ICYMI: Albany Chief of Police Brendan Cox Supports Legislation to Stop the Flood of DIY Machine Guns in New York 

The Legislature is on its Final Week of Session as Lawmakers Debate Legislation to Stop the Sale of Easily Convertible Pistols into DIY Machine Guns 

ALBANY, N.Y. — During a virtual press conference hosted by Everytown for Gun Safety this past Friday, Albany Chief of Police Brendan Cox expressed support of the passage of legislation to stop the flood of DIY machine guns. S.399 and A.199 would prohibit the future sale to civilians of any semi-automatic pistols that can easily be converted into DIY machine guns simply by the installation of a Glock switch. For decades, Glock and the small number of other gun makers who use the same design have manufactured their pistols in a way that makes them uniquely easy to convert into illegal machine guns at home with a Glock switch and a screwdriver in minutes.  

Watch Chief Brendan Cox here: 

Chief Cox appeared with a “Glock switch” in hand (pictured above) that was recovered from a 24-year-old arrested earlier this year. If it had been used, that pistol equipped with the switch, could have been capable of firing at a rate of 1,200 rounds per minute.

A DIY machine gun is a pistol that is equipped with a Glock switch, which is a small, inexpensive device that can be installed in minutes with a screwdriver. Glock switches are illegal at the state and federal levels but are relatively easy to obtain illegally from overseas manufacturers, and can also be manufactured illegally using 3D printers. To learn more visit here. 

New York is an example that strong gun safety laws work. In an average year, 984 people die by guns in New York, and another 2,841 are wounded. Gun deaths and injuries cost New York $11.4 billion each year, of which $301.2 million is paid by taxpayers. More information about gun violence in New York can be found here.