Mayor Woodfin, Bipartisan Coalition of Alabama Lawmakers Push Ban on Glock Switches

BY SAFIYAH RIDDLE | Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A bipartisan coalition of mayors, lawmakers and law enforcement in Alabama endorsed a public safety package on Thursday that would ban the devices that convert semi-automatic weapons into machine guns — a rare consensus on gun restrictions and a departure from years of conflict about how to stem gun violence. Conversion devices that speed the firing of semi-automatic weapons are already banned under federal law, but there’s currently no state law prohibiting possession. One of the bills in the package would enable state prosecutors to charge people for possessing the conversion devices. Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia already have such laws, according to the Giffords Law Center. Birmingham’s Mayor Randall Woodfin had implored state lawmakers to address these devices in the immediate aftermath of the city’s third quadruple homicide last year. “Even if there are some things we may not agree with, today is a major deal,” the mayor said Wednesday after local law enforcement and leaders in both legislative chambers endorsed Republican Gov. Kay Ivey’s public safety package. On the same day, the Alabama Senate’s judicial committee advanced two bills introduced by both Democrats and Republicans that would...