SAF Fights Maryland Glock Ban

The Second Amendment Foundation just told a federal court that Maryland can't ban America's most popular handgun because a small number of criminals illegally convert it into something else.

State of play: SAF and its partners filed a reply brief this week supporting their motion for a preliminary injunction in Bathras v. Moore, the lawsuit challenging Maryland's Senate Bill 334. Gov. Wes Moore signed the bill in May, and SAF sued the same day.

SB 334 doesn't mention Glock by name. It doesn't have to. The law bans any "machine gun convertible pistol," defined by the presence of a cruciform trigger bar — a design feature unique to Glock and Glock-pattern handguns. Ban the part, ban the gun. Every Glock. The whole lineup, gone from Maryland shelves starting Jan. 1, 2027.

The legal question: Maryland isn't arguing that Glocks, as sold, are dangerous. SAF's brief nails that distinction directly, quoting the state's own logic against it: "The State's argument is not that 'machinegun convertible pistols' are 'excessively dangerous' as sold. Rather, the State's argument is that machinegun converted pistols are."

That's the whole case in one sentence. Maryland wants to ban a lawful, Heller-protected handgun because a criminal could illegally attach an illegal part to it. Converting a Glock to full-auto is already a federal felony. Owning the switch itself is already a federal felony. SB 334 doesn't touch the people breaking those laws — it bans everyone else from buying the gun in the first place.

Why gun owners should care: Glocks are, by any measure, in common use — carried by police, issued to military units, and sitting in more American gun safes than probably any other handgun line. The Supreme Court has been clear that states can't ban firearms that are in common use for lawful purposes. If a state can outlaw the best-selling handgun in the country because of what a criminal might do to it after the sale, that logic doesn't stop at Glocks.

The intrigue: Nobody's proposed banning shotguns over sawed-off conversions, even though turning a shotgun into an NFA-regulated short-barrel requires nothing more than a hacksaw from the garage. Converting a Glock into a machine gun requires an illegal part that's harder to get and carries stiffer federal penalties. Maryland picked the harder conversion to ban and left the easier one alone — which suggests this was never really about preventing conversions.

"Handguns are protected by the Second Amendment, and Glock-style handguns are overwhelmingly popular for everyday civilians, police and military users," said SAF Senior Director of Legal Operations Bill Sack. "Maryland lawmakers passed a bill, not aimed at the tiny fraction of Glock owners who illegally alter their firearms, but rather at everyone who would choose one of the most popular brands of handguns on the market with which to exercise their rights."

SAF is joined in the suit by Atlantic Guns, the NRA, the Firearms Policy Coalition, and two private Maryland citizens.

What's next: The court will rule on the preliminary injunction motion before the ban's Jan. 1, 2027 effective date. If SAF wins the injunction, Maryland can't enforce SB 334 while the underlying case proceeds. If it loses, expect an emergency appeal — and a Glock-shaped hole in Maryland gun stores by New Year's.