BRIDGEPORT, CT — A federal judge in Bridgeport on Wednesday, Sept. 30, stopped Connecticut from enforcing its new ban on selling convertible pistols, hours before the provision was to take effect Thursday, Oct. 1. The preliminary injunction applies to covered pistols made on or after Oct. 1.
U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley granted the order in two lawsuits, one brought by Glock Inc. and the other by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a firearms industry trade group, joined by gunmaker Shadow Systems LLC and retailer Blue Trail Range Corporation. Dooley found the plaintiffs likely to win their Second Amendment challenge, the test for preliminary relief. She has not issued a final ruling.
What the Order Blocks: Sales, Advertising and Imports
The injunction bars state officials from enforcing the section of Public Act 26-41, also known as House Bill 5043, that made it a Class D felony to knowingly import, advertise, sell, offer or expose for sale a convertible pistol manufactured on or after Oct. 1. The rest of the act is not covered by the order.
The law targets semiautomatic handguns built with a cruciform trigger bar, a design that lets an illegal pistol converter, the small device known as a "Glock switch," be fitted by hand or with a household tool to make the gun fire automatically. Lawmakers passed the measure in May, and it became law May 26, according to the court's opinion. Gov. Ned Lamont announced June 5 that he had signed it.
Why the Judge Sided With Glock and the Gun Industry
Glock argued that the ban violates the Second Amendment and would harm both the company and Connecticut residents. The company also told the court its newer models are designed so illegal switches cannot be used, and that the law makes no exception for police departments buying duty weapons, WFSB reported. The state countered that the law is consistent with Second Amendment case law and that the plaintiffs had not shown irreparable harm.
Dooley heard both cases together on Sept. 29. In her opinion, she wrote that the state had 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."
With the injunction in place, gun stores may go on selling the pistols while the lawsuits proceed, according to WFSB.