The U.S. Department of Justice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) announced a plan stop the dissemination of machine gun conversion devices on Friday.
Commonly called “Glock switches” or “auto sears,” the devices are after-market parts that allow legal semiautomatic firearms to operate as fully automatic weapons, which are illegal under current laws.
ATF Director Steven Dettelbach and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced the plan in Washington at a gathering of law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and representatives from the fields of engineering and the additive manufacturing industry.
According to the MIT Sloan School of Management, additive manufacturing is an emerging field in which items are made by adding layers of material, commonly known as 3D printing….