The Second Amendment Foundation and several partner organizations filed a motion for a preliminary injunction Tuesday seeking to block Maryland state officials from enforcing a newly enacted law aimed at restricting Glock handguns.
The motion, filed in the ongoing federal lawsuit Bathras v. Moore, asks the court to halt enforcement of Senate Bill 334 before it takes effect on Jan. 1, 2027. Governor Wes Moore signed the legislation into law in May.
Under the statute, individuals are prohibited from manufacturing, selling, offering for sale, purchasing, receiving, or transferring any firearm defined as a “machine gun convertible pistol.” The law defines those weapons as handguns containing a cruciform trigger bar—a standard internal component found across Glock handguns and similar models. State lawmakers introduced the measure to curb the conversion of semi-automatic pistols into fully automatic firearms using illegal aftermarket switches.
The plaintiffs contend that by targeting the cruciform trigger bar, the law effectively bans standard, legally owned handguns rather than limiting its scope to illegal conversion devices.
“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,” the plaintiffs stated in their court complaint.
Joining the Second Amendment Foundation in the lawsuit are the National Rifle Association, the Firearms Policy Coalition, Atlantic Guns, and two individual Maryland residents.
Bill Sack, Senior Director of Legal Operations for the Second Amendment Foundation, criticized the law in a statement accompanying the court filing.
“Anti-gun politicians will constantly tell you that ‘no one is coming for your guns,’” Sack said. “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.”
Sack added that the legal team relies on Supreme Court precedents establishing that the Second Amendment protects handguns as the primary class of firearms used for lawful self-defense.
Alan M. Gottlieb, founder and Executive Vice President of the Second Amendment Foundation, argued that the law unfairly penalizes law-abiding citizens and commercial vendors for criminal acts committed by third parties.
“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,” Gottlieb said. “This law is the equivalent to banning free speech in the hopes of preventing fraud. It’s bad policy and unconstitutional.”
The motion for a preliminary injunction is currently pending before the federal district court in Maryland, which will determine whether to stay the law prior to its January 2027 effective date.
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