Moore signs Glock ban into law; NRA vows to sue

Tinashe Chingarande, The Baltimore Sun on May 26, 2026

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Gov. Wes Moore on Tuesday signed legislation banning the manufacture, sale and purchase of handguns that can be easily converted into fully automatic weapons in Maryland, prompting the National Rifle Association to immediately vow a legal challenge.

The legislation also limits access to illegal conversion devices known as auto sears, or Glock switches. The devices alter a handgun’s trigger mechanism, allowing continuous fire with a single trigger pull. Violators could face fines of up to $5,000 and up to three years in prison under the misdemeanor offense. The law is projected to cost taxpayers about $220,000 in fiscal year 2027 and roughly $263,000 by fiscal year 2031 to implement the bill, according to the legislation’s fiscal and policy note.

Maryland now joins California, which passed similar laws in 2025.

Moore’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

“They’ve turned up on well too many streets at crime scenes in Maryland,” Senate President Bill Ferguson said during a bill signing ceremony Tuesday morning. “Now it will be a serious crime to own these weapons because nobody on a street in Maryland needs a weapon of war built to fire at that pace.”

In response, the NRA said it will sue, citing an infringement of the Second Amendment, which defends citizens’ rights to carry weapons.

“With a single stroke of his pen, Governor Wes Moore has banned one of the most popular handguns in America,” John Commerford, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, said in a statement. “Instead of going after criminals and enforcing existing laws, he has chosen to disarm law-abiding Marylanders and strip them of their constitutional rights. The NRA is filing an immediate legal challenge to this unconstitutional assault on the Second Amendment and will exhaust every option available to ensure this law is struck down.”

Law enforcement officers echoed this sentiment.

“Another worthless, progressive ‘feel-good’ law that will do absolutely nothing to deter criminals from getting their hands on a firearm and committing a crime,” Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis said to The Baltimore Sun.

The law applies to many semiautomatic pistols that can be readily modified with illegal conversion devices, including some models manufactured by companies such as Ruger, Smith & Wesson, and FMK Firearms. Glock is one of the most popular handgun manufacturers in the United States. Over 200,000 Maryland residents held permits to carry a pistol in 2025, according to the Maryland Department of State Police.

Active and retired law enforcement are exempt from the ban. Firearm dealers can still sell them to out-of-state buyers. The Maryland State Police is expected to publish a list of prohibited handguns.

Supporters said the law is intended to reduce access to rapidly firing weapons increasingly linked to crimes, while Republicans argued it would do little to reduce violent crime. Prior to Moore signing the bill, GOP lawmakers earlier this month urged him to veto it.

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(Eastern Shore Bureau Chief Josh Davis contributed to this story.)