Gangsters in American cities are increasingly “modifying their firearms to enable fully automatic fire, converting simple handguns into tiny machine guns,” according to The Epoch Times.
Called a “switch,” “chip,” or auto sear, these illegal gun parts are being bought from China and can transform a standard semi-automatic Glock into a fully automatic weapon.
The Trace, a nonprofit news organization focused on gun violence, reported earlier this year that illegal switches could be purchased online for as little as $20.
A 2017 report from The Firearm Blog said Glock switches were once available on Amazon. The gun blog continued:
“Given the size of the Amazon marketplace, it isn’t surprising that some unscrupulous sellers slip through the cracks. Nothing that I saw on the seller’s page indicated they are affiliated with Amazon beyond having a presence on the e-commerce giant’s marketplace.”
Though the switches are banned from all e-commerce websites, many were imported from China.
On the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) website, the federal agency describes these devices as “a relatively simple, albeit illegal, device that allows a conventional semi-automatic Glock pistol to function as a fully automatic firearm. The switch is classified as a machine gun under federal law.”
This means that anyone possessing a Glock switch that doesn’t have a license to own one will face serious jail time. But this hasn’t stopped gangsters from buying switches from China or illegally making them.
While there are no comprehensive national statistics on the proliferation of Glock switches used in violent crime, a story count for the device mentioned in all US media has erupted in the last 12 months.
The only issue for the ATF is the 3D printing community has already learned how to make switches — making the need for Chinese ones obsolete.
A Glock switch allows the firearm to dump a 30-round magazine in about 2 seconds. Any gangster trying to use the switch will easily miss their target because of rapid recoil.
And why does YouTube allow kids to publish rap videos about illegal gun devices?
…
