guns kills 800 people in Maryland every year, and Black and Brown communities bear the brunt of this devastation.”
“Glock knows, Glock profits and Maryland pays the price,” claimed Brown. “Today, we can take a stand against a company that has put profits over lives for far too long.”
Alongside Scott and Brown were Eric Tirschwell, executive director of Everytown Law and Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley.
“Unfortunately, we have seen a proliferation of automatic sears or Glock switches in our communities,” said Scott during the virtual press conference, which addressed the matter. “These attachments, primarily used on Glock weapons and ‘ghost guns,’ are able to turn a basic firearm into an illegal automatic machine gun that could fire as fast or faster than military-grade firearms. This is a growing threat to safety.”
Brown laid out the contents of the lawsuit.
“We’re demanding, one, a court order banning Glock from selling and manufacturing these pistols in Maryland; two, a court order forcing Glock to implement reasonable safety measures; and three, restitution to hold Glock accountable for its role in Maryland’s gun violence crisis,” he said.
Scott revealed the number of modified Glocks that BPD has recovered in recent years.
“Since BPD started tracking these numbers, the number of modified Glocks recovered by local law enforcement has gone up from 35 in 2023 to over 65 in 2024,” said Scott. “These guns have been recovered in connection with offenses ranging from carjackings and narcotic distribution to other violent crimes.”
Brown shared that this is one of the first lawsuits under the Gun Industry Accountability Act, passed by the Maryland General Assembly in 2024. The bill went into effect on June 1, 2024.
“I told lawmakers that if they passed the Gun Industry Accountability Act, we would hold the firearm industry accountable,” said Brown. “Today, we make good on that promise.”
Scott and the other leaders put a significant responsibility on Glock for their “easily” convertible pistols.
“Other major manufacturers of pistols like Smith and Wesson and Sig Sauer can’t be converted in the same easy way,” said Tirschwell. “Glocks are common, being the No. 1 gun recovered from criminals here in Baltimore and elsewhere across the country, and we’ve alleged in this lawsuit that this is in part because criminals are attracted to the ease of converting Glocks into machine guns.”
“The root of this problem is Glock, and it will not be solved without Glock changing its conduct,” continued Tirschwell.
The AFRO reached out to Glock for comment but did not receive a response.
“We are committed to pursuing all courses of action to halt the spread of Glock switches and uphold the safety of our communities,” said Scott.
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