For now, the state cannot enforce its ban on new “convertible pistol” sales, often called the Connecticut Glock ban. On September 30, 2026, U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley barred state prosecutors and the state’s emergency services and public protection commissioner from enforcing that part of Public Act 26-41. Her order came the day before the provision took effect on October 1, 2026.
Only enforcement of that sales provision is blocked. The rest of the Act, including its new machine gun definitions and its rules for unfinished frames and receivers, was not part of the order. The injunction is preliminary, so the case is still going, and the state says it will keep defending the law.
What the Connecticut Glock ban law says
Governor Ned Lamont signed House Bill 5043 on May 26, 2026, and it became Public Act 26-41. Its convertible pistol provisions took effect October 1, 2026.
The Act never names Glock. Instead, it defines a “convertible pistol” as any semiautomatic pistol with a cruciform trigger bar “that can be readily altered by hand or with a common household tool so that the pistol can be readily converted into a machine gun by the installation or attachment of a pistol converter.” Under the Act, a cruciform trigger bar links the trigger to the firing pin and has its sear built into a cross-shaped surface. That design is at the center of both lawsuits.
The definition leaves out hammer-fired pistols. It also leaves out cruciform trigger bar pistols whose frame has a molded tab that shields the trigger bar from a pistol converter, unless someone can readily remove that tab. The Act’s list of common household tools is open-ended (it “includes, but is not limited to”) and names a knife, screwdriver, wrench, hacksaw, crowbar, electric drill, rotary tool, hammer, chisel, file and pliers.
The Act describes a pistol converter as a device that attaches to the rear of the slide and “interferes with the trigger mechanism,” so the pistol can fire “rapidly or automatically with one continuous pull of the trigger.” People commonly call devices like this Glock switches.
The sales ban in Section 3
The court’s order centers on Section 3(a). It makes it a class D felony for any person or business that “knowingly imports into this state or knowingly advertises, sells, offers or exposes for sale any convertible pistol” manufactured on or after October 1, 2026.
Section 3(b) exempts sales and other lawful transfers between two private parties, meaning neither one holds a gun dealer license. The sales ban also never reached pistols made before October 1, 2026. The state made that point itself in court, and the judge called it “true, and not in dispute.”
The Act also changes Connecticut’s machine gun definitions. Under them, a convertible pistol counts as a machine gun when it carries a pistol converter. In the penal code, it also counts as one when the person who has it also possesses a pistol converter.
Beyond convertible pistols, the Act covers unfinished frames and receivers, a voluntary process for surrendering firearms and ammunition, and refunds for certain permit fees.
Why the judge blocked the Connecticut Glock ban
Glock filed suit on September 21, 2026. That same day, three more plaintiffs filed a second case: the National Shooting Sports Foundation, firearms maker Shadow Systems and firearms retailer Blue Trail Range. Judge Dooley heard both together on September 29 and granted preliminary injunctions in both on September 30.
The ruling follows the test the Supreme Court set in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022). First, a court asks whether a law touches conduct the Second Amendment’s text covers. If it does, courts presume the law is unconstitutional. Then the state has to show that the law fits the nation’s history of firearms regulation.
How the court read the history
For this motion, the state accepted that the law implicates the Second Amendment’s text, so the case turned on history. The state pointed to founding-era “proving laws,” which required guns to pass inspection before sale, along with the historical tradition of restricting machine guns.
The judge wrote that the state’s argument “is not without some force.” Even so, it did not persuade her at this stage. She wrote that proving laws “were designed to ensure safety before the firearm enters the stream of commerce. They were not designed to, and indeed could not, forestall future misuse of the firearm (even if predictable) after it enters the stream of commerce.”
She also wrote that “there is no dispute that handguns with a cruciform trigger bar (in an unconverted state) are not only safe, but extremely popular for purposes of self-defense, and their possession and carry rights are protected by the Second Amendment.”
The judge also questioned the date cutoff. According to the order, the state offered “no adequate explanation as to how the sale of a firearm manufactured on September 30, 2026 needs no safety regulation but the same firearm manufactured 24 hours later is sufficiently dangerous so as to be properly restricted and regulated by the state.”
This is not a final ruling on the law, though. The judge noted that the result “may derive from the condensed time frame” of the case, and that “upon further development of the record, the outcome may well be different.”
The harm the plaintiffs showed
To win a preliminary injunction, the plaintiffs also had to show harm that money could not fix later. Blue Trail Range told the court it held about $25,000 in cruciform trigger handguns. It expected that inventory to run out by the end of October 2026, and it had already stopped ordering new ones because of the law. The plaintiffs also pointed to law enforcement customers, whom the statute does not exempt.
