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Chicago has expanded its lawsuit against Glock, aiming to hold the gun manufacturer, its parent company, and local gun dealers “accountable” for allegedly endangering the city by selling “easily modifiable” pistols.
The lawsuit, first filed in March, now includes Glock Ges.m.b.H, the Austrian entity, and two local dealers, Eagle Sports Range and Midwest Sporting Goods.
Table of contents
Allegations
The city alleges that Glock’s pistols can be easily converted into machine guns using a device known as a “Glock switch.”
Chicago law enforcement has found over 1,300 converted Glocks connected to various crimes from 2021 to May 2024, averaging one recovered every day.
The lawsuit also claims that Glock has deceptively marketed its pistols as safe, despite their potential for illegal modification.
Mayor’s Comment
Mayor Brandon Johnson stated, “The City of Chicago will do everything in its power to end gun violence and counter the increase of fully automatic Glocks on our streets.
“We are expanding this lawsuit to ensure that other irresponsible actors who have contributed to the proliferation of easily modified Glocks in our City are held accountable for their role in this deadly new frontier plaguing Chicago’s residents and communities,” he added.
The city claims that Glock’s pistols have significantly contributed to gun violence in Chicago.
Dealers’ Alleged Complicity
The lawsuit targets Midwest Sporting Goods and Eagle Sports Range, alleging they are aware of the pistols’ modification potential yet continue to market and sell them.
Midwest Sporting Goods is accused of misleading marketing, while Eagle Sports Range allegedly showcased a modified Glock on social media.
Parent Company’s Role
The lawsuit also names Glock Ges.m.b.H, alleging that founder Gaston Glock has known about the modification potential since the 1980s but continued profiting from it.
The Austrian company is said to collaborate closely with its U.S. subsidiary in the design, manufacture, and promotion of Glock pistols.
City’s Legal Team
Chicago seeks a court order to stop the sales and marketing of Glock pistols and penalties for the alleged actions.
The city’s legal team includes attorneys from the City of Chicago Department of Law, Everytown Law, and Motley Rice LLC.
The Truth
When the lawsuit was initially filed, we reached out to the NSSF for comment.
Mark Oliva, the organization’s managing director of public affairs, didn’t hold back in his response to the lawsuit.
He called it “completely without merit,” pointing to the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which protects companies that make legal, non-defective products.
Oliva also slammed Mayor Brandon Johnson’s “soft-on-crime policies,” saying they’re the real issue behind Chicago’s problems.
He even called the lawsuit “frivolous,” noting that Johnson had sued car makers last year for making cars that were too easy to steal.
In Chicago, it appears, everyone seems to get blamed for crime—except the criminals themselves.
What this really is is nothing more than a money grab by Windy City politicians.
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This lawsuit illustrates the contentious debate over gun control in the U.S., particularly in urban environments like Chicago, where gun violence is a pressing issue.
This lawsuit illustrates the contentious debate over gun control in the U.S., particularly in urban environments like Chicago, where gun violence is a pressing issue.
Chitcago another democrat run city, this all by design.
Chicago should sue the liberal “justice “ agenda. Get these AG’s and judges to put the criminals behind bars and leave them there. Start rounding up all the deadbeat fathers- put them in jail as well. And outlaw the rapcrap these kids are listening to. Thats a start. If it wasn’t Glock these criminals would figure out how to do any other manufacture’s mechanics.
So if I can modify someones product for an unintended purpose, they can be sued for it? There are drop in sears for ar 15s, so can ar15 manufactures be sued next for someone else’s criminal activity?
Novel idea for the democrats in Chicagostan-prosecute the law breakers, not legitimate businesses. They didn’t modify the Glocks, criminals did. These liberals are so stupid it is almost unbelievable. It almost seems like a contest to see who can out-stupid the other!
I wonder how many LE entities in Chicongo use Glocks? The G17 is the main weapon of CPD.
Firearms companies should refuse to sell *any* guns or ammo to Chicago area anything, LE included. Hell, maybe even all of Illinois, citing the hostile business environment.
CPD can chuck spears.
Yeah,1300 modded glocks connected to various crimes, HOW MANY perps were charged with a federal felony???????
