Gun owners across the country have been watching closely as states tighten restrictions on semiautomatic pistols that can be illegally modified with so-called “Glock switches” or pistol converters. This week, Connecticut took a major step forward with HB 5043, a bill that passed the House of Representatives on April 22, 2026, by a vote of 86-64. The legislation is now on the Senate calendar (Calendar #455) with a favorable report and is expected to move quickly before the legislative session ends.

If signed by Governor Ned Lamont (as he has publicly stated he intends to do), the law would take effect October 1, 2026, and would prohibit the sale, import, or advertising of new “convertible pistols” by licensed dealers. Existing owners are fully grandfathered—no registration, no confiscation, and private transfers of pre-ban firearms remain legal.

The bill defines a convertible pistol as any semiautomatic pistol with a cruciform trigger bar that can be readily converted by hand or with common household tools into a machine gun simply by installing or attaching a pistol converter (the infamous Glock switch).

Importantly, the law includes clear carve-outs:

• Hammer-fired pistols are exempt.
• Pistols with a tab or other piece of material that shields the cruciform trigger bar from interference by a converter are explicitly excluded—as long as the shield prevents “ready” conversion without additional machining or modification.

In plain English: If the design physically blocks a switch from being snapped on easily, the pistol does not fall under the ban.

Connecticut modeled its language very closely after California’s AB 1127, which was signed into law in 2025 and takes effect July 1, 2026. Both laws zero in on the same technical feature—the cruciform (cross-shaped) trigger bar—and both exempt properly shielded designs that make illegal conversion impractical.

The key difference is timing and a few wording tweaks in Connecticut’s version to strengthen it against potential legal challenges. But the bottom line for gun owners and manufacturers is the same: future sales of standard Glock-pattern pistols with unprotected cruciform trigger bars will be off-limits in both states unless the manufacturer redesigns them for compliance.

• If you already own a Glock, Derya DY9, or similar pistol: Nothing changes. Your firearms are legal to keep, use, and transfer privately.
• New purchases after the effective dates: In Connecticut (Oct 1, 2026) and California (July 1, 2026), dealers will only be able to sell models that meet the shielding or exemption criteria.
• The laws target manufacturers and dealers—not individual owners—and are designed to push companies to innovate safer, non-convertible designs.

At Derya Arms, we have always prioritized innovation, safety, and full compliance with evolving state and federal regulations. Our DY9 series already has compliant “Massafornia” variants on the California roster, and we have been proactively engineering solutions for the exact technical requirements now appearing in Connecticut and California.

We are currently developing shielded and redesigned options that will ensure continued availability of high-quality, reliable Derya pistols in Connecticut, California, and every other state. These new configurations incorporate robust shielding of the cruciform trigger bar (or alternative designs) so they fall squarely within the legal exemptions—while maintaining the ergonomics, reliability, and performance our customers expect.

Patents are pending on these innovations, and we are working around the clock to bring compliant models to market as quickly as possible.

Stay tuned—we will have major announcements in the coming months about availability, timelines, and how Derya Arms is ensuring that law-abiding citizens in every state continue to have access to dependable, American-market firearms.

In the meantime, if you have questions about our current lineup, compliance status in your state, or want to be notified when the new shielded options drop, visit derya.us.