NSSF, Shadow Systems and Blue Trail Range filed a federal complaint on September 21 challenging part of Connecticut's new convertible-pistol law. The case, No. 3:26-cv-01528 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, names Chief State's Attorney Patrick J. Griffin and the state's attorneys for Connecticut's judicial districts in their official capacities. The plaintiffs want the court to stop enforcement of the sales restriction before it takes effect October 1. Filing the case did not itself suspend the law.

What the statute covers

Public Act 26-41, enacted from Substitute House Bill 5043, makes it a class D felony for an individual or business to knowingly import into Connecticut, advertise, sell, offer, or expose for sale a covered convertible pistol manufactured on or after October 1, 2026. Governor Ned Lamont signed the measure May 26. The relevant sections become effective October 1, giving the plaintiffs a short window to seek emergency relief before the new offense applies.

The act defines a convertible pistol as a semiautomatic pistol with a cruciform trigger bar that can be readily altered by hand or with a common household tool, allowing installation or attachment of a pistol converter that can make it fire automatically. The statutory list of common household tools includes a knife, screwdriver, wrench, hacksaw, crowbar, drill, rotary tool, hammer, chisel, file, and pliers. It separately defines the cruciform trigger bar as a linkage between the trigger and firing pin with its sear incorporated into a cross-shaped surface.