Thursday, January 30, 2025

PA prosecutors want statewide ban on machine gun conversion devises

The Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association (PDAA) called on state lawmakers to help find solutions for several public safety concerns, which includes adopting a statewide ban on machine gun conversion devices, also known as “switches.” These devices enable shooters to unload an entire magazine of bullets in a couple of seconds, reported WJET-TV in Erie, Pennsylvania. 

The PDAA says machine gun conversion devices are inexpensive, easily obtained by criminals, and can be manufactured with 3D printers.

The letter cites the March 2024 after-school shooting at a SEPTA bus stop in Northeast Philadelphia, where three teenagers used a machine gun conversion device and eight high school students were severely injured. Philadelphia Police say one of the teenage shooters had a switch on a .40 caliber handgun, which allowed him to shoot 23 rounds in less than two seconds.

While the devices are illegal under federal law, most of the gun cases in Pennsylvania are prosecuted on the county or state level. This, the PDAA argues, is why the organization is asking lawmakers to give state prosecutors “the tools they need to get these devices off the streets and stop endangering our law enforcement officers, who simply do not have the same firepower as criminals carrying these machine gun-like weapons.”

To read the full letter, click here.


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