Maryland defends Glock ban by treating
common pistols like machine guns

The constitutional fight over Maryland's Glock ban comes down to one question: Can the state ban law-abiding citizens from acquiring some of America's most popular handguns because criminals can illegally modify them with an already-prohibited machinegun conversion device?

Gun-rights groups say the answer is clearly no. Maryland now says Glock-style pistols can be treated differently from other semi-automatic handguns because of what they could become after an illegal modification.

That dispute is at the center of Bathras v. Moore, the federal Second Amendment challenge to Maryland Senate Bill 334.

Amended complaint adds Maryland gun owners and dealer

AmmoLand covered the original lawsuit after the National Rifle Association, Firearms Policy Coalition and Second Amendment Foundation sued Gov. Wes Moore and other Maryland officials on May 26 — the same day Moore signed SB 334. That immediate filing leaves Maryland's newly asserted laches defense, which requires unreasonable and prejudicial delay, with no apparent factual basis. …