How many are serving PRISON TIME????? I bet all these guns were owned by upstanding pillars of the hood, right?
Pull the fucking CHAIR out of mothballs and remove these punks from society..
It’s about time someone starts filing lawsuits against people and organizations that violate our rights by attacking Americans citizens and their associates for taking advantage of our GOD given Constitutional rights!
FPRIKSTER
I wonder why people aren’t outraged by the manufactures of alcohol knowing that people can become addicted and ruin their lives and even loose their lives. 4 Times the number of people die every year in alcohol related deaths and yet there is not outrage to “ban” alcohol. People need to get off of their pet preferences and deal with facts. Anything can be misused and abused. Its like blaming a car manufacturer for making and engine that can be modified to run over 200mph and kill people. Common sense has become uncommon!
They tried the alchohol thing before. Remember prohibition? Gave rise to Organized Crime. See how that turned out? DON’T GIVE THEM ANY MORE IDEAS!
I say ferk Chicago and Glock should counter sue for defamation
I wonder what Chicago’s City LEO’s are packing??? Conflict of interest??
That might be a great legal argument, back in 2008 CPD Chief Jodi Weiss required all new recruits to purchase either a Glock 17 or 19. Jodi was copying the policies of his former agency, the FBI. So, I guess CPD and the FBI were/are marketing for Glock and throw LAPD in the case with many others.
‘Any’ firearm that is commercially available is not ‘immune’ from a modification that would make it illegal. From cutting down a barrel to installing something that could make it full-auto…there will always be a way to make it ‘illegal’ in one form or another.
If the firearm is ‘non-defective’ when it is sold, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act comes into play.
This is the same basic type of law that protects many industries from frivolous lawsuits or lawsuits designed around a political agenda.
Buy a car, well…in about a month or less, if you know how, you can turn it into an illegal and unsafe vehicle that is hard to control making it a danger on the street. Yet, with a vehicle, it is the ‘person’s fault’ and not the fault of the vehicle. Why?
Question. Will they declare it illegal for the police to carry a Glock in the performance of their duty?
This comes down to trying to ban firearms.
“To ban guns because criminals use them is to tell the innocent and law-abiding that their rights and liberties depend not on their own conduct, but on the conduct of the guilty and the lawless, and that the law will permit them to have only such rights and liberties as the lawless will allow. … For society does not control crime, ever, by forcing the law-abiding to accommodate themselves to the expected behavior of criminals. Society controls crime by forcing the criminals to accommodate themselves to the expected behavior of the law-abiding.”— Jeff Snyder
“The lawsuit targets Midwest Sporting Goods and Eagle Sports Range, alleging they are aware of the pistols’ modification potential yet continue to market and sell them.”
I do not know the Eagle Sports Range, but Midwest does NOT “market” the Glock. Glocks sell by themselves and Midwest had already been subject to extensive ‘oversight’ already by Lyons Township in 2015. Chicago wants to drive stores like this out of business one or two at a time.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2015/10/28/lyons-oks-unprecedented-gun-shop-regulations/
glock should sue shitcago for allowing it’s residents to illegally modify or reverse engineer it’s products!!!
The lawsuit had been brought in federal district court. That case was quietly withdrawn, and I would guess without the lawsuit ever being served on any of the parties. After dismissing the federal action, Chicago refiled in state court, but this time naming a number of in-state defendants. The purpose of this maneuver was to ensure that Glock cannot move the case to federal court, the City assuming that it would get a more receptive judge in Crook County. In fact, I don’t doubt it, as these are the same soft on crime judges that dismiss gun charges against criminals and convict them of related misdemeanors. Those judges should have no problem finding a way around the PLCAA. As an aside, one article I read said that Chicago met with representatives of Glock and were told in no uncertain terms that it was impossible to modify the Glock pistol to prevent it from being modified.
Yeap, and the refiling was a clever legal adjustment for court shopping, someone a little more shrewed must be taking over the case. I just wonder what the case migh reveal with the number of firearms that are confiscated in ILLinios with “switches” installed compared to the federal charges that are brought against those carrying the modified Glocks. The feds prefer cherry picking and targetting people like Bryan Malinowski but turn their backs on the real violations of big city criminals are involved