California Now Looking to Ban Most Popular Handgun Model on Planet

When I decided I needed a new carry gun, there were a number of factors I considered. My CZ-75B is a fantastic firearm, but it’s heavy and there aren’t options for things like lights and such. Plus, magazines aren’t exactly plentiful.

I went with a Glock 19 because it met my criteria at the time, and I’m pleased with it. It’s nothing fancy, but I know that anywhere I look for a holster, a light, or aftermarket upgrades, I’ll probably be able to get it because the guns are just so damn common. A company would have to be stupid not to offer something for that firearm.

Despite these firearms being so common, though, California is looking to ban them.

 GLOCK, one of the most popular gun manufacturers, faces a rocky future in California as the state legislature considers banning guns that could be easily converted to machine guns

Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel authored AB 1127 to help eliminate gun violence and mass shootings, which would ban the sale of semiautomatic pistols that could be easily converted with an attachment to a fully automatic weapon.

“AB 1127 is a common-sense bill to hold the firearm industry accountable for their failure to prevent conversion of their guns to dangerous automatic weapons. The firearm industry has known for decades about a vulnerability in some designs rendering them readily convertible into automatic weapons. This bill is focused on the industry’s lack of action to prevent conversion and will ensure we are doing everything we possibly can to protect our communities from mass shootings,” Assemblymember Gabriel said in a statement to ABC10.

The effort comes after the converted weapons were used in several mass shootings, including the 2022 Sacramento K Street shooting.

It is already federally illegal to own machine guns and the sale of pistol switches is already prohibited in California. Still, advocates say they can be easily brought into the state or made illegally through processes like 3-D printing.

“Ultimately, we need the manufacturers of these easily convertible pistols to act responsibly and change their design, and they shouldn’t be allowed to sell in California until they do so,” said Krystal Lopilato, the director for public policy for Everytown for Gun Safety, at a committee hearing.

The devices used to convert these guns are illegal at the federal level. Putting one on your gun is illegal at the federal level.

Despite this, full-auto switches keep showing up at crime scenes, particularly in places like California.

If gun control worked, this would be a non-issue. It doesn’t, though, and so now they want Glock to change a time-tested, proven design or be prohibited in the Golden State.

This is a big issue because while I might disagree with the phrase, the courts have long held that you cannot ban guns “in common use.” I fail to see how Glocks won’t fall into that category. I’m sure the Ninth Circuit can figure a way, of course, but damned if I can.

Sure, this is a brand, not a category, so maybe that’s the approach they’ll take.

However, while it’s clear they understand that some of these switches come in from out of state, it’s ridiculous that they don’t understand that Glocks will just come in illegally from out of state. Glock won’t be selling them to the bad guys through California gun stores, but I hate to break it to them, they’re not doing that now. These are generally stolen guns.

So this will do nothing except to punish Glock and would-be Glock buyers for something Glock never did. 

I swear, I can’t imagine why anyone would move to California.