LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky would enact a state ban against a thumbnail-sized device that can convert semi-automatic handguns into automatics under a measure moving to the House floor.

The House Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection on Tuesday approved House Bill 299, which would make possession of the devices a Class C felony.

The devices, purchased online or 3-D printed, are often called “Glock switches” because they’ve been used to convert Glock handguns.

Kentucky police chiefs are lobbying the General Assembly for a state ban because, they say, their officers are finding more of the devices involved with rapid-fire shootings.

“We know that this is a growing issue. We have seen the prevalence of these increase,” Louisville Metro Police Chief Paul Humphrey testified to the House committee on Tuesday.

“I can say with confidence that just last week alone, we had two shootings that involved automatic weapons — probably machine gun conversion devices. Because, as you know, traditional automatic weapons are very, very difficult to come by, and we did not see those on the street very often,” Humphrey said.

There is a federal ban on the conversion devices, so U.S. attorney offices in Louisville and Lexington have the authority to prosecute such cases. But realistically, Humphrey said, federal prosecutors have their own priorities and caseload demands, and it would be better if state law enforcement could move independently.

The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Middletown, stressed the fact that federal law already outlaws the conversion devices.

“This bill doesn’t make anything illegal that is not already illegal,” Nemes said.

“So things that you can do today, you can do tomorrow. Things you can’t do today, you can’t do once we pass this bill. All it does is say that the state law mirrors federal law, and so our local law enforcement can enforce it,” Nemes said.

The National Rifle Association is neutral on the bill, Nemes assured the House committee, while Kentucky’s law enforcement associations and Glock Inc., the gun manufacturer, have issued statements in support.

The committee voted overwhelmingly in support of the bill on Tuesday. Only two Republican lawmakers voted no, both citing concerns over possible infringement on Second Amendment gun ownership rights: TJ Roberts of Burlington and Bill Wesley of Ravenna.

Apart from constitutional issues, Roberts said, there are devices called “forced reset triggers” that can be bought for about $60 that also modify a semi-automatic handgun, but they’re not covered by the language in the House bill.

“Criminals are going to switch to those,” Roberts said. “It’s always a moving target. The technology always seems to outpace the law.”

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