Backed by police chiefs and gun safety advocates, Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday that Connecticut should become the second state after California to pass legislation banning the manufacture and sale of “convertible” handguns that can easily be made to function as an illegal machine gun. The pre ss conference promoting Lamont’s legislation, House Bill 5043, comes in  advance of a public hearing Wednesday that already has attracted written testimony from dozens of opponents who call the bill an overreach that would ban sales of popular Glock firearms and other striker-fired pistols of similar design. Striker-fired pistols have an internal, spring-loaded firing pin that ignites a cartridge rather than an external hammer. An after-market switch, popularly known as a “Glock switch,” can illegally convert them to an easily concealable machine gun. Lamont said the ultimate goal is to push Glock and other manufacturers to redesign their firearms, not ban them from the Connecticut market. “These Glock-lock style switches are really dangerous. We got to work with the manufacturers to make them a little less easy to turn your pistol into a machine gun,” Lamont said. The switches already are illegal in Connecticut and many other stats, but the governor said that ban is insufficient. His office says the Hartford police seized 51 Glock switches in 2023 and 2024. Vernon Reddick, the West Hartford police chief who hosted the press conference at his headquarters, said his suburban department also had recovered some. The switches can be made inexpensively with 3D printers, police say. They have been blamed in mass shootings, including one outside a bar in Alabama that left four dead and 17 wounded. Firearms literature is mixed on the degree to which Glocks are particularly susceptible to conversions or if the switches are so-named because of Glock’s popularity and market share. The bill does not ban all striker-fired pistols, nor does it mention Glock or any other brand by name. Instead, it tries to define what is and is not a “convertible pistol.” “‘Convertible pistol’ means any semiautomatic pistol with a cruciform trigger bar that  can be readily converted by hand or with a common household tool into a machine gun solely by the installation or attachment of a pistol converter,” the bill states in part. The language also says, “‘Convertible pistol’ does not include any hammer-fired semiautomatic pistol or striker-fired semiautomatic pistol that has a trigger bar that is shielded from interference by a pistol converter.” Glock did not respond to a request for comment, but others in the gun trade submitted testimony to the legislature’s Judiciary Committee calling the bill poorly written and unnecessary.  “The wording of the bill is ambiguous at best and could effectively ban nearly all modern semi-automatic pistols, not just Glocks,” Kyle Overturf, the general manager of the Blue Trail Range in Wallingford, said in written testimony. Overturf, who retired from from the state Environmental Conservation Police as its colonel, said the bill “penalizes law-abiding citizens by banning most striker-fired pistols, which are recognized as reliable, safe and economical and also utilized by most law enforcement agencies in the country.” The legislature’s Judiciary Committee is hold a public hearing Wednesday on three gun bills, including one that updates the definition of DIY ghost guns. Connecticut has been a national leader in gun safety laws since passage of a sweeping gun control law after the Sandy Hook school massacre. It included universal background checks for the purchase of firearms and ammunition.  Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, co-chair of the Judiciary Committee, said updating the laws to reflect changes in technology are never-ending. He demurred when asked about the politics. “Whether it’s a political winner, more to the point, it’s a policy winner,” Stafstrom said, noting Connecticut’s low rate of violent crime. Gun owners generally turn out in force to oppose revisions to the state’s gun laws, but Lamont noted that the support of by law enforcement and gun safety groups, such as Moms Demand Action and its offshoot, Students Demand Action, help drive gun bills to passage. “Any time you have Students Demand Action, along with the police chief standing up … I think you know you’re on the right track. And thank you for your ongoing advocacy. It makes a difference,” Lamont said. ...read more read less