The Alabama House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday to ban trigger activators, such as “Glock switches.” The bill, if enacted, would ban the possession of any part or combination of parts designed or intended to convert a firearm into a machine gun. It would make possession a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, the Alabama Reflector reports. Rep. Phillip Ensler, D-Montgomery, who sponsored the bill, said on the House floor that the bill can "stop some people from using them which can save lives. And if they can save one life, to me, it is absolutely worth it."
Rep. Rick Rehm, R-Dothan, was critical of the bill, getting up to speak against it three times. He brought up historically-used pro-gun arguments, such as claiming that guns don’t kill people. “You actually described how a gun went and killed a bunch of folks, or shot a bunch of folks. That gun didn’t do anything. That gun is an inanimate object. It’s a tool. A human chose to do evil,” he said. He said that if people can get these devices illegally, he wouldn’t be able to protect his family because his weapons wouldn’t be as powerful. “I should have the same ability to protect my family with the same caliber weapons and that’s the deterrent,” he said.