Auto sears, aka “switches,” are small (see photo), cheap, easy to install, and work frighteningly well.
They convert popular handguns like the Glock, and rifles like the AR-15, into machineguns that indiscriminately spray bullets at high rates of fire. Some are imported from China, others are made in home workshops. Read story here.
They’re a favorite of street gangs, who see safety in firepower, and rightwing anti-government extremists like the Boogaloo Bois, “who see amassing military-grade weapons as a way to resist the government.” And they’re proliferating at frightening speed.
These devices help explain otherwise baffling mass shootings in the news. For example, in Fresno, California, a gang member sprayed a family backyard gathering with a switch-equipped pistol, killing 4 and wounding 6 in moments. The net effect of these guns, used in drive-by shootings, is a lot of innocent bystanders get shot even though they weren’t targeted.
The video below shows what these guns can do. The idiots posting about how cool they are don’t seem to realize they’re illegal without a federal machinegun license, and merely possessing an auto sear could get them a felony conviction and prison sentence. The high-capacity magazines shown in the video also may violate federal and/or state laws.
Cool or not, if you’re a gun buff, don’t touch this device with a 10-foot pole.