Trump administration sues California over new gun law

A new California law went into effect July 1 that bans the sale of certain handguns that can be converted into automatic machine guns. The Department of Justice, as well as several gun rights groups, sued the state over the bill.

The DOJ filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles last week, seeking to block Assembly Bill 1127, which focuses on pistols that can easily be modified to create fully automatic weapons. The lawsuit also challenges California’s “Handgun Roster,” which limits the kinds of firearms individuals can purchase. 

“California’s gun safety laws helped drive firearm death rates to record lows in our state and are a blueprint for reducing gun violence nationwide,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement to CALÓ News. “Our office is committed to defending California’s effective and constitutional gun safety laws, including laws that protect the public from the proliferation of machine guns and from unsafe handguns that have not passed consumer safety and testing requirements.”

Of the lawsuit, Bonta said his office will “review the complaint and respond as appropriate in court.”

AB 1127 bars licensed dealers from selling firearms that can be converted to fully automatic weapons through the use of a “switch,” an attachment that can be installed on a handgun, like Glocks, the most popular handgun in the country.

When the bill was first signed in October 2025, the National Rifle Association (NRA) and other gun rights groups sued the state, though the lawsuit was later dismissed. 

“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 U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche in a statement. “We will work to stop this blatant trampling of our rights by the California government to protect the rights of lawful gun owners.”

The lawsuit refers to AB 1127 as a “Glock Ban,” and argues even a shotgun could theoretically be converted into a sawed-off shotgun, though “surely, this does not mean the State can outlaw shotguns,” reads the suit.

In another gun rights lawsuit, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 last month that a Hawaii law restricting licensed gun carriers from carrying firearms on private property is unconstitutional and violates both the Second and 14th Amendments.

Democrats behind AB 1127 have pointed to a 2022 shooting near the state’s Capitol that left six dead and a dozen wounded. The weapon that was used had been modified through a switch.

“California won’t back down in the face of threats from Donald Trump and the NRA,” said Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino), one of the authors of AB 1127. “California is proud to be a national leader in enacting commonsense gun safety laws, and we will defend these life-saving laws from those who prioritize gun industry profits over the safety of our communities.”

In 2024, California saw the lowest firearm death, suicide and homicide rates since 1968, according to mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics. The report also showed California reduced statewide firearm homicide rates by 35% over three years.

The state is also ranked number one for gun law strength by both Giffords Law Center and Everytown for Gun Safety.