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An Alabama state representative has pre-filed a bill that would effectively ban the trigger activator Glock switches, devices that turn semi-automatic handguns into automatic weapons, or machine guns.
House Bill 26, sponsored by Rep. Phillip Ensler, D-Montgomery, states that it would “prohibit persons from possessing a pistol with a part or combination of parts designed or intended to covert a pistol into a machine gun installed on or attached to the pistol.”
The bill would allow exceptions for officers acting in their official capacity while using these parts and those who have registered ownership in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
Exceptions also include those who have pistol attachments that do not enable a pistol to fire more than two shots, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger
The bill was originally introduced during the 2024 legislative session and passed through the House with a vote of 60-38 before dying in the state Senate, where it faced much backlash. Republicans hold a majority of the seats in the Alabama Legislature and have generally opposed gun restrictions.
At the time, those who rejected the bill made claims that it undermined the Second Amendment and prevented residents from protecting their families from potential threats utilizing similar adapted weapons. With federal restrictions in place, state-level legislation might have seemed unnecessary.
But since HB26’s predecessor, HB36, died in the state Senate, the Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on bump stocks, another kind of trigger activator, in a 6–3 decision in the Garland v. Cargill case. The decision was split along the court’s ideological lines, but the ruling doesn’t apply to state laws. There are currently 15 states with bump stock laws in place.
Shortly after the ban took effect, Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, pre-filed HB12 that would specifically ban bump stocks. Possession of a bump stock would also result in a Class C felony.
Similarly to Ensler, Givan has previously brought forth a bill to ban bump stocks to no avail.
Many people in Alabama have seen the effects of trigger activators on the state. While some cities in Alabama see an increase in gun violence, not all of them involve trigger activators, but the looming threat of these devices could worsen the issue.
Last month, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced Operation Flip the Switch, which aims to crack down on trigger activators in Alabama. Some key points in their plan are prioritizing prosecutions involving these devices and training law enforcement to identify and confiscate them.
Lawmakers continue to push for what seems like commonsense legislation. However, in the absence of federal protections against trigger activators and with an increase in gun violence around the state, we could see better results during the 2025 legislative session.
