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House Judiciary hears hours of testimony on bill to bar sale of pistols convertible into machine guns
Summary
Supporters told the committee HB 577 would block future sales of semiautomatic pistols that accept small "switch" devices and push manufacturers to change designs; opponents including industry groups called it an effective ban on widely used striker‑fired pistols and warned of legal and market consequences.
Delegate Nicole Williams urged the House Judiciary Committee to give House Bill 577 a favorable report, saying the bill "will prohibit a person from manufacturing, selling, offering for sale, purchasing, receiving, or transferring a certain convertible pistol in Maryland" while not forcing current owners to surrender firearms.
Proponents — including Everytown for Gun Safety, the Brady Campaign and law‑enforcement witnesses — said certain pistols can be converted into fully automatic firearms with a small device commonly known as a "Glock switch," and that those conversion devices are difficult to regulate and increasingly recovered at crime scenes. "DIY machine guns are extremely dangerous and…
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