Thursday, May 28, 2026. 0633 hours. 66 degrees. On my way to work.
Some mornings the coffee kicks in before the truck does. This morning, my mind wandered into politics, law, city government, state government, and the never-ending pile of ridiculous gun bills that keep showing up from people who either do not understand firearms, do not understand constitutional limits, or understand both and simply do not care.
Maryland just gave us another example. Senate Bill 334, titled Criminal Law, Firearm Crimes, Machine Gun Convertible Pistols, was approved by the Governor as Chapter 771. In plain English, the state is going after certain common semi-automatic pistols because criminals may illegally install switches or conversion devices on them.
That is where the argument falls apart for me. The illegal conversion device is already illegal. The criminal misuse is already illegal. So instead of dealing with the criminal act, the law points back at the legal firearm, the lawful owner, and the normal market around it.
Punishing lawful ownership because a criminal might commit another crime is not public safety. It is legislative laziness dressed up in a cheap suit.
We have already had major Second Amendment cases work their way through the courts. The Supreme Court has made clear that commonly owned arms used by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes are not easy targets for government bans. Lawyers can argue the edges, and they always will, but the warning sign is not hard to read.
That means you do not get to ban a common semi-automatic pistol because the wrong person might modify it illegally. You do not get to ban an AR-15 because you dislike how it looks. You do not get to ban an AK-pattern semi-automatic rifle because it makes good campaign material. You do not get to call something military-style, scary, dangerous, or unnecessary and pretend those words magically erase constitutional limits.
Black plastic does not create criminal intent. A pistol grip does not change the laws of physics. A detachable magazine does not turn a lawful citizen into a felon. A common firearm in the hands of a lawful owner remains a common firearm in the hands of a lawful owner, no matter how badly somebody in a committee room wants to act otherwise.
Bad bills make bad law
This is the part that gets old. The same pattern repeats itself over and over. A criminal act happens. A conversion device shows up. A firearm gets misused. Then some politician points at the tool, ignores the existing laws already being broken, and writes a new bill aimed at the people who were not the problem in the first place.
That is how bad bills become bad law. That is how bad law becomes litigation. That is how taxpayers end up funding the defense of laws that should have been questioned before they were passed. It is not serious governance. It is theater with filing fees.
If lawmakers really believe these firearms, magazines, and features are too dangerous for ordinary citizens, then they can start with their own security details. Start with the armed protection around governors, mayors, legislators, judges, and agency heads. Start with law enforcement agencies at every level of the state. Put them under the same restrictions first. Same firearms. Same magazine limits. Same equipment rules. Same practical disadvantage.
When the people writing these laws are willing to live under the exact same defensive limitations they want to impose on everyone else, maybe the rest of us will believe they are serious.
Maybe.
But do not hold your breath.
That would also be a bad decision.
References: Maryland SB 334, District of Columbia v. Heller, Caetano v. Massachusetts, and New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen.
