Number of Glock switches recovered in Alabama up 1200%

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - We first told you about police uncovering dangerous Glock switches in Birmingham in an exclusive report last year.

Year over year, the number of Glock switches seized by officers in Alabama has increased by 1,200 percent, according to the ATF.

Right now, these cases can only be tried in federal court. Alabama doesn’t have a law that regulates fully automatic weapons.

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin is asking Alabama lawmakers to pass a bill to make Glock switch possession a felony.

“This has the potential to be a public safety crisis,” Woodfin explained. “We aren’t asking the state to do anything about gun rights. We’re asking the state of Alabama that says they protect the blue, we’re asking the state of Alabama who says they believe in victim’s rights and protecting the community and public safety. This is no brainer.”

A Glock handgun is a semi-automatic weapon, meaning it fires a shot with every pull of the trigger. The Glock switch is a thumb size devices that fits on the back of the gun and illegally converts it to an fully-automatic weapon.

While fully-automatic weapons are legal when licensed through the federal government, Glock switches are illegal.

“Not even a trained professional, whether that’s a Birmingham Police Officer or an agent with the ATF that only handles firearms everyday can’t even handle it, the gun wasn’t manufactured for that,” added Woodfin. “It literally overpowers police officers.”

Woodfin and all the mayors of the state’s largest cities are throwing their support behind a bill that would outlaw Glock switches.

The bill is still being drafted, but the legislation would likely make any kind of trigger-enhancing device a Class B felony.

“When you have the opportunity for innocent people to be shot or officers to be outgunned, it changes the playing field in a negative way,” Woodfin acknowledged. “We need the state to step up and protect police officers, public safety and potential victims.”

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