A gun shop in Bergen, New York is going to federal court to fight the state's brand-new ban on Glock-style handguns, arguing the law turns ordinary gun owners and dealers into felons over a firearm feature that's already illegal to misuse. The Firing Pin, LLC, a retail store and shooting range in Genesee County, joined national gun rights organizations and two private citizens in a lawsuit filed Thursday challenging New York's restrictions on what the state calls called “convertible pistols.”
The case, titled The Firing Pin, LLC v. James, was filed August 13 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, according to the Firearms Policy Coalition. The Firing Pin was joined as plaintiffs by the Firearms Policy Coalition, the National Rifle Association, the Second Amendment Foundation, a licensed firearms dealer, and two private citizens, according to reporting by the Tampa Free Press. Together, the plaintiffs are challenging New York's updated firearm statutes, which they say unlawfully sweep up some of the most commonly owned handguns in America.
What New York's Law Actually Bans
Under New York Penal Law § 265.00, as amended this year, a “convertible pistol” is defined as any semi-automatic handgun containing a cruciform trigger bar that can be altered into a machine gun using common household tools, according to the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police. Hammer-fired handguns and striker-fired handguns that lack that component are explicitly exempt. Per the Tampa Free Press, factory-stock Glock models fall under that statutory definition because they contain the cruciform trigger bar, a design first introduced in Glock's original 1982 patent, and multiple other manufacturers began adopting similar mechanisms after that patent expired in 2020.
The law bans the sale and transfer of Glock and Glock-style handguns statewide and takes effect May 31, 2027, per the Tampa Free Press. Violators could face fines of $5,000 or more and up to seven years in prison, and the outlet reports that a licensed dealer or gunsmith who sells, transfers, disposes of, or ships a convertible pistol commits a Class D felony. The statute also directs the superintendent of the New York State Police to maintain an annual registry of pistols the state deems convertible into machine guns.
Governor Kathy Hochul signed the restriction into law on May 27 as part of Chapter 55 of the Laws of 2026, folding the measure into the state budget under Senate Bill S.9005C rather than moving it as standalone legislation, according to NRA-ILA.
Gun Rights Groups Argue the Conversion Is Already a Federal Crime
Second Amendment Foundation founder Alan M. Gottlieb argued that converting these pistols into machine guns is already illegal, and that the conversion requires possession of other illegal items, per the Tampa Free Press. He called it absurd to make someone a criminal for selling or transferring a handgun simply because it can be illegally converted, adding that New York lawmakers are continuing what he described as an unconstitutional assault on law-abiding citizens exercising their Second Amendment rights.
Firearms Policy Coalition's Adam Kraut made a similar point, saying handguns are protected under the Second Amendment and that New York lawmakers made providing common handguns to law-abiding New Yorkers punishable by seven years in prison. Under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(23) and the National Firearms Act, aftermarket conversion devices — commonly called Glock switches or auto-sears — are already legally classified as machine guns themselves, carrying up to 10 years in federal prison for illegal possession, a point Hoodline has previously reported in the context of federal switch prosecutions.
The plaintiffs' constitutional argument leans on the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which requires gun regulations to align with the nation's historical traditions, along with District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), which protects handguns in common lawful use, according to the Second Amendment Foundation.
Part of a Wider Multi-State Legal Fight
New York's fight is not happening in isolation. California became the first state to ban convertible pistols with cruciform trigger bars in 2025, and Maryland and Connecticut followed with similar prohibitions this year, according to The Trace. The same coalition of gun rights groups — the NRA, Second Amendment Foundation, and Firearms Policy Coalition — filed a parallel federal lawsuit in May against Maryland officials after Governor Wes Moore signed Senate Bill 334, which bans machine-gun-convertible handguns starting January 1, 2027.
The state bans followed years of municipal litigation targeting Glock directly. Chicago sued Glock in March 2024, alleging the manufacturer endangered public safety by selling easily converted handguns, sparking a wave of similar lawsuits from Baltimore, Philadelphia, Seattle, Minnesota, and New Jersey, per the same Trace report. Under that pressure, Glock announced in October 2025 that it would stop manufacturing its existing pistol models by November 30, 2025, and shift to a redesigned “V Series” line engineered to resist aftermarket conversion, according to WTTW News.
Federal data underscores why lawmakers moved on the issue. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reported that law enforcement agencies recovered 11,088 machine gun conversion devices nationwide between 2019 and 2023, part of its 2025 National Firearms Commerce and Trafficking Assessment. Gun control proponents argue the cruciform trigger-bar design allows firearms to be modified into fully automatic weapons using cheap aftermarket parts, a concern that has fueled state-level bans even as gun rights groups insist existing federal and state laws already penalize the illegal modification of semi-automatic firearms.
The New York lawsuit now joins that broader legal battle over state-level restrictions on semi-automatic handguns and their internal component designs, with plaintiffs asking the federal court to block enforcement before the law takes effect in 2027.
