On October 10, California Governor Gavin Newsom illustrated what can only be characterized as a tyrannical move by signing a series of bills that effectively ban the sale of Glock handguns, create a new definition of a firearm, require background checks for barrels, and limit the purchase of handguns to three per month.
Assembly bill 1127, introduced by Assembly Members Gabriel and Stefani, creates a new class and definition of a firearm California is calling a “machinegun-convertible pistol,” which it defines as:
…any semiautomatic pistol with a cruciform trigger bar that can be readily converted by hand or with common household tools into a machinegun by the installation or attachment of a pistol converter, as specified, and “pistol converter” as any device or instrument that, when installed in or attached to the rear of the slide of a semiautomatic pistol, replaces the backplate and interferes with the trigger mechanism and thereby enables the pistol to shoot automatically more than one shot by a single function of the trigger.
The bill explicitly excludes, “a machinegun-convertible pistol does not include a hammer-fired semiautomatic pistol or striker-fired semiautomatic pistol lacking a cruciform trigger bar, which instead has a trigger bar that is shielded from interference by a pistol converter.”
The design element of a cruciform trigger bar is used by Glock and some clones, such as those made by Shadow Systems, along with a few other manufacturers. It appears that the measure specifically targets Glock products, even if not doing so by name, given that they are one of the best-selling and most popular pistols of this style on the market, and on the California roster of approved guns.
“Switches” that change the rate of fire on semi-automatic pistols are already illegal, and this move serves only to punish law-abiding citizens who would lawfully own and use such firearms.
The bill also undermines the responsibility of Congress, whose role it is to define terms like “firearm” and “machinegun” and even go so far as to confirm they are doing so:
This bill would expand the above definition of “machinegun” to include any machinegun-convertible pistol equipped with a pistol converter and, thus, prohibit the manufacture, sale, possession, or transportation of a machinegun-convertible pistol equipped with a pistol converter.
The measure goes into effect starting July 1, 2026, with escalating penalties: a first violation carries a fine up to $1,000; a second up to $5,000 plus potential license suspension/revocation; and a third violation is a misdemeanor mandating revocation.
As there are with most anti-gun bills, exceptions are carved out for broad swathes of law enforcement, which include police departments, sheriff’s offices, probation departments, marshal’s office, district attorney’s office, the California Highway Patrol, the Department of Justice, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
On the same day, Newsom signed SB 704, which, starting on July 1, 2027, requires background checks on all sales or transfers of firearm barrels, meaning they can only be purchased or transferred in person through a licensed firearms dealer. It also has an incredibly vague clause that could be open to weaponization by politically motivated prosecutors, which would “prohibit a person from possessing a firearm barrel with the intent to sell, or offering to sell, unless the person is a licensed firearms dealer.”
Finally, Newsom signed AB 1078, titled “Firearms,” which replaces California’s recently struck down one-firearm-per-30-days purchase limit with a new limit of three firearms within any 30-day period, effective April 1, 2026.
