INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana law now makes it illegal for anyone to possess devices for adapting a firearm into a machine gun.
Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb on Thursday signed a bill expanding state law to include so-called Glock switches that are already illegal under federal law. Police officials say such switches can convert a semi-automatic gun into one that shoots continuously while the trigger is pressed, firing dozens of bullets within a few seconds.
The Indiana House and Senate both by wide margins approved banning the gun switches even as the Republican-dominated Legislature has eased many gun laws in recent years, including repealing the state’s handgun permit requirement in 2022. The new law took effect immediately.
Supporters said the broader state law was needed so local police weren’t forced to rely on federal prosecutors pressing charges in such cases. People with such gun switches could now face felony charges under the state law making machine gun possession illegal.
Democratic Rep. Mitch Gore, who is a Marion County sheriff’s department captain, pushed for making the switches illegal, saying they can be made on 3-D printers and have been used in several Indiana shootings this year.
“When police respond to these shootings, they are quite literally being outgunned,” Gore said.
2 comments
“Already illegal under federal law.” More worthless posturing from our legislature and Dopey Prince Eric the Chinless Wonder of Hoosierland.
Take the criminals off the street and hold them in prison for decades. A very small percentage of the population commits a large percentage of all crime.
Those caught with these Glock “switches” should be prosecuted under federal law in a federal court. Why? Because the penalties are harder to lower and those imposed are harder to shorten. Most of the time federal gun violations are originally caught by local cops. Then it is up to the feds to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law. Guess what? The feds never carry through with their duty. The result: The People are left to defend themselves. Crime will not be lower a single bit by this law because criminals by definition care nothing for the law or abiding by it. That’s why they are criminals–living outside the law.