New York Glock Ban Hit With Federal Second Amendment Lawsuit

“This case is about whether New York may ban Glock and Glock-style handguns consistent with the United States Constitution merely because someone can convert those firearms into something that they are not.” – Plaintiffs’ Complaint ¶ 34, The Firing Pin, LLC v. James

New York’s long-promised Glock ban now has a federal case number. AmmoLand first covered Albany’s push to ban so-called “convertible pistols” in 2024. Since then, the idea has spread to California, Maryland, and Connecticut: blame a common semiautomatic handgun for the illegal conversion device a criminal might attach to it.

New York finally enacted its version as part of Chapter 55 of the Laws of 2026. Now The Firing Pin, two New York gun owners, the National Rifle Association, Firearms Policy Coalition, and Second Amendment Foundation are asking a federal court to strike it down. The complaint in The Firing Pin, LLC v. James was filed August 13 in the Western District of New York. It names Attorney General Letitia James, New York State Police Superintendent Steven James, and three county district attorneys as defendants.

The lawsuit claims New York’s ban violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments.

A Glock Ban by Another Name

Beginning May 31, 2027, a New York firearms dealer or gunsmith who sells or transfers a covered “convertible pistol” can be charged with a Class D felony. That means as many as seven years in prison and a fine of at least $5,000.

The statute defines a convertible pistol as a semiautomatic handgun with a “cruciform trigger bar” that can be altered with common household tools to accept a pistol converter. The list of supposed household tools includes everything from screwdrivers and pliers to hacksaws, crowbars, electric drills, hammers, chisels, and files.

The target is not difficult to identify.

“All factory stock models of Glock pistols have a cruciform trigger bar,” the complaint states. That includes Glock’s newer Gen 6 and V-series pistols. The same basic component has been part of Glock’s design since its 1982 patent and has appeared in pistols sold in the United States since 1986.

When Glock’s Gen 3 patent expired, companies including Palmetto State Armory, Ruger, and Shadow Systems began making pistols based on the same general design. The complaint alleges that virtually all of those pistols could wind up on the State Police’s annually published list of prohibited handguns.

Yet an ordinary Glock is not a machinegun. A so-called Glock switch is a separate device that replaces the slide’s backplate and interferes with the trigger mechanism. Those devices are already illegal under federal and New York law.

“This case is about whether New York may ban Glock and Glock-style handguns,” the complaint explains, “merely because someone can convert those firearms into something that they are not.”

These Are Common Handguns

The Second Amendment claim begins with a point that should not be controversial after Heller: Handguns are “Arms.”

The Supreme Court described the handgun as the firearm Americans overwhelmingly choose for self-defense. The complaint argues that Glock and Glock-pattern pistols fall squarely within that protection, and that the right to keep and bear them necessarily includes the right to acquire them.

The numbers make New York’s position even harder to defend. Glock reportedly held nearly 65% of the American handgun market as of 2020. The complaint notes that Glock manufactured 581,944 handguns in the United States in 2021. After exports, 514,838 remained for the domestic market—and that does not include imported Glocks or pistols made by other manufacturers using similar designs.

These are not rare or exotic firearms. They are among the most common defensive handguns in America.

They are also widely used by police. The complaint points out that New York State Troopers have been issued Glock 17 pistols since 1990. New York nevertheless exempts police officers from the same sales restriction it intends to impose on ordinary citizens.

In a press release, SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut pointed to Heller’s recognition of handguns as the “‘quintessential’ arm of choice for self-defense” and said New York cannot “ban all handguns outright.” SAF founder Alan Gottlieb accused lawmakers of focusing “on the handgun and not the criminals.”

New York Must Produce the History

Under Bruen and Wolford v. Lopez, the inquiry begins with the Second Amendment’s plain text. Glock pistols are bearable arms, so New York must prove that its restriction is consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.

The complaint says no such tradition exists. Heller permits bans on weapons that are both dangerous and unusual. Glocks cannot be considered unusual when millions of Americans own them and police carry them every day.

New York may respond that current owners can keep their pistols and that a limited grandfathered secondary market will remain. But the right to keep and bear arms necessarily includes the right to acquire them. Albany cannot avoid Heller by leaving existing guns alone while cutting off the lawful supply to future buyers.

As the complaint puts it: “That is a handgun ban.”

The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the law unconstitutional, both facially and as applied, and block its enforcement. After two years of watching anti-gun states push this same backdoor prohibition, the central question is finally in front of a federal court.

Can a state ban one of America’s most common handguns because a criminal might illegally modify it?

The Second Amendment’s text—and the Supreme Court’s Second Amendment decisions—say no.

About Duncan Johnson:

Duncan Johnson is a lifelong firearms enthusiast and unwavering defender of the Second Amendment—where “shall not be infringed” means exactly what it says. A graduate of George Mason University, he enjoys competing in local USPSA and multi-gun competitions whenever he’s not covering the latest in gun rights and firearm policy. Duncan is a regular contributor to AmmoLand News and serves as part of the editorial team responsible for AmmoLand’s daily gun-rights reporting and industry coverage.