The Maryland Governor is expected to receive a bill that will outlaw popular Glock pistols under a new law that has passed both chambers and takes effect on October 1, 2026. It is uncertain whether he will sign the highly contentious bill.
Senate Bill 334 prohibits the manufacturing, selling, purchasing, receiving, or transferring of “machine gun convertible pistols” beginning January 1, 2027.
The bill creates a new definition of a so-called “machine gun convertible pistol” with a “cruciform trigger bar” that can be outfitted with a “pistol converter.”
The result is that the bill primarily targets pistols like Glocks, which carry that unique design (Gen 5 and earlier), along with a handful of Glock clones with similar designs. The bill requires the State Police to come up with a full list of pistols that fit this definition.
Like every other gun control bill, it provides an exemption for current (and in this case, retired) law enforcement officers, undermining the argument of the dangerousness of the banned items.
The bill does not ban possession after the effective date, offering a presumptive grandfather clause for current owners, but if gun control measures being enacted by other states, like Rhode Island, are any indication, that is unlikely to stand.
Violations of the ban are a misdemeanor punishable by up to three years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine. Penalties rise steeply if a banned item is used while committing a felony or violent crime, resulting in, in addition to the sentence for the underlying offense, a mandatory minimum of five years, and up to 20 years imprisonment. Prosecutors are often able to apply these stacked charges against well-intending gun owners who inadvertently violate a law.
In December of 2025, Glock released a new lineup of Gen 6 pistols seemingly designed to address bans of firearms that can be easily modified to accept a “switch.” The Maryland bill is a seeming copycat of California’s bill that specifically targeted Glocks and Glock clones, and is being challenged in court.
