Glocks are among the most popular handguns sold in California. Even former Vice President Kamala Harris owns one. But Californians will no longer be able to buy a new Glock gun in the state.
Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law that bans the sale of new Glock guns in California.
At issue, the new Glock design allows the gun to be easily modified with a Lego-sized piece of plastic known as a “Glock Switch” that can be 3-D printed to turn it into a fully automatic weapon.
Glock “switches” are already illegal, but Democratic lawmakers in California went one step further by passing a bill along party lines that outlaws the sale of any new gun with a Glock-like design. The new law does not ban possession of Glocks, nor does it ban reselling used Glocks in California.
Southern California Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, who introduced Assembly Bill 1127, said he hopes this legislation forces Glock to change its design so “switches” no longer work.
“They (Glock) have known about this design flaw for a long time,” Gabriel said to CBS News California. “They could help save lives.”
California is the third-largest U.S. market for gun sales. Gun store owner Eddie Ford explained that, unlike some other handguns, Glocks are designed to be customizable. He noted that the design of the Glock has remained the same due to “its ultra-reliability.”
Newer models of Glocks do have an added piece that is intended to block the Glock switch. But California’s attorney general hasn’t approved that model for sale here.
Ford acknowledged, realistically, someone could easily file that added piece off in about a minute.
Despite the new law, Ford said that California gun stores like his will keep selling used Glocks, and he doesn’t expect this bill to reduce the number of incidents where Glock switches are used.
“Because there are still millions of Glocks on the streets,” he said. “If criminals want them, they’re going to get them.”
Deborah Grimes lost her only son, Greg “Najee’ Grimes, when he was shot seven times with a modified Glock. Najee was shot and killed in a downtown Sacramento nightclub in 2022. The gunman fired 11 rapid shots into a crowd, with seven hitting Najee.
“Had he been shot maybe once, even twice, I feel that he would have been able to survive that,” Grimes said.
Najee was a star football player, a coach, and a mentor to special needs kids. He is now the reason for Deborah Grimes’ mission with the advocacy group Moms Demand Action.
It was the second mass shooting in the shadow of the California State Capitol in just three months and one of 55 statewide that year.
The shooter used a Glock handgun, modified with a Glock Switch.
“There was just too much damage because that Glock ‘switch’ was a killing machine,” Grimes said of her son’s shooting.
Najee’s murder garnered national attention, even being featured on “America’s Most Wanted” while law enforcement officials were still searching for a suspect. Now, his mom hopes her advocacy will have a national impact.
“I hope that Glock moves forward to make the (design) change,” Grimes said.
If Glock were to redesign the gun, it could be sold in California again. However, the current design was grandfathered in before California passed its stringent gun certification laws in 2001. A new design would have to go through a lengthy certification process.
AB 1127 was passed by the California legislature on a party-line vote, with all Republican assemblymembers in opposition.
“By specifically targeting the potential for modification, this bill disproportionately affects potential Glock purchasers and restricts access to one of the most popular handguns available,” Republican lawmakers outlined in their analysis of the bill.
Glock did not respond to a request for comment.
