05/19/2024

New York Proposes a Ban on Guns That are Easy to Convert to Illegal Automatic Weapons

Auto sear switches are being targeted

A tiny, inexpensive device is all it takes to modify some semi-automatic handguns into illegal automatic weapons capable of firing multiple rounds with one pull of the trigger. These auto sear switches often turn up at homicide crime scenes across the country and have become a rapidly growing problem for law enforcement in recent years.

This week, Maryland became the latest state to pass a law to address the surge of auto sears or Glock switches, as they're commonly known, because Glock 9 mm pistols are the kind of handgun most commonly modified this way. Meanwhile, New York recently introduced legislation that would go even further by outlawing the sale of any firearm that could be easily modified by an auto sear.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) says the proliferation of auto sears has hit epidemic proportions. Nearly 5,500 devices were recovered by police departments from 2017 to 2021, according to the ATF. Director Steve Dettelbach warned last year that they are "flooding our communities."

Please select this link to read the complete article from NPR.