Connecticut's House of Representatives voted 86 to 64 on April 22 to send HB 5043 to the state Senate, a bill that would ban the sale and commercial transfer of pistols the legislature has classified as "machine gun convertible" — specifically firearms with a cruciform trigger bar that can accept an aftermarket device enabling fully automatic fire without additional machining or engineering. AmmoLand News reported that all House Republicans and fifteen Democrats joined in opposition and that the bill advances to the Democrat-led Senate, where it is expected to receive a floor vote in the coming days.

The legislation, a priority measure submitted by Governor Ned Lamont's office, targets pistols — primarily Glock-pattern handguns across multiple generations — that make up a substantial share of lawful defensive handgun sales in Connecticut and nationally. Under the House-passed version, commercial sales and dealer transfers of qualifying pistols would be prohibited beginning October 1, 2026. Current owners would be permitted to keep and privately transfer their firearms; only new sales through licensed dealers would be blocked. The bill also incorporates a ghost gun provision redefining unfinished frames and receivers as firearms, tracking similar language enacted in Maryland and Virginia this session.

Connecticut-headquartered National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearms industry's primary trade organization, opposed the bill throughout the session. NSSF Managing Director of Public Affairs Mark Oliva called the measure misguided, arguing it punishes lawful manufacturers and buyers for a third party's illegal modification of an otherwise standard semiautomatic pistol. NRA-ILA said in a legislative alert that HB 5043 "targets law-abiding manufacturers, dealers, and residents rather than individuals performing illegal modifications on otherwise basic platforms" and urged members to contact senators before the floor vote. Glock's U.S. operations and NSSF's own headquarters in Wilton put the industry's most prominent voices for opposition in the same state as the bill's author.

The CT Mirror noted that bill proponents cited Hartford police data showing 51 illegally modified Glocks seized between 2023 and 2024 as justification for a sales ban rather than a more targeted enforcement approach focused on illegal conversions.

Maryland passed comparable "machine gun convertible" legislation earlier this month, with that bill currently awaiting Governor Wes Moore's signature. Connecticut's Senate is expected to vote before the chamber adjourns; if the Senate passes an amended version the bill returns to the House for concurrence before going to Lamont, who has publicly backed it. Second Amendment groups are expected to press senators for amendments narrowing the definition of "convertible pistol" before final passage.