The United States government has taken the State of California to court over its strict handgun regulations, claiming the state’s laws create an unconstitutional barrier for citizens trying to buy modern semi-automatic rifles.

Challenging California’s Firearm Statutes

In a 17-page complaint filed July 1, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the Department of Justice targets two major pillars of California’s firearm statutes: the restriction on “machine-gun convertible” pistols—frequently referred to as the “Glock Ban”—and the state’s official roster of approved handguns.

According to the lawsuit, California Penal Code Section 27595(a) makes it illegal for licensed dealers to sell pistols with a cruciform trigger bar if they can be easily modified into automatic weapons using common household tools and a third-party converter. The federal government argues this standard effectively bans nearly all Glock and Glock-style handguns, which are among the most popular self-defense choices in the country.

The legal challenge also targets California’s Unsafe Handgun Act (UHA). Under current state rules, any new semi-automatic handgun sold at retail must be listed on an official state roster and feature specific mechanisms, including a chamber-load indicator and a magazine-disconnect mechanism.

The Department of Justice highlights that these stringent engineering mandates resulted in zero new handgun models being added to the approved sales roster between 2013 and 2023. The lawsuit relies heavily on recent Supreme Court precedents, such as New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen and United States v. Rahimi, which dictate that firearm regulations must align with the nation’s historical traditions.

Original reporting: Tampa Free Press — read the source article.