Legal/Law/Criminal Justice and Reform

Federal Court Gives Connecticut Glock Ban The Heave-Ho

(Carol M. Highsmith via Wikimedia Commons)

A federal judge issued an injunction blocking Connecticut from enforcing a ban on Glock pistols Wednesday.

Glock and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) sued to block Connecticut’s ban on the manufacturer’s popular pistols, which Democratic Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed into law in May. United States District Judge Kari A. Dooley of the District of Connecticut, a Trump appointee, said that the state’s ban failed the test established by the Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen.

“The Defendants offer 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,” Dooley wrote. “Accordingly, on the present record, the Court concludes that Plaintiffs have met their burden of establishing a likelihood of success on the merits. The statute is presumptively unconstitutional, and Defendants have not met their burden of demonstrating that the statute is consistent with our nation’s history of firearms regulation.”

Connecticut Democrats, who pushed the ban, condemned the ruling in statements released Wednesday.

“Connecticut does not agree with the Court and will continue to defend the law,” Democratic Attorney General William Tong said in a statement to a local media outlet.

“A Trump-appointed judge’s tortured interpretation of the Second Amendment won’t deter us from our sworn constitutional responsibility to protect our citizen,” Democratic state Sens. Martin Looney and Bob Duff said in a post on X.

Supporters of the ban claimed that so-called “Glock switches” were used to illegally convert Glock pistols into machine guns, labeling them “machine gun convertible pistols” in the legislation. Under current federal law, it is illegal to possess or manufacture a fully-automatic firearm that is not registered or authorized by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) under the provisions of the National Firearms Act of 1934.

“Connecticut conceded this law implicates the text of the Second Amendment, and it is therefore presumptively unconstitutional,” NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane said. “This is the correct decision to put a hold on this law while the Court can hear arguments exposing the constitutional flaws that grossly trample on the fundamental rights of law-abiding citizens.”

“Connecticut’s gun control politicians believe there are no bounds when it comes to the infringing on the Second Amendment,” Keane continued. “The reality is this: the Second Amendment is not a second-class right.”