Half of American states ban pistols into semis switch

In New Mexico, police and prosecutors backed an effort to outlaw devices that convert pistols into machine guns.

- Associated Press

WASHINGTON: In Alabama, the governor made it a priority. Lawmakers in both states —one led by Democrats, the other by Republicans — responded this year with new laws making so-called Glock switches illegal.

At least half of US states now have similar laws prohibiting the possession of such devices, a list that has grown over the past decade as law enforcement officers have found more of the tiny yet powerful devices attached to guns.

States are mimicking federal law, which for decades has generally prohibited machine guns and any parts that can transform semiautomatic weapons into automatic ones.

US law defines a machine gun as a weapon that automatically fires more than one shot with a single pull of a trigger. The definition also includes any parts designed to convert a weapon into a machine gun.