With categorical bans on handguns off the table thanks to the Heller decision (and the plain text of the Second Amendment), gun control groups have shifted to a new strategy in recent years; a piecemeal ban on the most common and popular pistols in the country.
We’ve seen lawsuits seeking a ban on the sale of Glock pistols in Illinois and Maryland, while legislation prohibiting the sale of Glocks has been introduced in New York and California. In fact, the California Assembly has already approved the ban, and the bill is a few steps away from hitting the Senate floor.
The gun control lobby has tied their opposition to Glocks to the illegal use of switches that can convert the semi-automatic pistol into a fully automatic firearm, though Glock isn’t the only firearm that’s seen an increase in illegal modifications over the past few years.
As the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s Larry Keane pointed out on X this week, the anti-gunners are now launching a new attack on Glock; accusing the gun maker of being the top choice of criminals in California.
It’s only Tuesday but we have the winner of the week’s dumbest headline Exactly like saying GM named top car manufacturer of cars used in drunk driving arrests RT Glock Named Top Manufacturer of Crime Guns in California – The Smoking Gun @NSSF #NSSF https://t.co/wMbP5USCbU
— Larry Keane (@lkeane) July 22, 2025
The propaganda from Everytown’s The Smoking Gun also names Turner Outdoors as “the state’s top retailer of crime guns”, which makes sense given that the sporting goods store is also arguably the top seller of firearms in California.
Re: Turner’s, the appendix shows it’s exactly what I guessed. They just sell a lot of guns in urban areas.
But the actual percentage of guns sold that were recovered as crime guns in 2024 ranges from 0.14% to 0.34%, varying by store location.
The overwhelming majority of guns… pic.twitter.com/4A6RKOe2qL
— Kostas Moros (@MorosKostas) July 22, 2025
That doesn’t mean, however, that Turner Outdoors or Glock is doing anything nefarious to arm criminals.
Almost every “crime gun” can be traced back to a commercial sale, and almost every “crime gun” was originally purchased by someone who’s not a criminal. According to a 2019 report by the Department of Justice, only 10 percent of guns used in crimes were bought at retail by the criminal themselves; most likely legal gun owners who went on to be charged with a criminal offense. Nearly half of the criminals surveyed by DOJ said they got their guns on the illicit market, while 11 percent said they used a straw buyer to get their gun. Another six percent said they stole the firearm they used to commit a crime, while less than 1 percent said they purchased a gun at a gun show.
So, the biggest firearm retailer was the biggest source of firearms traced by the ATF, and the most popular handgun was the gun most commonly traced. That’s not exactly breaking news, is it?
It’s also important to remember that while the ATF describes firearms that are traced as “crime guns”, the most common reason for a trace in California (according to the agency’s 2023 data) was simply “possession of a firearm”, which accounted for more than 22,000 traces. The second-most common reason for a trace was a generic “weapons offense” (9,581 traces), followed by “found firearm” (3,089 traces), “carrying a concealed weapon” (2,759 traces), “firearm under investigation” (2,731 traces), and “dangerous drugs” (2,016 traces).
The first specifically violent offense on the ATF’s list is “aggravated assault”, with 1,283 traces in California in 2023. Undoubtably some of those other traces might have led back to a gun used in an actual crime, but many of them weren’t involved in a crime of violence at all.
As Mark Twain said, there are lies, damn lies, and statistics; and the gun control lobby is pretty good at using all three to advance their anti-2A agenda. There’s no real fire behind The Smoking Gun’s attempt to smear Glock… other than Everytown’s burning desire to obliterate our right to keep and bear arms.
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