NSSF Vows Legal Challenge if Maryland Bans Striker-Fired Handguns

The National Shooting Sports Foundation says it will sue Maryland if Governor Wes Moore signs legislation that would ban an entire class of popular handguns, citing the Supreme Court's Heller decision as the basis for the challenge.

Maryland's legislature has passed Senate Bill 334 and its cross-filed companion House Bill 557, both titled "Criminal Law - Firearm Crimes - Machine Gun Convertible Pistols." The bills would prohibit the manufacture, sale, offering for sale, purchase, receipt, or transfer of what Maryland calls "machine gun convertible pistols" starting January 1, 2027. The House passed the bill 92-39; the Senate approved it 28-16 in March.

The legislation targets semi-automatic pistols with a cruciform trigger bar, a design feature common to Glock and similar striker-fired handguns. Maryland lawmakers argue these pistols can be readily converted to fully automatic fire by replacing the slide backplate with an illegal machinegun conversion device, or MCD. The bill directs the Maryland Department of State Police to publish a list of prohibited models before the ban takes effect.

MCDs, often called Glock switches, are already illegal under federal law. Possession, manufacture, importation, or sale of an MCD violates the National Firearms Act and carries up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines. NSSF emphasized that point in its April 20 statement.

"To borrow on a line from James Carville, whom Democrats revere, 'it's the criminal, stupid,'" said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. "These bills, and similar laws passed in other states, punish law-abiding citizens by infringing on their Second Amendment rights to legally obtain the firearms they choose to protect themselves and their families against criminals who, by definition, have no respect for life or law."

Keane said NSSF intends to force Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown to defend the ban in court, invoking the Supreme Court's 2008 District of Columbia v. Heller ruling. The NRA's Institute for Legislative Action described the bill's language as "vague and overly broad," noting it "could sweep in many commonly owned semi-automatic handguns, including Gen 5 and later Glocks."

The ban covers the same handguns currently issued to Maryland State Police and the Baltimore Police Department. Law enforcement is exempted from the prohibition. Opponents have seized on that mismatch: if these pistols are too dangerous for private citizens, why are they standard issue for police?

Under the bill, violations would be a misdemeanor carrying up to three years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Individuals would only be permitted to transfer affected pistols to family members.

Maryland would become the second state to ban machine gun convertible pistols. California passed a similar law that takes effect July 1, 2026, though that law is already being challenged in court. Similar legislation has been proposed in Connecticut, New York, and Illinois. Maryland and Baltimore have both filed separate lawsuits against Glock over its pistol designs, and NSSF is already appealing to the Fourth Circuit to block Maryland's Gun Industry Accountability Act, a separate 2024 law that TFB covered when NSSF moved to block it.

SB334 was sponsored by Senators Love, Smith, and Waldstreicher. HB557 was sponsored by 14 delegates led by Williams, Coley, Embry, and Ivey. The bills carry an effective date of October 1, 2026, with the transfer prohibition taking effect January 1, 2027. The legislation now heads to Governor Moore for his signature or veto.

If signed, expect litigation quickly. NSSF has a track record of following through on these challenges, and with Heller and Bruen as precedent, the constitutional question is straightforward: Can a state ban an entire class of firearms that are in common use for lawful purposes, including by that state's own police?