Everytown for Gun Security has now set its sights on Sturm, Ruger & Co., calling on the American gunmaker to cease producing its new RXM pistol, simply weeks after Glock introduced plans to discontinue a number of of its hottest handguns amid ongoing lawsuits and legislative stress from anti-gun activists.
In a letter despatched on Monday, Everytown’s chief litigation counsel, Eric Tirschwell, advised Ruger that the corporate ought to “put public security first” by both eradicating the RXM pistol from the market or redesigning its inner set off system. The group claims the RXM shares a set off mechanism just like Glock’s so-called “cruciform” design; an element that Everytown argues makes each manufacturers’ pistols weak to unlawful modification with so-called switches or auto sears.
“Ruger faces a selection following Glock’s current announcement,” Tirschwell wrote. “Will it proceed to promote the RXM regardless of the proof of its ease of convertibility to an unlawful machine gun, or will it put public security first?”
The letter comes on the heels of Everytown claiming credit score for Glock’s manufacturing modifications, describing them as a “main victory” for gun management efforts. The group says it intends to use comparable stress to Ruger, one of many nation’s largest firearms producers, if the corporate doesn’t adjust to its calls for.
Ruger has not publicly responded to the letter.
Background: The “Change” Controversy
The difficulty facilities round unlawful conversion gadgets, generally referred to as “Glock switches”, that may flip a semi-automatic pistol into a totally automated weapon. These small elements, usually imported illegally or manufactured with 3D printers, have been showing in prison circumstances throughout the nation.
Everytown and different gun management teams argue that as a result of these gadgets work together with the cruciform set off bar utilized in many Glock-pattern pistols, the design itself is “faulty” and needs to be banned or redesigned.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has documented a rise in recoveries of conversion gadgets nationwide. Nevertheless, critics word that unlawful conversion gadgets exist for practically each main firearm platform, together with AR-15 rifles, and that Glock’s reputation merely makes it a extra widespread goal for modification and enforcement.
Extra importantly, the possession or set up of those gadgets is already a critical federal crime punishable by as much as 10 years in jail.
California’s New Regulation and Ongoing Lawsuits
California Governor Gavin Newsom lately signed a legislation banning the sale of pistols that includes a cruciform set off bar, laws that Everytown overtly admits to serving to write. That legislation instantly drew lawsuits from a number of gun rights organizations, who argue it straight violates Supreme Court docket precedent affirming that handguns “in widespread use” are constitutionally protected below the Second Modification.
“Semiautomatic handguns, together with these with a cruciform set off bar, due to this fact can’t be banned,” plaintiffs in Jaymes v. Bonta argued. “They’re among the many hottest handguns within the nation.”
Whereas gun management advocates have praised Glock’s company choice to revamp its handguns, it has sparked concern inside the firearms neighborhood about whether or not political and authorized stress might result in backdoor bans or pressured design modifications on different producers, with Ruger now within the crosshairs.
Everytown’s Newest Goal: Ruger’s RXM
Everytown’s letter particularly criticizes Ruger for “working towards” the Glock-style design, noting that the RXM, launched in late 2024, makes use of an identical inner configuration and accepts sure aftermarket elements.
“As Ruger will need to have recognized, introducing such a design into {the marketplace} dangers exacerbating the proliferation of unlawful machine weapons on the streets,” Tirschwell wrote.
The group additionally cited social media movies allegedly exhibiting RXM pistols outfitted with conversion gadgets, claiming they display the weapon’s supposed “ease of convertibility.” Nevertheless, not one of the examples cited concerned manufacturing unit modifications or authorized equipment offered by Ruger.
Our Take
Everytown’s demand that Ruger pull a complete handgun mannequin from manufacturing over potential unlawful misuse is much less about security and extra about management. The group’s “victory lap” over Glock’s redesign makes it clear that the tip aim isn’t stopping crime, however forcing producers to bend below coordinated political and authorized stress.
As TTAG has reported, Glock’s choice to streamline its lineup already aligns with market traits towards optics-ready pistols and up to date inner designs, not essentially a give up to gun management activists. Nonetheless, Everytown’s public chest-beating has emboldened the group to take one other swing, this time at Ruger, an organization with deep roots in American firearms manufacturing.
If gun management advocates reach defining “ease of unlawful modification” as a legal responsibility subject, practically each semi-automatic firearm available on the market might turn out to be a goal. The RXM’s destiny could now function the subsequent check case for a way far anti-gun teams, and the courts, are prepared to stretch the definition of “public security.”
