I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, there’s something particularly stupid about states blaming Glock for what third parties do with the guns the company makes, particularly when they’re using a third-party-made device that’s illegal under federal law. However, anti-gun states don’t care about that. They care about finding excuses to restrict guns.
And so we get the era of the Glock ban.
Maryland is one of the states that’s trying this, and they’re already facing a court fight over it with the Second Amendment Foundation and its partners.
In fact, the National Rifle Association, Second Amendment Foundation, and Firearms Policy Coalition, along with individual plaintiffs, have now filed for an injunction to prevent enforcement of the new law.
From a press release:
The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and its partners have filed a motion for preliminary injunction in Bathras v. Moore, SAF’s challenge to the Maryland Glock ban signed into law by Gov. Wes Moore.
In May, SAF filed the lawsuit immediately after Gov. Moore signed into law Senate Bill 334, which states a person “…may not manufacture, sell, offer for sale, purchase, receive, or transfer a machine gun convertible pistol.” It further defines a “machine gun convertible pistol” as a firearm that contains a cruciform trigger bar. Cruciform trigger bars are a unique design element found across all Glock handguns. The intent of the bill is to prevent the already illegal conversion of semi-automatic handguns into machineguns, by banning the legal handguns themselves. The ban goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2027.
“Anti-gun politicians will constantly tell you that ‘no one is coming for your guns,’” said SAF Senior Director of Legal Operations Bill Sack. “And then they pass bills like this that bans the most commonly owned handgun in America. Both can’t be true. Maryland’s Glock ban, and those like it that have popped up around the country, are a thinly veiled attempt to ban all guns, one chunk of the market at a time. But the law is overwhelmingly on our side. The Supreme Court has already held that the Second Amendment protects handguns, as they are the ‘quintessential’ firearm of choice for self-defense, and Glock-style pistols are massively popular and commonly used in Maryland and around the country.”
As noted in the complaint, “This case is about whether Maryland may ban Glock and Glock-style handguns consistent with the United States Constitution merely because someone can convert those firearms into something that they are not.” SAF is joined in Bathras v. Moore by Atlantic Guns, the National Rifle Association, Firearms Policy Coalition and two private citizens.
“Laws like this strip peaceable Americans from access to constitutionally protected arms and seek to bully and hold liable lawful manufacturers and sellers for the criminal misuse of firearms,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “This law is the equivalent to banning free speech in the hopes of preventing fraud. It’s bad policy and unconstitutional. We look forward getting it tossed.”
If the Bruen standard is correctly applied by the courts, there’s absolutely no way this stands. No history, text, or tradition defends such a move.
While it’s not uncommon for governments to ban devices that are determined to be unsafe, the issue here is that the lack of supposed safety isn’t directed at the user. It’s based on the willful actions of a third party. That’s not a safety issue, but a criminal act.
By that standard, all guns are dangerous, and this could potentially open the door toward more and more restrictions that seek to mandate that guns failing to meet ridiculous “safety” requirements cannot be sold in a particular state. California’s handgun roster was the opening salvo in this, to be sure, but most states opted not to follow suit.
The ban on Glocks and Glock-style handguns, though, is different. This isn’t about safety, but hysteria. We’ve already looked at how rarely these are used to kill by criminals, and even then, many of those shot would likely have been shot without the auto-sears. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that converting a Glock to full-auto actually saves lives, as accuracy goes to pot when you’re dumping an entire magazine with one pull of the trigger.
Still, this is where we are, and there’s no reason for this law.
As for the injunction, the fact that Glocks are popular with law enforcement means they’re pretty good for private citizens just looking to defend themselves. That means allowing this law to be enforced will negatively impact the rights of law-abiding people, all while criminals continue to get the guns just as easily as before.
Whether a judge in Maryland will see it that way, though, is the question.
Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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