At least half of US states now outlaw devices that convert pistols into
machine guns
[March 31, 2025]
By DAVID A. LIEB
In New Mexico, police and prosecutors backed an effort to outlaw devices
that convert pistols into machine guns. In Alabama, the governor made it
a priority.
Lawmakers in both states — one led by Democrats, the other by
Republicans — responded this year with new laws making so-called Glock
switches illegal.
At least half of U.S. states now have similar laws prohibiting the
possession of such devices, a list that has grown over the past decade
as law enforcement officers have found more of the tiny yet powerful
devices attached to guns.
States are mimicking federal law, which for decades has generally
prohibited machine guns and any parts that can transform semiautomatic
weapons into automatic ones.
What does federal law say?
U.S. law defines a machine gun as a weapon that automatically fires more
than one shot with a single pull of a trigger. The definition also
includes any parts designed to convert a weapon into a machine gun.
Federal law prohibits possessing machine guns made after 1986, with some
exceptions for law enforcement, the military and certain licensed
dealers. Nearly all conversion devices are illegal because they were
made more recently.
People convicted of possessing machine guns and conversion devices can
face up to 10 years in prison.
What is a Glock switch?
A Glock switch is one type of a machine gun conversion device. It's a
metal or plastic piece, about the size of a coin, that attaches to the
back of Glock pistol, a brand that is popular with both police and
criminals. The switch interferes with a gun's internal trigger
components so that it fires continuously when the trigger is pulled back
and held.
A gun outfitted with a switch can fire dozens of bullets in mere
seconds, similar to a factory-made machine gun.
Other brands of pistols that mimic Glocks also can be converted to
machine guns. So can some semiautomatic rifles. Such conversion devices
also are referred to as auto sears, selector switches or chips.
What does the data indicate?
The use of auto sears spiked in the past decade, partly because they can
be made inexpensively with 3D printers.
From 2012 to 2016, just 814 machine gun conversion parts were taken into
custody by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. That
swelled to 5,454 from 2017-2021.
In January, former President Joe Biden's administration said 12,360
suspected machine gun conversion devices had been recovered in the U.S.
and submitted to the ATF during a roughly 34-month period ending in
October 2024.
Five states including Florida, Illinois, Texas, Montana and North Dakota
accounted for nearly half that total.
What have states been doing?
Alabama is the latest state to outlaw Glock switches. A law signed this
month by Republican Gov. Kay Ivey makes possessing parts designed to
convert pistols into machine guns a felony punishable by up to 10 years
in prison.
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Two semi-automatic pistols are displayed for a photograph, one with
a conversion device installed making it fully automatic, at the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), National
Services Center, Thursday, March 2, 2023, in Martinsburg, W.Va. (AP
Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
The bipartisan push in Alabama came after police said they believed
conversion devices had been used in fatal shootings, including one
in September that killed four and injured 17 people outside a
Birmingham lounge.
Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a law in
February making possession of a weapon conversion device a felony
punishable by up to three years in prison.
Similar legislation passed the New Jersey General Assembly last week
and now heads to the Senate. Bills also are pending in other states.
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a law last year
making auto sears illegal. But Youngkin vetoed legislation this past
week that would have broadened an existing ban on “trigger
activators” to cover additional devices that increase firing rates
of semiautomatic weapons.
What do gun control advocates want?
Groups such as Everytown for Gun Safety say state laws provide a
sometimes easier alternative to federal prosecution for possessing
Glock switches. But they want to go further.
Everytown for Gun Safety is backing legislation in California,
Maryland and New York that would make it illegal to sell pistols
that could be transformed into machine guns.
“That really puts the pressure where it belongs — on the
manufactures that are making money off of guns that they know can be
readily turned into machine guns,” said Nick Suplina, senior vice
president for law and policy at Everytown for Gun Safety.
Several cities and states including Baltimore, Chicago, Minnesota
and New Jersey have sued Glock for making pistols that can be
converted by others to automatic weapons.
What do gun-rights groups say?
The National Rifle Association notes U.S. attorneys already can
prosecute people for misusing gun conversion devices without the
need for state laws.
Gun Owners of America, another gun-rights group, contends people
should have a Second Amendment right to own machine guns. State laws
against machine gun conversation devices are “duplicative” and “pure
virtue signaling,” said Aidan Johnston, federal affairs director for
Gun Owners of America.
He said guns converted to fire automatically can have practical uses
like eliminating large groups of feral hogs that are destroying
land.
“Just because you put that on your firearm doesn’t mean that you are
a violent criminal or that you necessarily are a dangerous person,"
Johnston said.
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