The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against California, seeking to end its new ban on Glocks. The lawsuit also aims to prevent the state’s “Handgun Roster.”
According to the lawsuit, “California’s ban on the sale of the most popular handgun in America obviously violates the Second Amendment.” It explains that in order to be “sold at retail in California, a handgun must be listed on the State’s official ‘Roster’ of handguns. To be listed on the Roster, certain handguns must have a chamber-load indicator (‘CLI’) and a magazine-disconnect mechanism (sometimes referred to as a magazine detachment mechanism)
(‘MDM’). Until recently, these handguns were also required to have the ability to transfer microscopic characters representing the handgun’s make, model, and serial number onto shell casings fired by the gun (commonly referred to as microstamping capability).”
Because of these requirements, the DOJ wrote, “no new handguns were added to the Roster between 2013 and 2023.”
“The Second Amendment is a sacred right belonging to all Americans, even those in California. California cannot ban the most popular type of handgun in America,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. “We will work to stop this blatant trampling of our rights by the California government to protect the rights of lawful gun owners.”
“The Civil Rights Division will defend law-abiding citizens from states that seek to disarm them illegally,” stated Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. “This lawsuit is yet another example of this Justice Department enforcing the Second Amendment by protecting citizens against unconstitutional state regulation of firearms.”
Under California’s Assembly Bill 1127, the state will ban the sale of new Glock-brand pistols and similar firearms beginning July 1, 2026. The law reclassifies these widely used handguns as “machinegun-convertible pistols” because of their compatibility with illegal “Glock switches”—small devices that can turn a semi-automatic pistol into a fully automatic weapon.
