Weekly Wrap: CO Moves to Ban Assault Weapons & Chicago Sues Glock
Colorado's assault weapons ban moves to the House floor, the city of Chicago sues Glock, and Mall of America employs gun-sniffing dogs.
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Welcome to a weekly series here on Pew Pew Tactical dedicated to the gun news you need to know.
So, keep reading for this week’s notable news headlines…
Table of Contents
CO Assault Weapons Ban Clears First Committee, Heads to House Floor
A bill dedicated to banning a slew of semi-auto firearms in the state – to include almost every semi-auto rifle with a detachable magazine and even some pistols and shotguns – was pushed through the Colorado House Judiciary Committee and now heads to the Colorado House floor.
The bill in question, Colorado House Bill 24-1292, otherwise known as "Prohibit Certain Weapons Used in Mass Shootings," targets so-called “assault weapons.” The bill defines these as semi-automatic rifles and pistols with fixed large-capacity magazines or those that can accept detachable magazines. Under the bill, rapid-fire trigger activators are also banned.
Though there is a grandfather clause, future violations would incur a first-time penalty of $250,000. A $500,000 fine would follow subsequent violations.
Sponsored by State Rep. Elizabeth Epps (D-Denver) and Rep. Tim Hernandez (D-Denver), supporters of the bill said the aim is not to take away guns but instead ban firearms often used in mass shootings.
“I’ve been living with this my entire life, from 2009 to 2022,” Hernández, a freshman lawmaker, said during the committee hearing. “Nine out of 10 of the mass shooting incidents with the most casualties involve the use of at least one assault weapon. This has been happening my entire life. And, to be frank with you, I’m not waiting anymore.”
But 2A advocates say the bill targets law-abiding citizens and does nothing to prevent mass shootings or crime.
Amanda Hardin, a firearms instructor in the state, told the committee that bad guys will still be bad guys despite weapons bans.
“You cannot legislate away evil, period,” Hardin explained. “But you can defend yourself against evil. I want to be clear, this is not an assault weapons ban bill. The language in this bill makes this a gun ban.”
The bill passed the committee along party lines on a 7-3 vote. It now heads to the Colorado House.
The City of Chicago Sues Glock
Austrian gun maker Glock came under fire this week after the city of Chicago launched a lawsuit against the manufacturer.
The city claims Glock manufactures and sells popular semi-auto pistols that can easily be converted into machine guns using a “Glock switch”; thus, according to the lawsuit, the gun maker is responsible for the “illegal machine guns on the streets of Chicago.”
Chicago PD says that the switches can be bought for $20 or even 3D printed at home, converting the semi-auto Glock pistols into full-auto pistols.
Mayor Brandon Johnson said after law enforcement discovered that more than a thousand guns had been illegally converted into machine guns over the past couple of years, something had to be done to stop the gun violence in his city.
“The City of Chicago is encountering a deadly new frontier in the gun violence plaguing our communities because of the increase of fully automatic Glocks on our streets,” Johnson said in a statement.
“Selling firearms that can so easily be converted into automatic weapons makes heinous acts even more deadly, so we are doing everything we can in collaboration with others committed to ending gun violence to hold Glock accountable for putting profits over public safety.”
The lawsuit says it is Glock’s responsibility to ensure its firearms cannot be illegally converted.
“Gun manufacturers like Glock must be held accountable for the irresponsible decision to continue selling firearms that can be easily modified and converted into weapons of war,” Deputy Mayor of Community Safety Garien Gatewood explained.
Glock has not responded to the allegations.
Gun-Sniffing Dogs Find Employment at Mall of America
The Mall of America has found new employees in the shape of man’s best friend. The mall recently announced new security measures that include K-9s trained to sniff out and find concealed firearms on shoppers.
The dogs have spent months training, learning the scents of various firearms parts. When they find the scent, they are trained to alert their handler.
In total, eight K-9s have now joined the Mall of America’s security team and will now regularly patrol the mall, hunting for concealed carry handguns.
"Firearm detection is a relatively new concept in the K-9 world, so we kind of heard about it here and there. We really started to explore it last year in earnest and kind of went full throttle from there," Vice President of Mall Security Will Bernhjelm told CBS News.
The increased security measures come after shootings in the mall in 2021 and 2022.
The K-9 unit joins the mall’s existing security measures that consist of surveillance cameras, bike patrols, plain-clothes and uniformed officers, and a behavior analyst who observes and watches for “suspicious behavior.”