Gun rights groups sue New York over Glock ban

# Why This Matters

New York's law, signed by Governor Kathy Hochul in December 2024, bans the sale and possession of semiautomatic pistols with certain "military-style" features—including Glocks, which account for roughly 65% of police-issued handguns nationwide and are among the most commonly owned civilian firearms in America. The statute specifically targets pistols with threaded barrels, folding or adjustable stocks (on pistol frames), magazines holding more than 10 rounds, or muzzle devices. The NRA, Second Amendment Foundation, Gun Owners of America, and related groups filed suit in federal court this week arguing the law violates the Second Amendment as interpreted in the Supreme Court's 2022 Bruen decision, which established that firearm regulations must have historical analogs dating to the Founding era.

The timing is strategic and urgent. The Supreme Court is expected to rule this spring on New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen—a case challenging the same state's assault weapons ban—giving gun rights groups momentum heading into this new lawsuit. Hochul's pistol ban affects not just future sales but existing owners: the law requires current possessors of banned pistols to either surrender them, render them inoperable, or move them out of state by September 2025. That creates an estimated 1 million to 2 million New Yorkers who could face criminal liability for possession of a firearm they legally owned when they acquired it. The state estimates the ban removes roughly 10% of all handguns in circulation statewide.

The conservative argument here is straightforward: the state has targeted the most popular, practical handgun in America—one trusted by police and civilians alike—based on cosmetic features that have zero bearing on how the weapon functions. A Glock with a threaded barrel fires exactly as fast and as lethally as a standard Glock. Hochul's law is a back-door confiscation dressed up as a safety measure, and it comes after New York already banned "assault weapons" and implemented extreme licensing restrictions. The state is functionally trying to shrink the universe of permissible firearms until only antique weapons remain legal, which directly contradicts Bruen's mandate that common, in-use firearms are protected.

What to watch: The Supreme Court's decision in NYSRPA v. Bruen is due by late June 2025. If the Court strikes down New York's assault weapons ban—which seems increasingly likely given the justices' questions during oral arguments—it will create immediate legal precedent that cuts sharply against the pistol ban. A ruling for gun rights groups would likely result in an injunction freezing the enforcement of Hochul's law pending the full case, stopping the September confiscation deadline in its tracks. Conversely, if the Court upholds New York's broader ban, Hochul's office will claim validation and potentially expand the statute's scope. Federal Judge John Sinatra Jr., assigned to the pistol case, will issue initial rulings on motions well before that Supreme Court decision lands.