Within the course of a day, the City of Chicago both withdrew and re-filed its lawsuit against popular handgun maker, Glock, blaming the company for the actions of criminals who illegally modify the firearm to shoot in a fully automatic mode.
The expanded lawsuit was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, and includes Glock Ges.m.b.H, the Austrian Glock entity and part owner of the U.S. Glock subsidiary, and two Illinois FFLs who are on Glock’s roster of preferred dealers.
The original suit was filed by the City of Chicago Law Department in the Cook County Circuit Court on March 19, 2024, citing the Illinois’ Firearms Industry Responsibility Act, (signed into law in 2023), as the foundation for the complaint. It moved to federal court within 30 days, and after Glock filed a motion to dismiss, on Monday, the city filed a notice of voluntary dismissal without prejudice with the federal court.
The revised complain makes numerous ridiculous allegations, but starts with the admission that the very basis of the lawsuit is criminal activity:
Unfortunately, the machine gun has returned as a weapon of choice for criminals in Chicago…
The firearms Glock markets and sells to the public are all highly regulated, and all LEGAL under current US law.
That doesn’t stop the city from doubling down on the fact that they are being illegally modified:
Glock pistols are the most popular firearm in America. They are also the firearm most favored by criminals, particularly in Chicago.
The argument is functionally the same as blaming an automobile manufacturer for the fact that an automobile is capable of exceeding the speed limit. An aftermarket part (illegally obtained) can be installed to cause the firearm to fire in full automatic mode, which in itself is not illegal, but requires quite a bit of paperwork, background checks and compliance with Federal law.
This is a case that the city is not likely to win on the merits, yet as is often the case, the process is the punishment for the manufacturer and the two stores being sued.
The complaint also attempts to brand the stores named in the lawsuit as dealers of “crime guns”, or firearms that are recovered in the commission of a crime:
The top suppliers of crime guns into Chicago are all GlockAuthorized Dealers, including Defendant Midwest Sporting Goods in Lyons, which has consistently ranked in the top two of dealer sources of crime guns recovered in Chicago dating back to at least 2009, and Defendant Eagle Sports Range in Oak Forest, which, on information and belief, soared to be the second-most frequent supplier of crime guns into Chicago only five short years after it opened in 2016, accounting for 4% of the City’s crime guns that were traced to a known purchaser.
Although there was a single case of the store not properly vetting a prohibited person in 2022, the stores are not habitually selling guns to criminals (else they would be permanently put out of business by the ATF immediately). Rather these are firearms that are stolen from law-abiding citizens and then nefariously named “crime guns” for the sake of propaganda.
The penultimate complaint by the City of Chicago, which has the strictest gun control laws of any city in the country, yet on the July 4 weekend, saw 109 shot, with 19 fatalities:
The perfectly legal activity of marketing and selling legal firearms, “…endangers the safety of Chicago residents and their communities.”
Ironically enough, the 67 page complaint is detailed enough to act as a guide for anyone interested in illegally modifying their glock with a “switch”, complete with pictures, instructions, and explanations of how the technology works.
We will continue to cover this story.
