MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A proposal to ban so-called Glock switches, devices that can modify regular firearms to fire at rates comparable to a fully-automatic weapon, has garnered bipartisan support as Alabama lawmakers convene for the 2025 legislative session.
“I’m really grateful that that support is building and really grateful that it’s looking like a priority for this session,” said Rep. Phil Ensler, D-Montgomery, the sponsor of the bill, speaking with Alabama Daily News Monday.
First proposed by Ensler in 2023, the bill failed to gain any traction, and was never assigned to be heard in committee by legislative leadership. Ensler refiled the bill for last year’s session in the wake of the deadly Dadeville shooting that left four dead and 32 injured, and while the bill narrowly passed out of the House, it stalled in the Senate amid filibustering and debate over gambling legislation.
The bill garnered strong support last year from law enforcement groups, including the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and the Fraternal Order of Police.
This year, Ensler’s bill aligns with a legislative package to address crime that has been backed by Gov. Kay Ivey and legislative leadership of both chambers. Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, intends to sponsor the bill in the Senate.
While Glock switches are already illegal under federal law, local law enforcement are often unable to prosecute those in possession of such devices. Under House Bill 26, Glock switches would be banned on the state level, specifically by prohibiting the possession of weapons modified with the device. Possession of a firearm modified with a Glock switch would constitute a Class C felony, punishable with up to ten years in prison.
Ensler said he was optimistic that his three-year effort to ban Glock switches would succeed this year, and said the issue of gun violence was one that he had “been dealing with for many years” as a former Montgomery Public Schools teacher.
“I know that there will be all sorts of policy debates and conversations about the legislation itself, but just remembering at the end of the day (that) this is about human lives and about very real people who have suffered,” Ensler said.
Ensler began teaching in 2012 and said that more than a dozen of his former students have been killed by gun violence. After taking office in late 2022, constituents continued to raise the issue of gun violence at his frequent town halls, among them being Vanesssa Pierce.
Pierce is the mother of Travonne Pierce, who at 21 was killed in a shooting in Montgomery. While the case against the perpetrator is still pending, Pierce said that witness testimony suggested that her son was killed with a firearm that had been modified with a Glock switch, and that she had become an avid supporter of Ensler’s efforts since 2023.
“It means a lot to me, my family, I’m quite sure other families out here would appreciate (Ensler’s bill) passing too,” Pierce told Alabama Daily News Monday. “I feel that if they do something like that, they have done justice for a lot of people that have been lost (from) those Glock switches.”