Maryland's attorney general praises court ruling keeping state's "Glock ban" in effect

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown has praised a court ruling that kept the state's "Glock ban" law in effect.

Brown said he was pleased that the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on Friday denied motions by plaintiffs who had sought a preliminary injunction in the case of Bathras v. Moore. Judge Richard D. Bennett heard arguments on the plaintiffs' motions and denied them through an oral ruling, Brown said.

The court's ruling means Senate Bill 334 will stay in place for now. 

The law prohibits the manufacturing, selling, buying or receiving of Glocks that can be converted into semi-automatic weapons with an attachment. The law does not prohibit Marylanders from keeping such pistols they already own.

The bill was passed by the Maryland General Assembly during the 2026 legislative session and it was signed by Gov. Wes Moore. It is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027. Several groups opposed to the bill have launched legal efforts to block its implementation.   

In a statement after the U.S. District Court's ruling, Attorney General Brown said, "Maryland has the right to protect its communities from weapons that can be rapidly turned into machine guns. Modified handguns are being used in and recovered from crimes at an increasing rate, and the General Assembly acted responsibly to confront this crisis."

He added: "Today's ruling is an important first step, and it means this law stays in place while the case moves forward. I am grateful to the attorneys in our office who defended this law so ably, and we will keep defending it at every stage of this litigation."   

In June, members of the Maryland House Republican Caucus sent a letter to the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, requesting that it review the law for Second Amendment violations.