Earlier this week, the Alabama legislature sent a bill to the governor’s desk that bans full-auto switches. It’s a rare gun control law passed in a pro-gun state, but there’s a quirk to it that makes this a little different.

In particular, it’s the fact that these devices are already federally banned. The state law simply makes it so local and state law enforcement can prosecute people for possessing them, rather than hoping the feds will. It seems that while the federal government has time to railroad a US Navy sailor for possessing a machine gun that couldn’t even fire, they’re unable to bother to prosecute people who actually possess machine guns illegally.

Yeah, I’m bothered. How could you tell?

Anyway, it seems that while gun rights supporters are less than thrilled with the outcome, they’re not losing sleep over it.

Giffords on the other hand, is acting like this is some major win.

The Associated Press noted that the Alabama Senate voted for the ban 24-2 on Tuesday, and that means the gun control now goes to Gov. Ivey’s desk.

Giffords applauded the fact that Republicans crossed the aisle to make the gun control “bipartisan”:

Alabama lawmakers approved a ban on dangerous conversion devices that convert semi-automatic handguns into illegal machine guns.

We applaud this bipartisan action to pass commonsense gun laws and save lives 👏👏👏https://t.co/t6Zq4dVmPJ

— GIFFORDS (@GIFFORDS_org) March 19, 2025

…

On February 26, 2024, Breitbart News reported Peter Schweizer, in Blood Money: Why the Powerful Turn a Blind Eye While China Kills Americans, revealed that Chinese companies, which are heavily regulated by the Chinese government, are flooding the United States with auto sear switches, small metal devices also known as “Glock switches,” that can convert handguns into machine guns. Although illegal for most gun owners in the United States, they are being shipped in boxes by the “thousands” from China.

First, the term “commonsense” isn’t even a real word. It’s two words smashed together because Giffords and other anti-gunners can’t understand how to hyphenate words.

But they’re absolute experts on firearms.

Sure.

Anyway, again, these devices are already illegal. The law isn’t making anyone any safer. If gun control did make people safer, then the federal prohibition on these things should be more than enough. The fact that these are hitting our streets should be a big warning to Giffords that maybe, just maybe, gun control doesn’t actually stop bad actors from doing things.

As noted in the quoted section, these devices are coming from China, which the Chinese government–an entity that constantly decries the right to keep and bear arms and tries to accuse the US of human rights abuses because we won’t trample on people’s rights–could easily stop from coming into the country if they desired.

They don’t.

But American import laws also prohibit these things from coming in, and there it gets a little trickier because, despite the fact that customs agents are doing their best, they can’t inspect everything. They can’t catch them all.

Alabama’s bill isn’t changing any of that. The criminals will still get them, still use them, and still hurt them.

What happens now is that the state can prosecute them for it instead of hoping the feds will take an interest. Nothing will change beyond that, so Giffords really should slow their roll.