California Gun Rights Foundation Warns of Extreme Threat to Rights from AB 1127

San Diego, CA – The California Gun Rights Foundation (CGF) today raised the alarm over Assembly Bill 1127, a sweeping proposal moving through the State Assembly that could outlaw the sale of some of the most common and widely-owned firearms in America, including all civilian-available Glocks.

Introduced by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, AB 1127 would ban the sale of any semi-automatic firearm the state deems "easily convertible" to automatic fire, a vague and dangerous standard that threatens lawful commerce and the constitutional rights of millions of Californians.

"This bill is a complete ban of the most common self-defense firearms in America, especially Glocks," said Michael Schwartz, Executive Director of the California Gun Rights Foundation. "It doesn’t just target criminals, it criminalizes lawful ownership and sales of a normal self-defense tool and it is based on an undefined government opinion before it is ever in the gun owner's hands."

The bill purports to address the already illegal so-called "Glock switches," which is an illegal aftermarket part that criminals use to convert certain handguns into fully automatic weapons. AB 1127’s broad language sweeps in ordinary firearms owned by sane, trained, law-abiding, peaceable people. Worse, the measure explicitly exempts law enforcement and military sales from its restrictions.

"Anytime a bill like this exempts the government class, but criminalizes the general public, that’s a giant red flag," Schwartz said. "It’s unconstitutional on its face."

AB1127 specifically addresses Glock’s cruciform trigger bar which is a flat, cross-shaped component in the trigger mechanism that connects the trigger to the firing mechanism. It is a critical part in the firearm's operation. Glock introduced a design change in their Gen 5 pistols (and some Gen 4 models) that includes a block or modified trigger housing to prevent the installation of a Glock switch. This block interferes with the attachment of the switch to the rear of the slide, making it physically incompatible with the mechanism needed for full-auto conversion.

The trigger housing in new Gen 5 models has been altered to obstruct the space where a switch would apply force to the cruciform trigger bar, which is the component manipulated by the switch to bypass the semi-automatic firing limitation.  Despite Glock’s changes, AB 1127 bans guns with the new preventative measures.  AB 1127 has already passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee and is currently under consideration by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

CGF warns that AB 1127 represents one of the most aggressive attacks yet on Californians' Second Amendment rights and stands prepared to defend those rights in court if necessary.

"The inability to sell the most popular, widely used self-defense tool in the nation is beyond extreme. There is nothing reasonable or common sense about a complete ban," Schwartz added.

For more information about CGF’s litigation efforts, visit www.cagunrights.org.