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DA wants lawmakers to back proposal banning Glock switches; device linked to numerous shootings
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BATON ROUGE - District Attorney Hillar Moore said there's a renewed push to find a sponsor of a bill that would modify state law to make it illegal to place a device on your firearm that turns it into a machine gun.
The devices are called Glock switches and auto sears. They have the capability to make a firearm shoot at least 1,200 rounds per minute.
"The bill would simply bring into line Louisiana state law passed in 1934 up to date and be in line with the fellow statute and possession of a machine gun, a prohibited predicate offense," Moore said. "Right now, if you are convicted of possession a machine gun under state law, you can still own a weapon and have a weapon. That seems crazy to me."
A man by the name of Rafael Johnson was just booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish jail and is accused of having five auto sears which is similar to a Glock switch. Detectives also found drugs and other weapons. Johnson is a convicted felon.
"Upon being stopped and attempting to be stopped, he jumped off the bridge," Moore said. "And, he was missing for some time. He was eventually apprehended and brought to West Baton Rouge Parish before he was brought here to face the charges we have against him in Baton Rouge, includes drugs weapons and potential of a machine gun."
Although Moore said he's still looking for a sponsor, he said they have support from a number of other groups around the state.
"We will have the support of the LA Shooters Association and hopefully the NRA so that a potential sponsor or author of the bill knows this is not an anti-gun bill," Moore said. "This is one that legitimate gun owners would want to see passed, but we are having a difficult time finding a sponsor."
Currently, there are about 100 pending cases in the court system pertaining to machine gun charges, according to Moore.
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