The Alabama Senate passed SB116, known as the Glock switch bill, which would impose stricter penalties on the possession and distribution of Glock switches—illegal firearm modifications that turn semiautomatic pistols into fully automatic weapons.
The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Will Barfoot (R-Pike Road) now moves to the Alabama House of Representatives for further consideration.
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“Under federal law, a machine gun conversion device is already illegal. Some would say, then, ‘Why do we need a state statute addressing what is already against federal law?’ The reason for that is because when law enforcement pulls someone over and they have one of these machine gun conversion devices, they don’t have the ability to act unless they’re part of a federal task force to arrest and prosecute them on the scene under state law,” explained Barfoot.
SB116 builds on existing state and federal laws prohibiting machine gun conversions by introducing harsher state-level penalties. Governor Kay Ivey voiced her support for the measure in her State of the State address and reaffirmed her endorsement later, placing the legislation as part of the “Safe Alabama” legislative package aimed at enhancing public safety.
“You may recall that the governor in her State of the State speech discussed this very literally,” said Barfoot. “I want to give credit for credit to lots of people who had a hand in trying to craft this piece of legislation to get it to the point that it is now.”
Barfoot credited State Rep. Phillip Ensler (D-Montgomery) credit for introducing the bill in the House in previous legislative sessions and thanked him for his role in crafting the legislation.
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Law enforcement officials, prosecutors and mayors have voiced strong support for the measure, emphasizing the need for clearer enforcement mechanisms at the state level.
The bill defines a machine gun as “any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.” While there was some discussion surrounding the potential outlawing of binary triggers under the bill, Barfoot emphasized that the legislation is not aimed at restricting those, as they are not illegal under federal law.
“We want to make sure that we protect that, certainly as a proponent of Second Amendment rights and a firearm owner for multiple firearms. There’s a balancing act there,” Barfoot said.
SB116 was amended on the floor and passed with a vote of 28-0. Tuesday is day nine of the 2025 state legislative session.
Grace Heim is a state and political reporter for Yellowhammer News. You can follow her on X @graceeheim or email her at [email protected].
