A small switch that can be bought for as little as $20 or even 3D printed at home can convert one of the most popular handguns in America into a weapon with machine gun -- like power, capable of firing up to 1,200 rounds per minute.
And while the handgun modification uniquely affects Glock pistols, the manufacturer has done nothing to stop it, the city of Chicago alleged in a new lawsuit against Glock Inc.
In the complaint, filed Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court, the city accuses Glock of allowing illegal machine guns to proliferate on the streets of Chicago by selling pistols it knows can be easily modified into a far deadlier weapon with an auto sear. The device, sometimes called a "giggle switch" or a "Glock switch," is about the size of a quarter, cheap to obtain or make at home, and simple to attach.
"While Chicago has long struggled with an epidemic of gun violence, it is unquestionable that the ease of modification of Glocks and the resulting prevalence of Modified Glocks have made the situation worse," the city said in its lawsuit. It notes elsewhere, "Glock also knows it could fix the problem, but has chosen not to, putting profits over public safety and violating the law."
The complaint is the first to use the Illinois Firearms Industry Responsibility Act, or FIRA, passed last year. The law allows gun manufacturers to be held accountable for public harm caused by action or inaction from their sales and marketing practices.
"This case is really focused on a refusal on the part of Glock to take any steps to address a problem unique to its pistols -- specifically their easy convertibility to machine guns -- and the fact illegally modified Glocks have been turning up on the street of Chicago in alarming numbers," said Eric Tirschwell, the executive director of Everytown Law, a Washington -- based gun violence prevention nonprofit that joined Chicago's lawsuit.
"Pistols sold by other major manufacturers are not easily modified the way Glock pistols are," Tirschwell said. "In fact, other manufacturers' [guns] would require serious engineering or re -- engineering," which is beyond the capabilities of most typical users.
Glock Inc. did not respond to multiple requests for comment Wednesday.
The 41 -- page complaint details dangerous and deadly incidents involving modified Glocks on the streets of Chicago in recent years, including police officers with department -- issue Glock pistols facing off against criminals with machine -- gun power. Bystanders and buildings have been struck by the bullet spray of modified Glocks, which cause a recoil that is difficult for unskilled or inexperienced users to control, the complaint alleges.
Glock does not manufacture or sell auto sears, which are illegal. The lawsuit claims that some auto sears are marketed and sold with Glock's name and logo, but that there is no evidence Glock has tried to protect its trademark from third -- party manufacturers.
"The lawsuit alleges that Glock is aiding and abetting the possession of illegal machine guns in Chicago," Tirschwell said. "And in order to prove that claim, we have included all the information that goes to whether Glock has taken the steps that you'd expect to see a company to take if it did not want its weapons to be modified."
Garien Gatewood, Chicago's deputy mayor of community safety, said the city has been at a "tipping point" with Glock switches for a while.
During a two -- year period from 2021 to late 2023, Chicago police recovered more than 1,100 modified Glocks, the city said in its lawsuit.
"When this administration came in, we had conversations with the [Chicago Police Department] about the amount of shell casings on the street," Gatewood said. Officers responding to shooting scenes were recovering more casings, despite the fact that machine guns have been banned at the federal and state level in some form since the 1930s, in the days of Tommy -- gun -- toting Chicago gangsters like Al Capone and John Dillinger.
"We have been a punching bag nationally on violence. It's important that people understand that we're dealing with mass shootings at a level not seen anywhere else in the country," Gatewood said.
Chicago has struggled with gun violence for years despite relatively strong gun -- control laws, in part because of lax regulation in neighboring cities and states including Indiana. As the third -- largest city in the United States, Chicago regularly tallies the highest number of annual gun homicides, but it has a lower rate of gun deaths -- homicides per 100,000 people -- than Southern states.
Gatewood said he is hopeful other cities will use Chicago's lawsuit as a blueprint. The lawsuit cites data indicating Chicago is hardly alone in struggling with a proliferation of modified Glocks: From 2020 to 2021, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reported a 400 percent increase in "recoveries of illegally modified machine guns"; between 2017 and 2021, it saw a 570 percent increase in recoveries of machine gun conversion parts compared to the previous five -- year period.
Suing gun manufactures has typically been a losing proposition because of sweeping federal protections under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which shields gun manufacturers and gun sellers from liability when crimes are committed with their weapons.
In 2022, a $73 million settlement between the now -- bankrupt Remington Arms gunmaker and the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting provided a framework for how to pursue legal action against firearms manufacturers.
The Sandy Hook lawsuit was filed under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act and alleged the popular Bushmaster rifle was a "combat weapon" intended for warfare, yet Remington improperly marketed it to civilians.
"The Sandy Hook case opened up one of the exceptions to the federal immunity law, and as a result, there's been increased interest in using that exception to hold gunmakers liable," said Adam Winkler, a professor at the UCLA School of Law who studies constitutional law and gun policy.
Winkler noted it is still difficult for plaintiffs to prevail in these cases. In the Sandy Hook lawsuit, the plaintiffs did not present a case at a trial and win a judge or jury verdict, Winkler said.
"They reached a settlement with a gunmaker that was in bankruptcy. And it wasn't necessarily the same gunmaker executives who were involved," Winkler said. Glock, he said, does not have those same issues; its executives are going to be in control of litigating the lawsuit, while Remington's settlement was controlled by its insurers.
Chicago's lawsuit seeks to bar Glock from selling modifiable pistols to Chicago residents, either directly or in Illinois gun shops, and seeks monetary damages.
Gatewood, Chicago's deputy mayor, said while the lawsuit is not the only solution to gun violence, "we need to cut off the spigot" -- and that doing so starts with accountability for gun manufacturers.