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The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) is asking a federal court to stop Maryland’s controversial Glock ban before it ever takes effect.
On Tuesday, the organization announced it has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in Bathras v. Moore, its lawsuit challenging Senate Bill 334, which was signed into law by Gov. Wes Moore earlier this year.
If the law stands, it will prohibit the manufacture, sale, purchase, transfer and receipt of what Maryland calls a “machine gun convertible pistol” beginning Jan. 1, 2027. The statute defines those firearms as handguns containing a cruciform trigger bar: a design feature found in Glock pistols and many Glock-pattern handguns.
SAF argues the law doesn’t simply target illegal machine gun conversion devices. Instead, it bans some of the most commonly owned semiautomatic handguns in America because they could be illegally modified.
The lawsuit was originally filed in May, immediately after Gov. Moore signed the legislation.
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“Anti-gun politicians will constantly tell you that ‘no one is coming for your guns,'” said SAF Senior Director of Legal Operations Bill Sack. “And then they pass bills like this that bans the most commonly owned handgun in America. Both can’t be true.”
Sack argued the law amounts to an attempt to ban an entire class of constitutionally protected firearms “one chunk of the market at a time.”
He also pointed to Supreme Court precedent recognizing handguns as the “quintessential” self-defense firearm protected by the Second Amendment, adding that Glock-style pistols are among the most commonly owned handguns both in Maryland and nationwide.
According to the complaint, the case centers on a straightforward constitutional question: whether Maryland can ban Glock and Glock-style pistols simply because they can be unlawfully converted into fully automatic firearms.
The state says the legislation is aimed at addressing the growing use of illegal machine gun conversion devices, often referred to as “Glock switches,” which can convert compatible semiautomatic pistols into fully automatic weapons. Those conversion devices are already prohibited under federal law.
SAF contends banning the underlying handgun goes far beyond targeting illegal conversion devices and instead restricts firearms that millions of Americans legally own for self-defense.
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Joining SAF in the lawsuit are Atlantic Guns, the National Rifle Association, Firearms Policy Coalition, and two private citizens.
SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb compared the legislation to restricting constitutional rights because they might be abused.
“Laws like this strip peaceable Americans from access to constitutionally protected arms and seek to bully and hold liable lawful manufacturers and sellers for the criminal misuse of firearms,” Gottlieb said. “This law is the equivalent to banning free speech in the hopes of preventing fraud. It’s bad policy and unconstitutional. We look forward to getting it tossed.”
A preliminary injunction would prevent Maryland from enforcing the Glock ban while the litigation moves forward. Without one, the law is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2027.
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is a seasoned outdoorsman, lifelong hunter, and the kind of guy who’d rather track whitetails than scroll social media. As an editor for GunsAmerica, he’s got a sharp eye for spotting both solid gear and bad gun laws. Whether he’s deep in the woods or deep in editorial deadlines, Larry brings a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach to firearms, hunting, and the great American tradition of self-reliance. If there’s a hot debate on gun rights or the latest in hunting tech, you can bet Larry’s got an opinion—and it’s probably backed up with both facts and field experience.
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why is this even allowed to happen, all involved violated the constitution and should be tried as traitors!!!
On one hand, Maryland is being proactive about keeping up with the abuses afforded by modern technology. On the other hand, this is an extreme reaction to what are essentially some edge cases. Is this a big problem in Maryland, tupperware with giggle switches? How many switches justify abridging firearm commerce statewide? Do we do something before or after one is used in a school shooting?
What would you see as the pros and cons of banning all schools?
Plenty of cons. The average parent can probably do a decent job homeschooling the average kid through at least junior high. What percent of American adults could pass Geometry or Algebra 2? Then there are kids with special needs. My mother was a special ed teacher for about 40 years and let me just say, special ed teachers are bourne, not made. Some kids need educators with specialised training.
A modern society without minimal educational requirements is preparing itself for collapse but those minimal educational requirements don’t necessarily have to come from herding kids in schools. I know one teacher who moved schools and she says it is just so much easier when all the kids speak English (jeffro blue dog that so racist). Gotta teach the future how to work the assembly line, or whatever the mid-21st century replaces that with. Even fast food is getting rid of cashiers. AI prompts? My nephews are 15 and 16 and going to some kind of trade school for plumbing. They’ll make almost as much as doctors without the debt load. Can’t have that – corporations have to keep us chained with debts somehow. But I am getting a little conspiratorial here.
There probably are a few pros. It would make it harder for the communists – I am sorry, the politically correct term is socialists now – to capture teacher colleges then capture the students to love the little red book.
Schools are the worst way of educating the masses, except for every other way that has been tried.
I once killed a joke just to watch it die.