The attorneys general of 15 states and the District of Columbia sued
the federal government Monday, claiming a plan to return seized
rapid-fire triggers equates to the distribution of machine guns.
“In
seeking to reintroduce weapons of war to our communities, this
Administration is – once again – flagrantly violating the law,” Delaware
Attorney General Kathy Jennings said in a press release. “We should be
clear about the stakes here: if they are allowed to implement their
illegal agenda, more innocent people will die from gun violence. With
this litigation, we’re stepping up to stop that from happening.”
A
complaint filed in Maryland claims the government violated federal
machine gun laws by entering into a settlement with forced reset trigger
manufacturers. The agreement effectively nullified enforcement actions
taken by the ATF under the Biden administration.
“Communities are
less safe with these mass-shooting devices in circulation,” Washington
Attorney General Nick Brown said in a press release. “Essentially
deregulating them is another example of this administration being driven
by extreme ideology rather than commonsense.”
The bureau
previously classified the forced reset triggers as machine gun
conversion devices. The device, designed for the AR-15 but adaptable for
other firearms, enables an increased rate of fire for semi-automatic
weapons by mechanically resetting the trigger’s position after each shot
is fired.
“This is one of the most stunning victories in the
history of the gun rights movement. We didn’t just beat the ATF — we put
them in a submission hold, and they tapped out,” President of the
National Association for Gun Rights Dudley Brown said regarding the May
16 agreement. “This decision marks a new era of holding the DOJ and ATF
accountable when they trample the rights of law-abiding gun owners. We
made them give back what they took, and that’s a precedent they’ll never
forget.”
Under Trump’s executive order “Protecting Second
Amendment Rights,” his administration directed the bureau to settle
three Biden-era lawsuits targeting the interstate flow of firearm
devices. The order also instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to review
all firearm-related rules and legal positions from 2021 to 2025.
The
resulting agreement bars enforcement of laws classifying forced reset
triggers as machine gun conversion devices—unless designed for
handguns—and requires the government to return previously seized devices
to manufacturers and individuals, a provision the plaintiff strongly
opposes.
“This victory is a landmark moment in the fight against
unchecked government overreach. The ATF and DOJ tried to silence and
bury us not because we broke the law, but because I refused to bend to
the will of a tyrannical administration,” President of Rare Breed
Triggers Lawrence DeMonico said in May.
The lawsuit seeks a
declaration invalidating the redistribution provision. The states also
sued the parties involved in the settlement agreement, including gun
rights organizations and manufacturers. The states argue that the policy
will lead to increased medical and financial burdens.
The
lawsuit seeks to invalidate the settlement’s redistribution provision
and names several gun rights groups and manufacturers among the involved
parties. The states argue the policy will increase medical and
financial burdens.
“It’s hard enough for our local law enforcement
officials to protect Colorado communities from gun violence without the
federal government willfully ignoring the law,” Colorado Attorney
General Phil Weiser said in a press release. “We’re suing to stop the
ATF and the administration from making our communities more dangerous by
distributing thousands of devices that turn firearms into weapons of
war.”
The plaintiff states include Delaware, the District of
Columbia, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont and
Washington.
