After a violent year marked by multiple mass shootings in Alabama, Republican Gov. Kay Ivey and many lawmakers from both parties are backing a proposed ban on so-called Glock switches and other conversion devices that make semi-automatic weapons fire like machine guns. Ivey is expected to push that proposal Tuesday as part of a broader package of public safety bills in her State of the State address, pressing Alabama to join nearly two dozen other states that already outlaw such devices, the Associated Press reports. Communities across the country have seen deadly shootings carried out with the conversion devices, small pieces of metal or plastic, which can be purchased online or made with 3D printers. The devices convert semi-automatic weapons to fully automatic fire, capable of releasing multiple bullets with one squeeze of the trigger.
Alabama Democrats have long supported banning the conversion devices, but their bills have failed to win final approval in a Republican-dominated Alabama Legislature historically reluctant to support gun restrictions. The conversion devices were used in a September shooting that killed four people outside a Birmingham lounge, police believe. The devices are banned under federal law and in 23 states, according to anti-violence group Everytown for Gun Safety. Supporters said having a state ban will enable local district attorneys to pursue charges and prosecutions instead of referring the cases to federal prosecutors. Efforts to ban the devices have had mixed results. Mississippi and Maryland last year joined the states that have banned the devices. But in Pennsylvania, a bill to ban “multi-burst trigger activators” failed by one vote last year in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives after every Republican and one Democrat voted “no.” In addition to Alabama, Utah, Colorado and Virginia are expected to see state bans proposed, according to Everytown.
Komentar