Donnie Myers displays a Glock handgun in his Springfield, Ore. gun shop 295 Tactical Tuesday, July 2, 2024. The shop offers firearm sales, accessories, and classes.
Sacramento, California – One of America’s most popular handgun brands, Glock, could soon be banned from sale in California under new legislation aimed at curbing gun violence by targeting firearms that users can easily convert into fully automatic weapons.
Assembly Bill 1127, authored by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino), seeks to prohibit the sale of so-called “machinegun-convertible pistols” — a classification that includes many Glock models due to their compatibility with illegal conversion devices known as “Glock switches.” These switches, often small enough to fit in a pocket, enable a semiautomatic pistol to fire multiple rounds automatically with a single pull of the trigger.
“AB 1127 is a common-sense bill to hold the firearm industry accountable for their failure to prevent conversion of their guns to dangerous automatic weapons,” Gabriel said in a statement. “This bill is focused on the industry’s lack of action to prevent conversion and will ensure we are doing everything we possibly can to protect our communities from mass shootings.”
While federal law already bans machine guns and California prohibits the sale of pistol conversion devices, such components are still entering the state illegally or being produced with 3-D printers, fueling public safety concerns. Converted pistols were used in the 2022 mass shooting on K Street in Sacramento, heightening pressure on lawmakers to act.
Krystal Lopilato, public policy director for Everytown for Gun Safety, testified in support of the bill, urging gun manufacturers to redesign vulnerable models. “They shouldn’t be allowed to sell in California until they do so,” she said.
However, gun rights advocates argue that AB 1127 unfairly punishes legal gun owners and dealers while doing little to stop criminals. Sam Paredes, president of Gun Owners of California, said, “What the state of California needs to do is focus on the criminal element… not penalize law-abiding citizens.”
Paredes noted that Glock’s more recent fourth and fifth generation pistols have addressed many concerns but are currently not available for sale in California due to the state’s strict handgun roster requirements. “It is a ban,” he added. “Anyone else in the future who wants to purchase a Glock will not be allowed to do so without committing an egregious crime.”
If Governor Gavin Newsom signs AB 1127 into law, it would still allow law enforcement and military personnel to purchase the affected firearms. Paredes and other Second Amendment advocates have vowed immediate legal action, calling the bill a “vile usurpation” of constitutional rights.
AB 1127 has cleared several policy committees and continues to advance through the state legislature.
