Philadelphia sues Glock, claims company helps fuel city’s gun violence

article

A machine gun conversion device for a Glock hand gun was in custody of the ATF Boston Bureau. The device can convert the Glock into a machine gun after the "switch" is installed. It can be made with a 3-d printer. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston G

Expand

PHILADELPHIA - The City of Philadelphia and District Attorney Larry Krasner have sued gun maker Glock, claiming that the company has "substantially contributed to the gun violence epidemic," in both the city and the state.

Philadelphia sues Glock

What we know:

The lawsuit alleges that Glock has used "deceptive marketing" to promote the use of switches, small devices that make a semi-automatic handgun fully automatic. With switches, according to city officials, the guns can fire up to 1,200 rounds per minute.

The lawsuit seeks civil penalties and a court order to stop what it called Glock's "predatory and misleading marketing practices."

The city claims that Glock, though the company doesn't sell the devices itself, promotes the illegal modification as "fun," and that the devices are so closely associated with Glock's brand, that many switches actually feature the company's logo.

In one example from the court filings, the city points to a mass shooting at an Independence Day block party in Grays Ferry last year that killed three people. Police said that one of the handguns used in that shooting was modified with a switch, also called an "automatic sear."

Lawyers for the city claim that on the same day as that shooting, the company posted a video on its social media, showing "a Glock representative [emptying] a handgun's entire magazine with a single pull of the trigger," along with the caption, "The only thing more fun than a Glock is a full-auto Glock."

Lawsuit claims Glock advertising targets youth

Why you should care:

Officials allege Glock uses social media demonstrations like these to specifically target young people, particularly young men, trying to show the weapons, and the illegal switches, as "cool."

"Glock, through its advertisements and marketing, promotes civilian access to fully automatic handguns and allows the illegal market for switches to flourish," facilitating gun violence in the city, the lawsuit claims.

What they're saying:

In a statement Friday, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said the gun manufacturer has "prioritized profit over the safety of its users and the general public, and it's time for them to be held accountable."

Adam Skaggs with the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, one of the organizations representing the city in this case, said that, "a responsible company would have condemned the switches as illegal and deadly, but GLOCK has instead engaged in an extended campaign to market machine guns to the public, telling young people and other consumers that machine guns are fun, cool, and something they should have for themselves."

What we don't know:

FOX 29 has reached out to Glock for comment and has not yet heard back.

What you can do:

You can read the city of Philadelphia's full complaint against Glock below:

Crime & Public Safety Philadelphia