Maryland House backs ban on pistols converted to machine guns

The Maryland House of Delegates approved a bill to ban the sale of pistols that can be converted into machine guns, targeting the Glock switches and auto-sears that Baltimore police have been recovering at crime scenes across the city.

House Bill 810 expanded Maryland’s existing ban on “rapid fire trigger activators” to include a “switch/auto-sear.” In the General Assembly’s fiscal and policy note, that device is defined as one that applies force to a firearm’s trigger bar so the weapon no longer stays limited to semiautomatic fire. Supporters said the bill would ban the use or trafficking of the devices, which can turn ordinary handguns into machine guns.

The Baltimore numbers explain why the fight sharpened. Police data cited in legislative materials showed 35 Glock switches recovered in 2023 and 65 in 2024. That rise put a sharper Baltimore edge on a debate that has spread statewide, because each switch can turn an ordinary handgun into a weapon that fires far faster than the law allows for a standard semiautomatic pistol.

The Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention and Policy backed HB 810, and the Office of the Attorney General also submitted support. Gun-safety groups framed the effort as part of a broader push to stop the spread of “DIY machine guns” across Maryland, while gun-rights groups including the NRA and 2A Maryland pushed back.

For Baltimore, the question is whether the bill closed a real gap or simply added another law to a crowded code. Supporters argued it did both by reaching the conversion devices themselves, not just the handguns they are attached to. The broader fight has also moved into court, with Baltimore and Maryland suing Glock over handguns that can be converted into automatic weapons, a sign that the city’s gun violence debate is now as much about design and distribution as it is about street enforcement.