Maryland Banned the Glock. Moore Signed It — and the Lawsuit Landed the Same Day.

Wes Moore signed Senate Bill 334 on May 26. By that afternoon, the National Rifle Association, the Second Amendment Foundation, and the Firearms Policy Coalition had filed National Rifle Association v. Moore in federal court. That speed is not panic — it is recognition that Maryland just tried to delete the most common handgun design in America from the marketplace.

The law bans what it calls a "machine gun convertible pistol" — any semiautomatic handgun with a cruciform trigger bar that could, in theory, accept an illegal conversion device. In plain English: nearly every Glock and Glock-pattern pistol on the market today. Palmetto State Armory Daggers. Many Shadow Systems builds. A wide slice of the striker-fired pistols Marylanders actually carry, train with, and buy.

The sales and transfer prohibition kicks in January 1, 2027. Violators face up to three years and a $5,000 fine. You can keep what you already own — for now — but you cannot sell it inside the state except to immediate family. Maryland just turned lawful owners into a closed registry of people holding assets the legislature has declared politically unacceptable.

The stated justification is the Glock switch — a device that converts a semiautomatic pistol to fully automatic fire. Those devices are already illegal under federal law. Criminals who use them are already committing felonies before they pull the trigger. Maryland's answer was not tougher enforcement of existing law. Maryland's answer was to ban the handgun millions of peaceable citizens choose for self-defense because a subset of criminals modifies guns illegally.

SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut said it plainly: this is as foolish as banning hops and barley to prevent drunk driving. The analogy holds. You do not solve criminal misuse by criminalizing the design that lawful people rely on. Heller said handguns are protected. Bruen said arms in common use cannot be banned. Glock-pattern pistols are among the best-selling handguns in the country. The math is not close.

Sen. Sara Love sponsored the bill. Gov. Moore signed it. California already passed a parallel ban effective July 1, 2026. Virginia's Spanberger signed ten bills in thirty days. Watch the pattern: ban the hardware, freeze the transfer market, let the lawsuit fund the next campaign cycle.

And yet. The litigation is live. Fund it. Follow National Rifle Association v. Moore. Donate to saf.org and firearmspolicy.org — they are already in the courtroom. If you are a Maryland FFL, document your inventory now and talk to counsel before the October 1 effective date. If you are a Maryland voter, make Moore and every delegate who voted yes explain why they banned America's default carry gun while switches remain a federal crime.

Sign up for the WTF News daily brief at wtfnews.tv — the next state is already drafting the Maryland language. Read it before they pass it on a voice vote.