(The Center Square) – One of the latest targets in the legal battles around gun control laws is New York’s ban on Glock-style handguns.
California, Maryland, Connecticut and New York have all passed – and their governors signed – laws that restrict the sale, transfer, manufacture or importation of certain “Glock-like” or “Glock-style” handguns.
California’s law became effective July 1, 2026. Maryland’s will be effective Jan. 1, 2027. In Connecticut, their prohibition is effective Oct. 1, 2026. New York’s goes effective May 31, 2027.
Existing owners can generally keep what they already own. Law enforcement and military exemptions are standard.
These laws are sold as bans on “machinegun-convertible pistols” or “convertible pistols.”
In 2025, Maryland legislators heard from investigators looking into the use of “Glock switches,” devices designed to convert semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic weapons, who found the devices posed what they say is an unprecedented threat to public safety and law enforcement officers.
In California in April 2025, Gun Owners of California’s Sam Paredes laid out why he believes these bans are unconstitutional.
“Glock, the single most popular firearm for self-defense in the world, especially here in California and the United States, they are ubiquitous,” Paredes said then. “The Supreme Court in … Bruen came and said that anything, any firearm that is in common use for lawful purposes is protected by the Second Amendment and cannot be banned. That's the first reason where this thing is going to go to court immediately, if it is signed by the governor.”
That lawsuit against California’s ban is pending with a Biden-appointed federal judge recently refusing the Trump administration's effort to block the state of California from banning the sale of certain types of handguns. Legal Newsline reports the DOJ has alleged that the new state laws are unconstitutional.
But, unlike California’s law, New York made violations punishable by up to seven years in prison. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit against New York’s ban note the U.S. Supreme Court has already told New York it is out of step on the Second Amendment in the case New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen. Now, plaintiffs say they’re arguing the state cannot ban one of the most popular handgun designs in America.
“Lawmakers in New York are doing nothing more than continuing their unconstitutional assault on law-abiding citizens who want to exercise their Second Amendment rights in peace,” Second Amendment Foundation founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb said in a statement. “Making someone a criminal for selling or transferring a handgun merely because someone can illegally convert those firearms into something they are not is absurd. It’s already illegal to convert these pistols into machineguns and the conversion itself requires possession of other illegal items, but lawmakers persist in focusing on the handgun and not the criminals who will continue committing crimes with or without this new law in place.”
The Second Amendment Foundation, the National Rifle Association, Firearms Policy Coalition, two private citizens, and a licensed dealer sued New York.
SAF says factory-stock Glock and Glock-style pistols have a cruciform trigger bar and that design feature alone now meets New York’s definition of a “convertible pistol.” Once the law takes effect in New York on May 31, 2027, selling or transferring them becomes illegal.
Glock and Glock-pattern pistols use a polymer frame that houses the fire-control group. There is no separate lower receiver like a rifle. A small illegal part can be inserted to turn the pistol full-auto.
Illinois advanced a similar bill through committee this year, but it didn’t advance when the session ended.
As for whether Glock itself will redesign its guns for these big states, Paredes doesn’t think it matters.
“The author criticizes Glock for doing nothing about this issue. In fact, they did so with their generation for Glocks,” Paredes said. “They modified them so the Glock switches could not be applied and all of them in the future. The problem is, the state of California prevents Glock from selling generation 4 or 5, and now 6, in the state of California because of the unreasonableness of the roster.”
California already maintains a restrictive roster of handguns approved for sale. Manufacturers must prove to state regulators that their guns meet specific safety and testing requirements. Legal challenges to California’s roster are pending.
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