Illinois Bill To Ban Glock Pistols

 As reported by Bearing Arms and Legal Insurrection, Democrats in the Illinois legislature have introduced a bill, HB4045, and companion bill in the state's senate, that "would allow anyone who knowingly manufactures, sells,  offers to sell, purchases, receives, manufactures, imports, or transfers a 'convertible pistol' to be charged with unlawful possession of a weapon; a class 4 felony in the state punishable by a minimum of one year in prison and up to three years behind bars and a $25,000 fine." By "convertible pistol" they mean a pistol that can be converted to a machine gun with the addition of a "Glock Switch".  As described by an article at SOFREP, "[t]he switch replaces the backplate on the slide of the gun. Inside the switch is a tiny piece called a 'disconnector.' This part presses against the trigger bar and stops it from resetting after each shot."

    The switches are already illegal under federal law and, as the Bearing Arms article explains:

Illinois already banned the switches that convert semi-automatic pistols into fully-automatic firearms in the Protect Illinois Communities Act (along with banning "large capacity" magazines and so-called assault weapons"), but Everytown claims that HB 4045 is needed "as it is not possible to fully realize the rapid fire device ban unless you also target the firearms compatible with them." 

There has been a growing hysteria over these devices over the past several years, with much of the hysteria coming from the large police agencies and the ATF. (See, e.g., this 2023 article from WGN9 in Chicago). Now the problem could be solved by prosecutors not releasing the gangbangers using these devices back onto the street, but that would anger an important Democrat constituency. So, instead, like a dog turning to its own vomit, Democrats want to instead further limit the ability of normal people to defend themselves against violent criminals, even though, as the Legal Insurrection article points out, the Supreme Court has held it unconstitutional to ban handguns. 

    But as the Legal Insurrection article notes, "[a]gain, criminals do not care about laws. That’s why they’re criminals." And that applies to the gangbangers using these devices as well.