GLOCK Inc. has filed a motion in federal court seeking dismissal of a harassment lawsuit filed against the company by the City of Chicago seeking to hold the company responsible for “facilitating the proliferation of illegal machine guns” in the city, which have been altered by the addition of an aftermarket component generically known as the “Glock switch.”

The motion was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. GLOCK Inc. is represented by attorneys Holly A. Harrison and Michael L. Rice at Harrison Law in Chicago, and by John F. Renzulli, Christopher Renzulli and Scott C. Allan at the Renzulli Law Firm in White Plains, N.Y.

The lawsuit against GLOCK Inc. was filed back in March and touted as the first-of-its-kind lawsuit against a firearms manufacturer. The company, with a facility in Smyrna, Georgia, manufactures handguns used by law enforcement and private citizens across the U.S.

In its press release announcing the lawsuit in March, even Chicago acknowledged that GLOCK Inc. is “the manufacturer of the most popular handguns in the United States.”

According to the city, this is the first legal action to utilize the new Firearms Industry Responsibility Act (ICFA) passed by the Illinois Legislature last year. Chicago claims its police have recovered more than 1,100 Glock pistols “that have been converted into illegal machine guns in the last two years alone in connection with a wide variety of crimes, including homicides, aggravated assaults, batteries, kidnappings, burglaries, home invasions, carjackings, and attempted robberies.”

But GLOCK’s attorneys argue in their motion the city’s claims are “based on alleged violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (ICFA).”

GLOCK’s motion for dismissal argues the Illinois law “is unconstitutional because it interferes with interstate commerce, is unconstitutionally vague, and violates the Second Amendment.” The company further argues that the city’s complaint is barred by the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), a federal statute signed into law by President George W. Bush nearly two decades ago.

The “Glock switches,” primarily mass-produced in China, are described by the city as a “cheap, small device.” The city argues in its lawsuit that Glock knows it can fix the problem “but refuses to do so.” The city wants a court order forcing Glock to change its 40-plus-year-old pistol design and “cease sales of its easily converted pistols to Chicago civilians.” It also wants penalties against Glock and damages for what it claims is harm the company has caused to the city.

According to the popular website heyjackass.com, which monitors Chicago homicides, last year the city saw a total of 648 murders, of which 576 involved fatal gunshot wounds. Another 2,501 people were shot and wounded.

So far this year, the website noted as of Friday, June 14, there have been 204 people fatally shot in the Windy City and another 991 wounded. The city has racked up 237 total homicides, the website said.

In their motion, GLOCK Inc’s attorneys contend, “In addition, the City’s claims are all barred because of a lack of proximate cause as a matter of law, and its common law claims are barred based on a lack of duty.”

This is hardly the first time a municipality has filed a lawsuit against a firearms manufacturer, seeking to hold a company responsible for criminal acts committed by people beyond their control, and likely with criminal records who should not even possess a firearm under current law.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, several cities, with support from the gun prohibition lobby and the now defunct Bloomberg-backed Mayors Against Illegal Guns, filed a string of lawsuits, commonly referred to as “junk lawsuits.” It took years of litigation, plus passage of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), to bring a halt to those actions. Many believe the lawsuits are simply designed to bankrupt the firearms industry.

Chicago’s lawsuit amounts to déjà vu. The city partnered with Everytown Law, a gun control offshoot of Everytown for Gun Safety, the Michael Bloomberg-backed gun prohibition lobbying group.

The lawsuit also involved the private law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP.

On March 26th, 2024, a dozen state attorney generals, all Democrats, sent a letter to Glock General Counsel Carlos Guevara strongly suggesting these states may follow Chicago’s lead and file their own lawsuits against the company.

Among the attorneys general signing the original threatening letter was Bob Ferguson, a Democrat now running to become Washington State’s next governor. He was joined by AGs from Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia.

About Dave Workman

Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.