What the injunction covers, and what it does not
| Part of Public Act 26-41 | After the September 30 order |
|---|---|
| Section 3(a): felony to knowingly import, advertise or sell a convertible pistol manufactured on or after October 1, 2026 | Enjoined. State prosecutors and the commissioner cannot enforce it while the injunction stands. |
| New machine gun definitions for a convertible pistol with a pistol converter | Not part of the order |
| Rules for unfinished frames and unfinished lower receivers | Not part of the order |
| Voluntary surrender of firearms and ammunition, and permit fee refunds | Not part of the order |
The order also leaves one question open. In a footnote, the judge said the court did not decide whether Glock’s SlimLine or Series VI pistols fall outside the law. The state’s lawyers told the court that assessment is underway.
What happens next with the Connecticut Glock ban
A preliminary injunction keeps the status quo while a case continues. It is not a final ruling that the law is unconstitutional, and the state can appeal it to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Attorney General William Tong responded that “Connecticut does not agree with the Court and will continue to defend the law.” Governor Lamont said he was “disappointed” and that his team would “evaluate all legal options.” State Sens. Martin Looney and Bob Duff said in a joint statement: “We’ll keep fighting in court to keep our communities and police officers safe from dangerous and deadly overpowered firearms.” On the other side, State Sen. Rob Sampson said: “The law was poorly conceived, difficult to apply fairly, and targeted lawful firearms based on what a criminal might illegally do with them.”
As of October 5, 2026, the public CourtListener copy of the docket listed no filings after the September 30 orders. We will update this post when the case moves.
What it means for Connecticut gun owners
The sales provision in Section 3 targets importing and selling. It does not cover owning a pistol, pistols manufactured before October 1, 2026, or private transfers between people who are not licensed gun dealers. The Act’s new machine gun definitions do reach one combination, though: they treat having a convertible pistol together with a pistol converter as having a machine gun.
While the injunction stands, the order bars the defendants from enforcing Section 3(a). Those defendants are Connecticut’s state’s attorneys and its commissioner of emergency services and public protection.
Glock switches also remain illegal. As the plaintiffs pointed out in court, machine gun conversion devices were already illegal before this law. Connecticut’s machine gun definition also covers “any part or combination of parts designed for use in converting a weapon into a machine gun.”
If you follow state firearms rules closely, you may also want our explainer on California AB 1263 and our other Glock articles. Because this order is preliminary, the convertible pistol ban could still return, so check back before you rely on it.
Frequently asked questions
The sales ban took effect October 1, 2026, but the state cannot enforce it for now. On September 30, a federal judge preliminarily barred the state’s prosecutors and its emergency services and public protection commissioner from enforcing Section 3(a), the felony for knowingly importing, advertising or selling a convertible pistol manufactured on or after October 1, 2026. The rest of the Act was not part of the order.
Section 3(a) never covered pistols manufactured before October 1, 2026, and the judge called that point “true, and not in dispute.” For newer pistols, the order bars the state’s prosecutors and its emergency services and public protection commissioner from enforcing Section 3(a) while the injunction stands. The order does not change Connecticut’s other handgun purchase rules.
The sales ban never covered pistols manufactured before October 1, 2026, and it does not make owning a pistol a crime. Under the Act’s new definitions, though, a convertible pistol counts as a machine gun if it carries a pistol converter. It also counts as one if the person who has it also has a converter.
No. The Connecticut Glock ban case is still going, and a preliminary injunction only keeps things as they were while it continues. The judge wrote that the outcome may well be different once the parties develop the record. The state has also said it will keep defending the law.
No. The ruling does not touch conversion devices. Connecticut’s machine gun definition covers “any part or combination of parts designed for use in converting a weapon into a machine gun,” and the Act adds a convertible pistol equipped with a pistol converter.
Sources
- Order granting preliminary injunction, Glock, Inc. v. Griffin, No. 3:26-cv-01525, and National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. v. Griffin, No. 3:26-cv-01528 (D. Conn. Sept. 30, 2026)
- Injunction order (D. Conn. Sept. 30, 2026)
- Public Act 26-41 (Substitute House Bill 5043), approved May 26, 2026
- Case docket on CourtListener
- WTNH News 8 report with statements from state officials
- The Reload report with the governor’s response
This article is general information, not legal advice. Court orders and enforcement can change quickly, so for advice about your situation, talk to a Connecticut firearms attorney.