Authored by Michael Clements via The Epoch Times,
The Justice Department (DOJ) on July 1 sued California over its ban on "machinegun convertible pistols" and its "handgun roster."
A Glock handgun and two magazines in a file photograph. Rich Pedroncelli/AP PhotoThe law bans the purchase of Glock pistols and guns with similar firing mechanisms, according to a DOJ press release.
The handgun roster limits the handguns California citizens can legally buy.
The DOJ claims both are unconstitutional.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation known as Assembly Bill 1127 in October 2025 to prohibit licensed firearms dealers from selling, transferring, or delivering "semiautomatic machinegun-convertible pistols."
The law went into effect on July 1, the same day that DOJ sued.
Under the law, a machinegun-convertible pistol is "any semiautomatic pistol with a cruciform trigger bar that can be readily converted ... into a machinegun by the installation or attachment of a pistol converter ... without any additional engineering, machining, or modification of the pistol's trigger mechanism."
New York, Maryland, and Connecticut have similar bans.
The law was passed in response to so-called "Glock switches," which are not manufactured or endorsed by Glock.
The switches have been used by criminal gangs around the country.
Pistols sold before Jan. 1, 2026, are grandfathered under the law, which became effective on July 1.
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