Connecticut’s proposed sale ban on “convertible pistols,” prompted by an increase in seized machine guns and devices that can turn ordinary pistols into machine guns, is driving up gun sales, gun dealers say.
HB 5043, which aims to ban handguns that can be easily converted into machine guns using thumb-sized device, was introduced by Gov. Ned Lamont in February and passed the House this week.
Connecticut is the smallest state considering the legislation and among the first to tackle this issue, along with California, Maryland, Illinois and New York.
The bill would primarily affect the sale of Glock handguns, which use a cruciform trigger mechanism that can be depressed by a switch to allow it to fire rapid rounds.
Gun dealers and industry advocates say the bill targets consumers, not criminals, and is unconstitutional — although they say it has led to a recent increase in handgun sales.
“We figured it’s about 30% of our sales,” said Richard Sprandel, the owner of Blue Line Firearms and Tactical in Monroe, referring to Glocks. “There are other guns that we can sell that are very similar, but (Glock) is the most popular firearm in the United States.”
Lamont said the bill is a needed update to gun safety laws.
Greg Lickenbrock, the senior firearms analyst of Everytown for Gun Safety, an organization promoting this legislation across the nation, said he hopes these bills can influence how certain handguns are made.
“We felt this was necessary because of the surge in modified Glock-style pistols being turned into machine guns and wrecking communities across the country,” Lickenbrock said. “This has been a growing problem since about 2017. That’s when police started sounding the alarm.”
The increase in Glock switches
Connecticut’s bill is a part of a wider push to address the use of switches, which are already illegal in the state. In the U.S., seized switches jumped from 658 in 2019 to 5,816 in 2023 — a 784% increase, according to data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives. And in recent years, federal authorities in Boston seized 3,093 imported conversion devices.
Switches have been around since the 1980s, when Jorge Leon, a Venezuelan gun repairman, noticed that the trigger mechanism in Glock guns could be manipulated. But when Leon approached Gaston Glock about this feature of his gun, he said Glock told him to keep it quiet, according to an interview with ABC News.
Connecticut, like the rest of the nation, has seen an uptick in these devices, a rise that the ATF attributes to 3D printing.
In 2023, ATF traced and recovered 2,219 guns in Connecticut. Of these, 31 were equipped with machine gun conversion devices.
But the real number of switches is likely much higher. Twenty-two switches were recovered in Hartford alone since 2024. And in 2023, the police department seized 45 switches, 30 of which were not installed on firearms. But Lickenbrock believes even this count may be underreported.
“With some switches, it’s actually hard to tell if a Glock has been modified unless you fire it or take it apart and look inside of it,” Lickenbrock said. “So that’s an issue, because a lot of police departments don’t actually (fire) the firearms once they recover them, they simply take it, hold on to it, and then move forward in their investigation.”
Lickenbrock said the goal of this legislation is to pressure gun manufacturers to produce safer designs.
“I find it very frustrating that a gun company like Glock would just let this sit for so long until it became an unsustainable problem, and hasn’t done, in my mind, anything to fix it,” Lickenbrock said.
Targeting criminals or consumers?
Many opposing the bill believed that it targets the wrong population.
Mark Oliva, the managing director of public affairs at National Shooting Sports Foundation, a firearm industry trade association, believes the bill is targeting consumers.
“What we’re seeing in this legislation is going after one of the most popular-selling handguns in America, for its reliability, for the criminal misuse of firearms,” Oliva said. “We’re not seeing the legislature or the governor talking about holding criminals accountable.”
Oliva believes the bill is a violation of the Second Amendment and said it is “fundamentally wrong.”
But Lickenbrock said the bill is not meant to target consumers.
“In this situation, we saw a problem that a handful of gun makers are responsible for,” Lickenbrock said. “So why not see if state law could push them to design safer guns?”
The number of criminal charges involving machine guns has increased in recent years.
But while the number of charges has increased, the number of convictions has remained the same — in 2025, 46 of the 47 charges for use of a machine gun for aggressive purposes were dropped.
Some gun dealers, like Sprandel, believe the state should convict those charged with related crimes, rather than banning the sale of a specific product.
“If they’re finding these illegal modifications on criminals in Connecticut, how many of these criminals have been tried or convicted of converting a firearm into a fully automatic machine gun?” Sprandel said. “Why are we not going after the criminal? Why are we going after the law-abiding citizen who buys them legally in a gun store?”
Banning the most popular gun
Glocks are one of the most popular guns on the market. Gun dealers like Sprandel say the legislation has driven up sales in their stores.
“We are seeing a lot of people coming in specifically for Glocks because they want to get them before a possible ban does go through,” Sprandel said. “So we have seen an uptick in sales, but it’s majority people looking for Glocks.”
Connecticut’s estimated handgun sales increased by 19% from February to March of this year, according to seasonally adjusted data collected by The Trace. Estimated numbers show a 33% increase for March of this year compared to March of last year, the fourth largest increase in the nation.
While not a direct representation of gun sales, the data is pulled from NICS background checks, required for gun owners in the state, and adjusted to more closely estimate gun sales. The introduction of restrictive gun legislation historically drives up sales, according to The Trace.
The bill, if it becomes law, could also affect manufacturers and dealers. In Connecticut, the total economic impact related to firearms was nearly $1.6 billion, according to NSSF.
“It is a pretty robust industry still in Connecticut. It generates a lot of economic activity, and still about 5,000 jobs are tied to firearm manufacturing in the state, whether that be direct jobs … or induced jobs,” Oliva said.
But when asked about the impact the law could have on gun manufacturers specifically, Lamont said it is not his “No. 1 concern.”
“We have one of the safest states in the country when it comes to crime, especially gun related crimes,” Lamont said. “I think some of that’s related to great law enforcement, some of that’s related to the gun safety laws, but you’ve got to continue to update your gun safety laws as the bad guys continue to come up with ways to turn recreational firearms into murder weapons.”
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This story was originally published by The Connecticut Mirror and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.