Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed and interim Montgomery Police Department Chief James Graboys on Tuesday laid out a large display of seized firearms during a press conference as the pair pushed lawmakers to pass gun control legislation.
Reed and Graboys held a press conference on Tuesday to highlight what they believe to be a plague in their city. The pair approached the podium behind several tables strewn with dozens of random pistols, long guns and automatic conversion devices called switches or Glock switches.
"On the table in front of us is just 4% of the guns that we seized in 2024; 4%," Graboys said. "One table over there is made up of switches; those are machine gun conversion devices that are very dangerous and shoot indiscriminately when they're being used. Today, we're pulling back the curtain on a real and very dangerous issue: the sheer number of illegal firearms that our officers are seizing from crime scenes and criminal suspects in the city."
He continued," So far, in 2024, we've seized over 1,866 firearms. That's more than five illegal firearms taken off the streets every single day. Among them, we've had 41 machine gun conversion devices. Those turn these simple pistols into, basically, you could say, death machines. These devices are designed for rapid and indiscriminate fire."
Graboys went on to claim a 19% decrease in homicides and a 13% decrease in non-fatal shootings from 2023 to 2024. However, he stated the reduction was "not going far enough."
"The numbers that we are going to be sharing today, they don't just tell a story of our enforcement, they tell a story of what's fueling violence in this city," Graboys said. "Because firearms fuel violence in this city and in this state."
Reed called on lawmakers to pass comprehensive gun and public safety reform, including a resolution declaring gun violence as a public health crisis.
Both Reed and Graboys repeatedly referenced the switches, which are currently illegal under federal law. Democratic lawmakers have already introduced legislation to make them illegal at the state level and have received resounding support from most lawmakers.
Reed also pushed for several other bills: one that would reverse the state's law removing the requirement to buy a permit before legally carrying a firearm, and the other that would ban bump stocks, which allow carbines to reciprocate within the weapon's buttstock, mimicking automatic fire.
"For those who call out police department, for those who call me, for those who reach out via social media, via inbox, Instagram, other likes and talk about the gunshots they're hearing; for those who are on Next Door and other apps complaining, I ask you to make sure you're calling your state legislators," Reed said. "Make sure you're calling your state senators. Make sure you're calling the Lieutenant Governor's office and the Governor's office. Make sure you're calling the leadership in the legislature who is introducing, passing or killing these bills that are brought up."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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