Alabama state Senator Rodger Smitherman has prefiled a series of bills to increase penalties for firearm offenses and ban Glock switches in response to a recent shooting tragedy.
Published: Jan. 03, 2025, 1:43 p.m. Alabama state Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, has prefiled a series of bills aimed at increasing penalties for firearm related offenses and banning Glock switches in response to a recent tragedy. Smitherman said this tragedy motivated him to draft the new legislation. “They used a gun that was modified with a Glock switch to make it a machine gun, and all those people were shot and killed and injured,” he said. “That’s in the middle of my district.
Not only just because of my district, but it’s been happening in other parts of the state as well.” “We’ve got to take an aggressive approach to remove those people and those instruments from our streets, so they’ll be safe. That’s the motivation.” One bill would make it a Class C felony to “knowingly possess a machine gun, including the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any part intended to convert a firearm into a machine gun , and parts from which a machine gun may be assembled.” Exceptions are provided for state or local law enforcement officers while acting in an official capacity and any machine gun lawfully owned or possessed under federal law. Smitherman said it is especially important to focus on tools that convert firearms, like Glock switches, because they can be even more dangerous. “You take a single shot, what might be called a bolt action gun, that force from shooting is measured and you know, you can have full control of it. But when you put these switches on, now, these guns weren’t built for that.” “And they shouldn’t be out there shooting it like that anyway. So, you know, you can’t aim it properly. You’re just out there shooting, spreading bullets very recklessly on innocent people.” Another bill would “require any person who causes the death of another person using a (machine gun) under certain circumstances to be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole” if the defendant was 18 years of age or older at the time of the offense
GLOCK SWITCHES FIREARM LEGISLATION ALABAMA GUN VIOLENCE
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