That's what's changed the techny
and the availability to put mace
guns in everybody's hands. Whate
have been telling you right here about
illegal Glock switches and their
deadly capabilities since Octob.
Devices that attach to the back
of a Glock pistol that allow
it to keep firing and shooting roughly
30 bullets in just two seconds.
Glock switches are only about
a three-year old invention.
And right now we can tell
you this just in in fact,
why we were in that commercial break.
The new law in Indiana was signd
by the Indiana governor today tt
will update laws that prosecutors and
police say were outdated tonigh.
Our focus investigator,
Travis Breeze tells us how state
lawmakers in Indiana are trying
to keep up with this technology
and if Kentucky lawmakers would
consider following suit.
They are cheap, they are tiny,
and they take an everyday
ordinary semiautomatic firearm
and turn it into a machine gun.
They don't have a serial number,
They can be 3D printed at home,
and the bullets can fly anywher.
It's just so much more dangerous
because of the number of civili.
That, you know, could be hit.
If you have a Glock switch,
you can be charged federally for
possession of a machine gun.
US Attorney for the Southern District
of Indiana Zachary Myers has prosecuted
at least five people since Augut
specifically for Glock switches.
His office points out there
were actually more cases,
but the accused were facing other charges,
such as violent crimes or drug trafficking.
Unfortunately, we're seeing more
and more of these in the hands
of children and for, you know,
in the hands of teenagers,
and we have to do.
What we can to get these off the
street to make the public safer.
Myers has jurisdiction because
the National Firearms Act bans
all new machine guns after 1986,
and the definition includes
parts used for converting a
weapon into a machine gun.
But it takes a long time to
build a federal case,
and the prevalence of these
devices is not slowing down.
There are 60 counties in the
Southern District of Indiana,
each of whom has their own elecd
prosecutor that covers that jurisdiction.
And there's just our office.
We felt like we had to do somet.
Ryan Mears is the Marion County
prosecutor in Indianapolis.
He's charged 87 people for possessing
Glock switches under Indiana's.
Anti machine gun law.
That law uses a more traditional
definition of machine gun and Ms
admits it has been an aggressive
interpretation by his office.
He is now facing one lawsuit on the matter.
This issue is currently been
being litigated. You know,
is our position correct?
Did we go too far?
The Indiana legislature saw this and acted,
passing a bill in early April that would
amend the state's machine gun law to.
Nearer federal language, this wd
really bring authority back
to the local municipalities in
order to expedite that process.
If signed by Governor Holcomb,
County prosecutors would have te
same confidence as the federal
system in handling these cases.
Across the river in Kentucky,
there is no machine gun law and people need
to be transferred into the federal system.
I'm going to go ahead and dismiss all
the charges here in District Court Colin
Bill Ups of Louisville was arrested for.
Allegedly ordering a Glock switch from China,
but LMPD could only charge him
with fleeing from police until a
federal grand jury could indict.
Billups is the ninth federal case for Glock
switches in the Western District of Kentucky.
Do you think every state with a
with a Glock switch issue?
Should be pursuing a law like t?
Well, it certainly provides prosecutors
and law enforcement with an
additional tool to address this issue.
And I think it's always a good
policy decision when you have a
piece of equipment such as this.
The Indiana Glock switch bill passed with
bipartisan support in both cham.
I asked the Kentucky House Republicans
if they would ever consider something
similar and I received a statement from
Representative Josh Bray saying quote.
Machine guns have been around se
the 1880s, and Kentucky has mand
to survive without additional
firearms restrictions on the bo.
The penalty that comes from a federal
firearms conviction is enough oa
threat to make sure these accessories
don't become commonplace in Kentucky.
I have full faith that our fedel
courts can handle these cases.
Despite that statement,
Kentucky has seen an 800% increase in Glock
switches seized over the last two years,
according to the Louisville ATF
in the studio Travis Breeze,
WHAS 11 on Your Side.