Chicago City Wire

CHICAGO – The City of Chicago has expanded its pioneering lawsuit against Glock, the manufacturer of popular handguns in the United States. Three additional defendants were named in the complaint submitted yesterday in Cook County Circuit Court: Glock Ges.m.b.H, the Austrian entity part-owner of the U.S. Glock subsidiary, and two Chicago-area gun stores, Eagle Sports Range in Oak Forest, Illinois, and Midwest Sporting Goods in Lyons, Illinois.

First filed in March, the lawsuit alleges that Glock endangers Chicago residents by manufacturing and selling pistols that can easily be converted to fully automatic fire with an auto sear—a device commonly known as a “Glock switch.” The submission reports that from 2021 through May 2024, over 1,300 converted Glocks were recovered by law enforcement.

The expanded lawsuit further alleges deceptive marketing practices by Glock regarding the safety of its pistols and its commitment to community safety. It claims that due to their easy conversion into illegal machine guns, Glock pistols are frequently diverted into criminal channels, increasing gun violence in Chicago.

“The City of Chicago will do everything in its power to end gun violence and counter the increase of fully automatic Glocks on our streets,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “We are expanding this lawsuit to ensure that other irresponsible actors who have contributed to the proliferation of easily modified Glocks in our city are held accountable.”

According to the complaint, Glock continues to sell and market easily modified pistols through notorious gun stores. Two such dealers are defendants Midwest Sporting Goods and Eagle Sports Range. The lawsuit states that Midwest Sporting Goods has been a major source of crime guns recovered in Chicago while Eagle Sports Range became a significant supplier after opening in 2016. Despite having its license revoked by ATF in 2022 for dangerous business practices, Eagle Sports Range continued operations under a new owner but retained similar sales practices.

The lawsuit asserts that both Midwest Sporting Goods and Eagle Sports Range know about the ease with which Glock pistols can be converted into illegal machine guns yet continue their sales practices. Additionally, it claims Midwest Sporting Goods markets these pistols as safe while omitting information about auto sears. It also highlights Eagle Sports Range’s social media posts featuring demonstrations of modified Glocks’ fully automatic capabilities.

Glock Ges.m.b.H is also named as a defendant. The complaint alleges that founder Gaston Glock has been aware since the 1980s that his pistols could be easily converted into machine guns but chose not to alter their design for profit reasons. The parent company is accused of collaborating closely with its U.S. subsidiary in all aspects related to Glocks' design, manufacture, promotion, and distribution.

The City seeks court orders requiring defendants to cease sales and marketing of easily convertible Glock pistols to civilians and specific injunctions against Eagle Sports Range's promotional activities involving modified Glocks. Penalties for these actions are also sought.

The expanded lawsuit was filed by the City of Chicago Law Department along with Everytown Law and Motley Rice LLC.

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