ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland is set to restrict sales and transfers of certain Glock and similar semiautomatic pistols starting Friday, Jan. 1, 2027. People who lawfully own a covered pistol can keep it.
Gov. Wes Moore signed Senate Bill 334 in May. The law took effect Oct. 1, with the restrictions on making, selling, offering for sale, buying, receiving or transferring covered pistols set to begin Jan. 1. A violation is a misdemeanor punishable by up to three years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000 or both.
Which Pistols Are Covered?
The law defines a “machine gun convertible pistol” as a semiautomatic pistol with a cross-shaped trigger bar that can readily be converted to fire automatically using a device the law calls a pistol converter, commonly known as a switch. The definition excludes hammer-fired semiautomatic pistols and striker-fired semiautomatic pistols without that type of trigger bar.
In written testimony opposing the bill, the gun rights group Maryland Shall Issue identified the Palmetto State Armory Dagger, Ruger RXM and Shadow Systems 920 as examples it believed the bill would cover. The law requires Maryland State Police to publish a list of prohibited models.
What Can Current Owners Do?
Under the law’s exceptions for transfers, lawful owners can sell or transfer a covered pistol to a spouse, child, stepchild, parent, stepparent, sibling or stepsibling who can legally possess a firearm. The law also allows eligible people to inherit a pistol the deceased person lawfully possessed and allows temporary transfers to licensed dealers or gunsmiths for servicing…