SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 2 (Our California Times) — California’s AB 1127 took effect July 1, barring licensed dealers from selling certain semiautomatic pistols that the state says can be turned into machine guns, as the Justice Department filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block the law.
The legislative record says the law covers semiautomatic pistols with a cruciform trigger bar that can be converted by hand or with common household tools using a pistol converter. It expands California’s definition of a machine gun to include a machinegun-convertible pistol equipped with a converter.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 1127 on Oct. 10, 2025. Assemblymembers Jesse Gabriel, D-Encino, and Catherine Stefani, D-San Francisco, authored the measure, according to an Assembly release.
The law does not bar possession by people who already own the pistols, and it includes exemptions for gun dealers, law enforcement and military agencies in future sales, according to legislative and advocacy summaries. The Justice Department asked a federal court to block the statute after it took effect.
