NSSF and Shadow Systems Just Sued Connecticut Over Its Convertible-Pistol Ban
On September 21, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Shadow Systems, and Wallingford retailer Blue Trail Range filed a verified complaint in the District of Connecticut against Chief State’s Attorney Patrick J. Griffin and the State’s Attorneys. Substitute House Bill 5043, effective October 1, makes it a Class D felony — up to five years and $5,000 — to sell a “convertible pistol”: a semiautomatic with a cruciform trigger bar. NSSF also moved for a preliminary injunction. This is a complaint. It is not a judgment.
- Verified complaint filed Sept. 21, 2026, D. Conn.: NSSF, Shadow Systems, and Blue Trail Range v. Chief State’s Attorney Patrick J. Griffin and the State’s Attorneys.
- Target: Substitute HB 5043, effective Oct. 1, 2026. Class D felony to import/advertise/sell a “convertible pistol.” Penalty cited: up to 5 years and $5,000.
- Definition: semiautomatic pistol with a cruciform trigger bar alterable by hand or household tool for a converter. Complaint, not a judgment.
- Shadow Systems figures in the complaint: >$204 million shipped 2021–Aug. 2026; >$530,000 into Connecticut; California analogue ~$3.8 million / 11% of business. NSSF: >500,000 such pistols made annually (ATF AFMER).
- NSSF press, same day: motion for PI or TRO. Keane quoted. Machinegun conversion remains independently illegal.
The verified complaint is dated September 21, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. Plaintiffs: National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc.; Shadow Systems LLC; and Blue Trail Range Corporation. Lead defendant, in his official capacity: Chief State’s Attorney Patrick J. Griffin, plus the State’s Attorney for each judicial district. The statute is Substitute House Bill 5043. Effective October 1, 2026, it is a Class D felony for a firm to “knowingly import[] into this state or knowingly advertise[], sell[], offer[] or expose[] for sale any convertible pistol.” Penalty named in the complaint: up to five years and a fine of up to $5,000, Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 53a-35a(8), 53a-41(4). A “convertible pistol” is a semiautomatic with a cruciform trigger bar that can be altered by hand or with a common household tool so a pistol converter can turn it into a machine gun.
The numbers in the complaint are the business case. Shadow Systems says it shipped more than $204 million of product to retailers nationwide from 2021 through August 2026, overwhelmingly cruciform-trigger handguns, and more than $530,000 of those guns into Connecticut. California’s similar ban, the complaint says, cost the company nearly $3.8 million in annual revenue, about 11 percent of the business. NSSF’s cited ATF manufacturing report: more than 500,000 cruciform-trigger handguns made for sale in the United States annually. Named makers in that class: Glock, Shadow Systems, Ruger, Palmetto State Armory, Derya, Beretta through Stoeger. NSSF’s September 21 release says the association also filed a memorandum in support of a preliminary injunction, and in the alternative a TRO, to stop enforcement before October 1. Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane: “To borrow on a line from James Carville, whom Democrats revere, ‘it’s the criminal, stupid.’”
Machinegun conversion devices are already a federal felony. The complaint is not asking Connecticut to legalize a switch. It is asking a district judge to keep unmodified striker-fired pistols on the counter. Governor Ned Lamont signed the bill. The October 1 felony clock is still the clock until a court moves it.
"October 1 is a felony for selling the pistol. The switch was already a felony. NSSF just asked the District of Connecticut to tell those two things apart."← More Stories
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