John Lott writes for the Federalist about one state government’s disturbing approach toward gun owners.
For those concerned that background checks will eventually be used to create gun registries that can later facilitate confiscation, they need only look at what is happening now in New Jersey. New Jersey’s Attorney General relies on questionable claims to justify targeting Glocks as firearms that can supposedly be easily converted into true, fully automatic machine guns.
New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport’s office is subpoenaing Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) across the state for records involving Glock pistol sales to New Jersey residents. The subpoenas, reportedly dated around May 11, 2026, began reaching dealers on May 14 and impose a response deadline of June 15, 2026. A Superior Court judge hearing the case has refused to dismiss the lawsuit and is allowing discovery to go forward.
The subpoenas demand records covering every lawful sale or transfer of Glock handguns dating back to January 2016 — roughly the past decade. They reportedly target all new Jersey FFLs and require dealers to turn over extensive customer and sales information.
The demands include buyer names and addresses, dates of sale, firearm details such as make, model, serial number, and caliber, and whether the firearms were sold to civilians or law enforcement. The subpoenas also seek information on how dealers obtained Glock inventory, contracts or agreements with Glock, communications with Glock concerning sales, marketing, “switches,” or automatic-fire capability, and records related to advertising and marketing directed at New Jersey customers.
Those who support gun ownership are concerned that compiling these buyer lists in litigation could expose personally identifiable information and serve as a step toward broader tracking or future confiscation efforts.
“What’s funny is these folks want all the gun records, but they don’t want to give the federal government voting records,” said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Harmeet Dhillon, noting the irony.
