Sixteen state governments are suing to block the returns of forced reset triggers (FRTs) to their owners that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) confiscated while former ATF head Steve Dettelbach was in charge of the agency.
Lawsuits Over Forced Reset Triggers
Named in the lawsuit by the anti-gun states were:
- National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR)
- Texas Gun Rights (TGR)
- Attorney General Pam Bondi
- Department of Justice (DOJ)
- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
- ATF Acting Director Daniel P. Driscol
- Rare Breed Triggers
- Named plaintiffs in NAGR v. Garland.
At issue is a recent agreement entered into by the AFT and the Department of Justice (DOJ). In the agreement, the government admitted that FRTs are not machine guns and agreed to return all confiscated triggers to their original owners.
In addition to returning all triggers to their owners, the government dropped its appeal to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals over its loss in District Court. Likewise, it would drop all other FRT lawsuits throughout the nation.
Anti-Gunners On The Offense
In the case, filed on June 9, the states, which included New Jersey, Maryland, California, Illinois, and others, say:
“This epidemic of gun violence has been fueled in recent years by the growing use of machinegun conversion devices (MCDs), which are used to turn semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic machineguns that can unleash massive carnage in mere seconds,” the complaint states.
“One such MCD—the forced reset trigger, or FRT—has become especially popular, including among individuals who are prohibited from possessing any firearms under federal law. At least 100,000 FRTs have been sold throughout the country and have made their way into every State, even those that independently ban such devices under their state laws.”
Additionally, the complaint said of the ATF’s decision to return the triggers:
“This reckless decision will not only endanger the public—putting people nationwide at greater risk of deadly violence—but is contrary to federal law. ATF’s longstanding position is that federal firearms laws proscribe the distribution and possession of devices like the FRT because they convert firearms into machineguns that can fire hundreds of uninterrupted rounds of ammunition with a single pull of the trigger. Even now, ATF has not renounced that view. Instead, bowing to political pressure, it has decided to simply ignore it.”
Of course, primary plaintiff NAGR had a strong opinion about the lawsuit, saying the states had overstepped their bounds.
“A federal court already ruled the government unlawfully seized thousands of legal triggers from law-abiding Americans—a decision that the ATF now acknowledges and accepts,” said Hannah Hill, NAGR vice president. “These states lack standing to file this lawsuit, and they know it. This suit is just reckless political lawfare.”
The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.
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