The Wire · CalGunHub

Justice Department Sues California Over New Pistol Sales Ban and Handgun Roster

Published July 1, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026

On the day AB 1127 took effect, DOJ filed a pattern-or-practice suit attacking the Glock-style pistol sales restrictions and the Unsafe Handgun Act roster.

Written by the CalGunHub desk from public reporting

Who this affects: For California gun buyers and licensed retailers, the filing meant the new restrictions on dealer sales of pistols with cruciform trigger bars took effect as scheduled on July 1, 2026, and remained in force while the case proceeds. Possession of affected pistols is not prohibited by the statute, and private-party transfers and pre-2026 dealer inventory are exempt. The lawsuit also places the long-running handgun roster, which limits which models retailers may sell, before a federal judge in a pattern-or-practice action brought by the federal government. A request for an immediate pause was later denied. This is general information, not legal advice.

The U.S. Department of Justice took California to court on July 1, 2026, the very day Assembly Bill 1127 took effect, challenging both the new restrictions on dealer sales of certain semiautomatic pistols and the state's longstanding handgun roster.

The complaint, filed in the Central District of California as United States v. California, No. 8:26-cv-01697, was brought under 34 U.S.C. section 12601, the federal statute that authorizes pattern-or-practice actions. The case was assigned to Judge Monica Ramirez Almadani.

According to the complaint, semiautomatic pistols built with cruciform trigger bars, a category that includes Glock and Glock-type models, are arms in common use that cannot be banned consistent with the Supreme Court's Heller decision. The suit also targets the Unsafe Handgun Act, the roster system that limits which handgun models California retailers may offer.

AB 1127, authored by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel and signed October 10, 2025, added Penal Code sections 16885 and 27595. Beginning July 1, 2026, licensees are barred from selling semiautomatic pistols built around a cruciform trigger bar. The statute does not prohibit possession, and it exempts dealer inventory acquired before 2026 as well as private-party transfers. Dealer penalties escalate from a $1,000 fine for a first violation up to a misdemeanor and license revocation for a third offense.

According to a state attorney general litigation tracker, the Justice Department filed a parallel action against Virginia the same day, contesting that state's restrictions on semiautomatic rifles.

On July 9, 2026, Judge Almadani denied the department's request for a temporary restraining order, so the California restrictions remained in effect as the case moved forward. The litigation is pending in district court, with the roster challenge and the AB 1127 claims both still to be litigated on the merits.

Informational only, not legal advice. Facts are attributed to the sources listed above.