Maryland and the City of Baltimore have sued Glock Inc., seeking to hold the gun company liable for the proliferation of devices popularly known as “Glock switches” that illegally convert its semi-automatic handguns into automatic weapons.

The lawsuit filed in Baltimore City Circuit Court is intended to help reduce gun violence on the streets, and is the first test of Maryland's Gun Industry Accountability Act adopted last year. Authorities said owners of Glock semiautomatic pistols can easily install "auto sears,

It’s referred to as a “Glock switch,” which can turn a handgun with a 15-round magazine into much, much more. “A dime-sized device that turns a handgun [into] a weapon capable of firing 1,200 rounds per minute,