Texas federal government cracks down on machine gun converters made by 3D printers

On June 11, 2024By Rgal Nv

The same 3D printers that can generate car parts and jewelry are also being used to create small blocks of plastic that turn pistols into machine guns, federal prosecutors in Texas warned Monday, as the Lone Star state became the latest to attack the deadly “switch” inserts. .

U.S. attorneys announced “Operation Texas Kill Switch,” a statewide operation to target machine gun conversion devices, also known as automatic switches or triggers. The switches – which prosecutors say can be made in minutes using a standard 3D printer – have been used in shootings in several cities, including Houston, Sacramento and Washington DC.

“We’re here to talk about a piece of plastic about an inch long. It looks harmless enough, a bit like a LEGO or K’nex block. But this one-inch piece of plastic is killing people,” said Leigha Simonton, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas. “Machine gun conversion devices can turn Second Amendment-protected firearms into illegal weapons of war, and petty criminals into brutal killers. We cannot turn our streets into war zones. »

Local Texas Crime Stoppers programs are offering cash rewards through Aug. 31 for information leading to the arrest or prosecution of people who possess switches or the 3D printers used to make them. Prosecutors also urged local law enforcement to partner with federal agents in change cases.

A standard 3D printer can make about 100 plastic switches in 72 hours, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. and a pistol equipped with a switch can fire rounds faster than the standard M-4 machine gun issued to American soldiers.

Federal agents have seen an increase in the number of changes across the United States. The ATF seized 5,454 machine gun converters between 2017 and 2021, an increase of 570% between 2012 and 2016. In Texas alone, ATF agents seized nearly 1,000 switches between 2017 and 2023, and half of them were recovered last year alone.

Federal firearms officials said Monday that the switches are often sold on social media, aimed at both adults and minors.

3D printers used across the United States to make switches

3D printing is the process of constructing three-dimensional objects by layering materials using computer-aided design models, according to 3D printing company Formlabs. The technology has been around since the 1980s, but recent advances have made printers more affordable and accessible, allowing them to be used in industries such as healthcare, dentistry, jewelry and entertainment.

Kill switches can be made from metal or plastic in minutes using a 3D printer, prosecutors say. They typically slide into the butt of a gun and allow the shooter to fire dozens of rounds with the simple pull of a trigger.

In Mississippi, a man was sentenced last year to 14 years in federal prison for turning semi-automatic weapons into machine guns using switches he made from 3D printers.

An Ohio man was sentenced to three years in prison for using a 3D-printed switch on his Glock. Federal prosecutors said he fired in self-defense but still broke the law by possessing the switch. Except in very limited circumstances, possession of a switch is illegal, as the National Firearms Act classifies the switch himself like a machine gun, prosecutors said Monday.

In Indianapolis, a man admitted to selling switches he made using a 3D printer and was sentenced to seven years in prison.

“I’ve been in this business a long time, and nothing scares me more than the rapid flood of machine gun conversion devices onto the streets of Texas and beyond,” said Jeffrey C. Boshek II, Special Agent in Charge. the ATF Dallas Field Division. “Rest assured that ATF and its partners are doing everything in their power to stop the flow of these things and prevent the carnage they can create.”

States try to combat the rise in switches

Federal agents and state authorities are grappling with an increase in interrupters, which allow a shooter to fire several hundred rounds per minute, ATF spokeswoman Kristina Mastropasqua told USA TODAY.

The National Firearms Act classifies the switch itself as a machine gun, and possession of a conversion device carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

Some states are launching programs to remove switches.

Federal prosecutors in Oklahoma announced last week that a man was convicted of possessing a machine gun conversion device as part of an initiative launched in November targeting switches. New York has introduced a bill to ban the sale of “convertible pistols,” or weapons that can easily be converted into a machine gun using a conversion kit. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed a bill last month banning the switches.

And the city of Chicago sued Glock in March for making pistols that can easily be converted into machine guns using switches.

“This growing demand for machine guns by criminal elements not only poses a danger to public safety, it is also dangerous to law enforcement, who are increasingly overwhelmed by the weapons they face,” he said. declared Mastropasqua. “To be clear, manufacturing, selling, and simply possessing a machine gun ‘conversion device’ is against the law.”