BALTIMORE — Gun rights organizations filed a federal lawsuit challenging Maryland’s new restrictions on firearms the state classifies as “machine gun convertible pistols” within hours of Gov. Wes Moore signing the legislation into law.
The suit, National Rifle Association v. Moore, was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland by the National Rifle Association, Second Amendment Foundation and Firearms Policy Coalition against Moore, Attorney General Anthony Brown and Maryland State Police leadership. It targets Senate Bill 334.
The legislation prohibits the manufacture, sale, offering for sale, purchase, receipt or transfer of certain semiautomatic pistols with a “cruciform trigger bar” that can be converted into machine guns using a pistol converter or similar device, effective Jan. 1, 2027. The law defines such pistols as those that can be readily converted by hand or common household tools. It excludes hammer-fired semiautomatic pistols and striker-fired pistols lacking the cruciform trigger bar.
The complaint argues the law violates the Second Amendment by banning firearms commonly owned for lawful purposes. “Glock and Glock-style pistols are not relevantly different from any ordinary semiautomatic handgun,” the filing states. “That is true even though they may be illegally modified.”
Second Amendment Foundation Executive Director Adam Kraut said the measure effectively bans some of the most widely owned handguns in the country. “This Maryland law bans nearly every Glock and Glock-style handgun on the market today,” Kraut said in a statement.
Second Amendment Foundation founder Alan Gottlieb criticized the approach. “You can’t stop criminal violence by broadening the law just to make everyone a criminal,” Gottlieb said. “That strategy never works.”
Supporters of the bill say it addresses firearms that can be illegally modified into machine guns using devices known as pistol converters or Glock switches, which have been used in crimes. The law also restricts access to the conversion devices themselves. Violators face fines up to $5,000 and up to three years in prison.
In a May 6 legal review letter to Moore, Brown’s office concluded the legislation had a “reasonable likelihood of withstanding Second Amendment scrutiny,” while noting uncertainty around the emerging technology of pistol converters. “Although it is our view that this bill is not clearly unconstitutional, I note that because pistol converters are an emerging technology that courts have not yet addressed in depth, it is uncertain how a court would rule,” Brown wrote.
Brown acknowledged a court could view the measure as a “back door ban” on commonly used firearms but argued the weapons fall outside core Second Amendment protections due to their convertibility. The analysis relied in part on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in Bianchi v. Brown, which upheld Maryland’s assault weapons ban by classifying certain firearms as excessively dangerous and not protected to the same degree as arms typically used for self-defense.
The Maryland General Assembly’s fiscal and policy analysis estimates implementation costs exceeding $220,000 in fiscal year 2027. State analysts warned the Maryland State Police may not complete the required list of prohibited firearms before the Jan. 1, 2027, effective date due to the volume of models needing evaluation. Maryland’s existing handgun roster already includes more than 5,000 approved models.
The law includes a grandfather clause allowing individuals who legally possess covered firearms before the effective date to transfer them to immediate family members who are otherwise legally allowed to possess firearms.
The lawsuit claims the ban infringes on the rights of law-abiding citizens and law enforcement agencies that use the affected handguns. Plaintiffs assert the firearms are in common use for self-defense and that the state cannot ban them based on potential illegal modifications.
The bill was sponsored by Sen. Sara Love, D-Montgomery, and cross-filed in the House. It passed both chambers and was signed by Moore on May 26. The overall act takes effect Oct. 1, with the sales prohibition beginning Jan. 1, 2027.
Maryland becomes the second state, after California, to enact legislation addressing pistols easily convertible into fully automatic weapons. Gun safety advocates, including Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety, applauded the measure as a step to curb the proliferation of illegal conversion devices, which have risen sharply nationwide.
The case is in its earliest stages. No hearing date has been set. The state has not yet filed a response.
