FOUR-STATE BLOCKADE: Maryland, New York and Connecticut Join California to Stop the Spread of ‘DIY Machine Guns’

NEW YORK - Today, Everytown for Gun Safety and its grassroots network, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, celebrated a major watershed moment in public safety as four states have now successfully passed and enacted legislation to require gun manufacturers update their pistols' designs to prevent them from being easily converted into "DIY machine guns." Following California's first-in-the-nation victory last session, lawmakers in Maryland, New York and Connecticut have championed the passage of matching legislation this session. These landmark laws will soon prohibit the sale of handguns whose designs allow them to be easily and quickly converted into fully automatic DIY machine guns using an illegal "Glock switch" or auto sear.

For decades, certain gun manufacturers have knowingly sold firearms that are uniquely susceptible to being easily converted into illegal machine guns - with just a screwdriver and a $25 "switch." When a handgun is converted into a DIY machine gun using a switch, it is capable of firing at a rate of up to 1,200 rounds per minute, or 20 rounds per second.

The newly passed laws establish a baseline product safety standard, forcing manufacturers to choose between responsibly redesigning their pistols so they cannot easily accept switches, or stopping sales of those models in these states. The laws protect public safety while respecting the rights of law-abiding citizens, as they apply only to future civilian retail sales and do not force current owners to relinquish or modify the firearms they currently own.

"For too long, irresponsible actors in the gun industry have skirted responsibility for the proliferation of illegal machine guns, while pocketing the profits from handguns built for easy conversion," said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. "By passing this common-sense accountability measure, California, Maryland, New York and Connecticut have sent a clear message to manufacturers: Clean up your designs, or lose out on a significant portion of your market."

"As mothers, we refuse to accept a reality where our children have to face the terrifying firepower of military-grade machine guns in their schools and neighborhoods," said Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action. "What started as a first-of-its-kind victory in California has quickly grown into a powerful multi-state movement that is taking the fight directly to the gun industry's doorstep. Our grassroots army of volunteers stood shoulder-to-shoulder with courageous lawmakers to demand accountability, and we won. We are putting every irresponsible gun manufacturer on notice: change your designs or stop doing business in our states."

Across the country, law enforcement recoveries of machine gun conversion devices, including switches, skyrocketed by 784% between 2019 and 2023 alone. While state-level laws that track federal law and ban possession of the switches themselves are an important tool for police, the devices are small, easy to 3D print, and hard to detect. By cutting off the supply of switch-compatible, easily convertible handguns at the retail source, these four states have stepped in to patch a glaring gap in public safety. Everytown, Moms Demand Action, and Students Demand Action will continue to mobilize their millions of volunteers to take this accountability campaign state-by-state, ensuring that the next generation of firearms sold in America is safer by design.