Ban handguns that are easily turned into illegal machine guns
Illinois leaders courageously fought the powerful gun lobby and led the country in gun violence prevention when they enacted a statewide ban on automatic weapons in 2023, but advances in technology are undermining that progress with a so-called “switch.”
No bigger than the size of a coin, a switch is a small, inexpensive device that can convert a standard, semiautomatic pistol into an automatic weapon, capable of dispensing up to 1,200 rounds a minute.
As the Illinois General Assembly enters its final and busiest weeks before spring adjournment, lawmakers must address the proliferation of switches in our fight against gun violence.
With a switch installed, these do-it-yourself, or DIY, machine guns are increasingly being found at the scenes of violent shootings. Between 2021 and 2024, Chicago police recovered more than 1,600 switches, including at two mass shootings, and they are believed to have been used in the shooting deaths of several law enforcement officers, according to Everytown for Gun Safety.
As we have seen far too many times in incidents of mass violence, the presence of automatic weapons exponentially increases the number of lives lost.
Although switches are banned federally, and the Protect Illinois Communities Act specifically prohibits switches as well as automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines in the state, their availability persists, in part because 3D-printing technology allows criminals to print switches for little cost from the comfort of their own homes.
In the three years since Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Protect Illinois Communities Act into law, it’s become far too easy to skirt.
Just last month, law enforcement authorities arrested a Rockford man for selling switches and parts for weapons made by a 3D printer out of his house. Weeks before that, Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office arrested a suburban Aurora man for a slew of gun charges, including possession of machine gun conversion devices.
The Responsible Gun Manufacturing Act (House Bill 4471 and Senate Bill 2801) would go further than federal law by banning the sale of weapons that can be easily converted into illegal machine guns. In effect, the legislation, sponsored by Rep. Justin Slaughter, D-Chicago, and Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago, would prevent convertible guns from being made in the first place.
Critics argue that criminals will always find a way to break the law, but this legislation goes to the root of the issue by holding the gun industry accountable for making a product that is easily weaponized illegally.
Like other product manufacturers in our country, companies that make guns should be held accountable when their products have extremely deadly consequences on American lives. This bill would establish reasonable expectations on the gun industry to put in place safer designs, as we expect of other industries.
In fact, several large gun manufacturers already make new models that cannot be converted into DIY machine guns.
Accountability is not to lay blame, but part of a broader strategy to address the public health crisis of gun violence, especially in communities hardest hit by its devastating impacts. If we are to change the fact that guns continue to be the leading cause of death for children and teens in our country, we need comprehensive solutions concentrated on prevention.
Many gun violence prevention organizations and committed stakeholders, led by Everytown for Gun Safety and supported by Gun Violence Prevention PAC, are urging leaders to pass the bill this spring.
We have made significant progress in our fight to reduce the availability of weapons of war and illegal guns in our communities, leading to historically low violence rates in Chicago. While this is the trend we want to see, recently released data showed an uptick in shootings so far this year in the city, a reminder that the work to build on our progress must continue.
Illinois law must keep pace with advancing technology, and the General Assembly must take the opportunity to hold the firearm industry accountable, protect communities and law enforcement officers, and save lives.
Kathleen Sances is president and CEO of Gun Violence Prevention PAC.