Prohibited Glock Switters in Alabama: What to know about the law

The application of local law and prosecutors say that the new Alabama state prohibition for Glock switches will result in more arrests and convictions and less violence in communities that have undergone deadly mass shooting.

After a tragic year marked by Deaths of 152 residents in Birmingham And a devastating mass shootings at a local night club in five points to the souththat involved the use of a Glock switchLocal officials say that the state ban on the machinery conversion devices is a step towards making the magic city safer.

Starting March 19, 2025, Possession of a Glock switch could now lead to a prison sentence of up to 10.

“The law of the state offers a local tool to our Birmingham police that when it captures someone who owns a Switch Glock, you should not go to the federal government,” said Mayor Randall Woodfin. “They can literally go to their local DA -DA to accelerate and maintain this process. This is above these federal resources allows state resources to engage exactly at the same time … This was necessary, this was important.”

Local and federal officials say they hope that the new legislation will lead to a more efficient restraint of people in the possession of Glock switches. But lawyers say it will take more than a state prohibition, police and criminal prosecution to solve the problem of the Alabama homicide.

What are the glock switches

Glock switches are a long centimeter device that fit on the back of a Glock and replace the trigger mechanism to make the gun work as a machine gun.

While Glock switches have become more popular change, The law prohibits all devices that turn a gun into a machine gun.

The interim chief of the Birmingham police, Michael Pickett, said the department started to see Glock Switches on the streets in 2021, with devices becoming more popular in 2023. He said that their popularity has only grown since then.

Glock switches have become a popular accessory among young people and were used in multiple mass filming in Alabama, including one in Dadeville who left 4 dead people and 32 injured and one in Birmingham who left 4 other dead and 17 injured.

How the Criminal Application and Pursue works

Prior to this new state ban, the federal government pursued all cases involving Glock switches, a process that can be selective.

The United States lawyer for the Northern district of Alabama Prim Ecalona has followed the 2021 switching cases. Her office has taken over 60 Glock switching cases.

“It was indeed the role of our office to try to come and assist where they were not capable, at the state level and locally, to perceive these offenses … We work with our state and local counterparts for these types of accusations,” said Escalon.

Initiatives such as Flip operation switch brought the public awareness to proliferate these devices in an effort to increase reports, training in law and criminal prosecution at the federal level.

Many of the cases that her office take over at the state level-but the federal agents usually expect a local partner to announce them when a potential weapon fee could accompany a state-level problem, such as a drug or assault stop.

The federal partners of law enforcement investigates the case, and the assistant lawyers of the United States prepare the case, which is then presented to a large jury for the indictment.

For some cases, the federal government has used stubborn operations to catch and arrest people who own devices. These tactics can be dangerous and can use a lot of time and resources.

“If (local law enforcement) do not have the ability to arrest under the accusation of glock switching at the state level, then that means we have to enter, find that person, try to obtain a mandate, arrested, finding, restraint,” Escalona said. “Therefore, it is useful for us when there are similar state accusations or a reason why the state can arrest, because they are the officers who come in contact with them.”

Escalon said that there are many reasons why people choose to own and use the device in addition to fire power, including the fact that devices are largely seen as a “status symbol” that offers “street credibility”.

She said that some glock switch convictions are for simple possession and could lead to a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Other cases have involved Glock switches to promote illegal drug trade, which could lead to a 30 -year -old compulsory prison sentence.

Some Glock switching cases will continue to be prosecuted at the federal level even with the state prohibition. The escalon said that there could be benefits for federal pursuit, including rapid processes, protecting the needs of the victim and witnesses and prison outside the state for those convicted.

Adding a state prohibition

The state prohibition of the glock switches came as a result of the legislators on both sides of the corridor that meet to plead for a tighter legislation.

“With this law, we exceeded the resistance to weapons safety legislation and adopted a state law that prohibited one of the most dangerous accessories of weapons that exists”, ” Rep. Phillip Ensler, D-Mentgomerywho supported the state ban in 2023, said.

The District Lawyer Danny Carr said that the formulation of the state prohibition for the Glock switches has “more teeth” than the federal law, because the sanctions can be applied, even if it cannot be proved that someone has been “knowledgeable” in the possession of the device.

“I think it’s huge,” Carr said. “It shows that there was an effort coordinated on the corridor by the legislature and that they recognized this problem that was deeply incorporated in Birmingham with the use of Glock switches.”

Carr, who grew up Ensley, a Birmingham neighborhood, who saw devastating amounts of weapons violenceHe said he believes that community members will appreciate the new law.

“I saw the type of carnival he leaves behind … I do not understand why a person would need this in a civilized society,” said Carr.

“I think this is a matter of public safety. I think people who do not deal with committing criminal acts in our community, violent acts, will appreciate that there is something in books that will respond to people to commit such attractive crimes in our community.”

What follows? Local lawyers and officials weigh

During a community meeting aimed at obtaining public contributions from community safety residentsWoodfin announced that the city is working with Stoppers Crime for Reward $ 1,000 types after arresting anyone caught in possession of Glock switches .

“It’s a game exchanger,” Woodfin told al.com. “I would say, for Birmingham, the most attractive crimes that people have committed were the use of Glock switches. What makes this draft law so strong and so important is the simple possession … because what is your intention?

Pickett said that the new law will lead to several arrests of local police departments and several cases will be pursued now, when local courts can take them.

On the other hand, the criminal defense lawyer, based in Birmingham, Leroy Maxwell Jr., said that the new law can do more harm than good.

Maxwell has taken over several federal pop switching cases, involving mostly young and black men.

“Most of these Glock switching cases do not come with cases where there was real violence, in which someone was shot or an attempt to kill or something along these lines,” said Maxwell Jr.

“The cases I worked on, which were related to Glock Switch, none of them, absolutely zero, were associated with any violence. They were usually associated with Facebook posts, where you can see a young man with a weapon on him or shooting a rap video or friends who do things that young people do.”

He said that he sees more frequently violent cases involving AR15 and bump stocks, devices that turn guns into machine guns, who have no state ban on Alabama.

Of the 50 cases Maxwell has taken over in the last five months involving weapons, which include robbery, attempted murder, murder and capital crime, he said that none of them involved the use of a switch glock.

“I think from there many of us defense lawyers take the problem with it. We really try to address a real systemic problem that happens or this is a surface level that has no effect on the violence of weapons or limiting the violence of weapons and, in fact, aims and hurts a certain community,” Maxwell said.