DOJ Sues to Stop California’s GLOCK Ban and End Its State-Approved Handgun Roster

The U.S. Department of Justice, under the Trump administration, filed a Second Amendment lawsuit Wednesday July 1, 2026, against California to block the state’s new “Glock Ban,” effective July 1, and challenge its longstanding “Handgun Roster,” a list the DOJ says limits the legal firearms individuals may purchase.

Justice Department SUES CALIFORNIA to Halt Glock Ban

“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,” said Acting Attorney General @DAGToddBlanche. “We will work to… pic.twitter.com/yqUDW2vzXp

— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) July 1, 2026

“The Civil Rights Division will defend law-abiding citizens from states that seek to disarm them illegally,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’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.”

The DOJ said California’s new law would ban the retail purchase of common handguns manufactured by Glock and guns with similar firing mechanisms. The state’s existing “Handgun Roster” further limits the types of handguns citizens can lawfully purchase in California. The United States Supreme Court recently reaffirmed that the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect the right to carry handguns outside the home for self-defense in Wolford v. Lopez. The Court reiterated that states cannot prevent citizens from using commonly used firearms for self-defense.

California is the first state to enact such a targeted Glock-style ban, with others (e.g., Maryland, Connecticut, New York) considering similar measures, The Reload reported recently.

They continue:

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon sent a letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom (D.) and Attorney General Rob Bonta (D.) on Wednesday, asking them to enter pre-suit settlement negotiations over the state’s forthcoming ban on pistols that feature firing mechanisms common to Glocks, as well as its so-called roster of approved handguns. The letter also said that if Dhillon’s negotiation offer is rejected or ignored over the next week, California should expect to see the Justice Department in court.

“Because handguns are the most popular weapon chosen by Americans for self-defense, a prohibition of their use is invalid,” Dhillon wrote. “This letter is to inform you that as the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, I have authorized the filing of a complaint in Federal district court against the state.”

The letter marks the latest instance of the DOJ targeting the gun control laws in Democratic jurisdictions and the second time that California finds itself on the receiving end of that legal scrutiny. Its latest foray against the state’s first-in-the-nation ban on Glocks could determine the constitutionality of the policy just as other states have started to imitate it.

One year ago today, the Globe reported that Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino), who calls the Glock, the “DIY Machine Gun Loophole,” is the author of Assembly Bill 1127, along with Assembly Members Mike Gipson and Buffy Wicks, and Coauthors Assembly Members Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, Marc Berman, Issac Bryan, Damon Connolly, Mark González, Ash Kalra, Liz Ortega, Cottie Petrie-Norris, and Sharon Quirk-Silva.

Democrats call the Glock a “machine gun-convertible pistol.”

The bill passed and was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October 2025.

According to Assemblyman Gabriel, “As parents and lawmakers, we refuse to stand idly by while our schools and communities are being threatened by illegal machine guns. This commonsense legislation will ensure that the gun industry is held accountable and that we are doing everything possible to protect our communities from mass shootings.”

Assemblyman Gabriel and fellow gun control supporters are literally redefining semi-automatic pistols as “convertible.”

So, it’s about “mass shootings,” according to Assemblyman Gabriel. Notably, Assemblyman Gabriel says nothing about the people shooting the guns. By his logic, SUVs kill, knives kill, airplanes kill, even hot air balloons kill – not the people operating them.

“The Glock pistol is America’s Gun. It has been rhapsodized by hip-hop artists and coveted by cops and crooks alike,” Glock: The Rise of America’s Gun says. “Created in 1982 by Gaston Glock, the pistol arrived in America at a fortuitous time. Law enforcement agencies had concluded that their agents and officers, armed with standard six-round revolvers, were getting “outgunned” by drug dealers with semi-automatic pistols; they needed a new gun. With its lightweight plastic frame and large-capacity spring-action magazine, the Glock was the gun of the future. You could drop it underwater, toss it from a helicopter, or leave it out in the snow, and it would still fire. It was reliable, accurate, lightweight, and cheaper to produce than Smith and Wesson’s revolver. (This is a marvelous book).

As Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon posted on X today:

SCOTUS’s recent 2A decisions hew to America’s natural law, and the right to self-defense. The @CivilRights Division’s 2A section at @theJusticeDept will continue to aggressively protect Americans’ right to keep and bear arms, and follow the precedent that SCOTUS set.

SCOTUS’s recent 2A decisions hew to America’s natural law, and the right to self-defense. The @CivilRights Division’s 2A section at @theJusticeDept will continue to aggressively protect Americans’ right to keep and bear arms, and follow the precedent that SCOTUS set. pic.twitter.com/PdVMXn70cH

— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) July 1, 2026

Paging Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel to the Constitutional Library of Congress for a long review of the Second Amendment. California will lose this lawsuit.