Maryland Bans Glocks, Lawsuit Follows

Maryland just banned the most popular handgun in America, and the ink wasn't even dry before federal lawsuits started flying.

State of play: Governor Wes Moore signed Senate Bill 334 on May 26, 2026. Within hours, the Second Amendment Foundation, NRA, and Firearms Policy Coalition filed National Rifle Association v. Moore in federal court seeking to block enforcement before the law takes effect.

Catch up quick:

• The law defines a "machine gun convertible pistol" as any handgun with a cruciform trigger bar
• That's a standard internal component in Glocks and most Glock-pattern pistols
• Manufacturing, selling, purchasing, or transferring these firearms becomes illegal in Maryland on January 1, 2027
• The lawsuit was filed the same day Moore signed the bill

Between the lines: The legislature's logic is that Glocks can be illegally modified with auto-sears — devices that are already federally banned. Maryland's answer was to ban the host firearm rather than enforce existing law against the illegal modification. That's the argument the plaintiffs are going to hammer.

"This Maryland law bans nearly every Glock and Glock-style handgun on the market today. Not only is this law as foolish as banning hops and barley to prevent drunk driving, but these commonly owned arms are clearly protected by the Second Amendment." — Adam Kraut, SAF Executive Director

Reality check: Glock-pattern pistols are arguably the most common defensive handgun in the country. Police carry them. Civilians buy them by the millions. Under Bruen, the constitutional test for any arms restriction is whether a historical tradition of analogous regulation exists at the time of ratification. There is no 1791 precedent for banning a pistol because criminals can illegally modify it.

What to watch: The plaintiffs want a preliminary injunction before January 2027. If the court grants it, the law gets paused while the case proceeds. Maryland has not yet filed its response. Given the current federal judiciary's posture on Second Amendment challenges post-Bruen, the state is going to need more than a public safety argument to survive this one.