Glock ban: Maryland House GOP calls on Gov. Wes Moore to veto
BALTIMORE - The Maryland House Republican Caucus has requested that Gov. Wes Moore veto a bill that would ban Glocks and similar handguns from being sold in the state.
In a Thursday letter to the governor, the caucus said that the new law would fail to keep people safe from gun violence while burdening legal gun owners. "Our caucus has a long record of advocating for policies that will keep our communities safe," the caucus said, "and this bill, quite frankly, does nothing to achieve that goal."
Should Moore sign the bill into law, Maryland gun owners would be restricted from purchasing most Glock handguns, as well as similar models made by other manufacturers, such as Ruger, Smith and Wesson, and FMK Firearms. Glock is one of the most popular handgun manufacturers in the United States. More than 200,000 Maryland residents held permits to carry a pistol in 2025, according to the Maryland State Police. Current Glock owners would not be affected.
The governor's office did not respond to a request for comment by The Baltimore Sun's print publication deadline.
The bill was introduced to address the rising criminal usage of Glock switches. A Glock switch is a colloquial term for a device that attaches to the back of certain pistols, enabling them to fire continuously with one pull of the trigger.
Existing state and federal laws prohibit the possession of Glock switches.
State Sen. Will Smith, one of the bill's sponsors, said that he believes Moore will sign the bill. "I fully anticipated that the GOP caucus would have made that request for a veto," Smith, a Montgomery County Democrat, said. "But, (consistent) with public safety, it's my expectation, and I suspect, that the governor will sign it because it's an important public safety measure."
If signed, the law would be enacted on Oct. 1. Law enforcement found 36 Glock switches, also called pistol conversion devices or auto sears, at crime scenes in Maryland in 2023, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
"As written, SB 334 places significant restrictions on widely owned firearms that are possessed by thousands of law-abiding Marylanders," the letter said. "They have followed the law, undergone background checks, and followed other legal requirements," adding that they believe the ban is unlikely to deter those who intend to commit crimes.
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This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 3:46 PM.