ByMichael Balsamo
Published [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal officials are notifying gun dealers that some forced-reset triggers, which allow guns to fire rapidly with a single continuous pull of the trigger, are considered machine guns under federal law and subject to strict regulation.
The notification was being made Thursday in an open letter from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to federally licensed firearms dealers. It spells out how investigators have determined the triggers to be “conversion devices,” making the weapons machine guns.
The Biden administration has been working to strengthen gun regulation, step up its fight against gun violence and tackle rising violent crime rates in the country. The Justice Department has already announced it is taking a hardline approach to gun dealers who break federal law and has established several strike forces in cities to help stop firearms trafficking.
In the new letter, the agency said its examination of the devices in question determined that they “allow a firearm to automatically expel more than one shot with a single, continuous pull of the trigger.”
The ATF says using the triggers, some of which sell online for around $400, mean that the weapons are being turned into machine guns under federal law, and as a result would be subject to strict regulation for possession, transportation or transferring the devices.
The determination applies only to forced-reset triggers that allow guns to fire more than one shot with a single trigger-pull and not others on the market that require the trigger to be released before another shot can be fired.
FAQs
A New York federal judge last month in a different case upheld the ATF policy, saying that the devices were machine guns because they could be fired rapidly by pulling back on the trigger continuously, and banned a company from selling forced reset trigger devices.
Are all forced reset triggers illegal? ›
The ATF says constant finger pressure on an FRT-15 trigger will keep a rifle firing like an automatic, and the fact that the trigger is moving doesn't make it legal. The triggers were designed to work in AR-15-style rifles and take only minutes to install.
Can I still buy a forced reset trigger? ›
Rare Breed said it was essentially forced to stop business in March 2022 after the ATF seized its inventory from its manufacturer in Utah. The ATF has also been asking people who bought the forced-reset triggers to voluntarily turn them over to the agency.
Do federal gun laws supersede state laws? ›
Under the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the US Constitution, a federal law is binding on all state and local governments so long as Congress duly enacted the law pursuant to one of its limited powers. Federal preemption of state law is uncommon in the area of firearms regulation, however.
Can you legally own a FRT trigger? ›
The ATF used its own discretion to determine that the FRT-15 is a machine gun. But Rare Breed Triggers claims the FRT-15 is a perfectly legal semi-automatic trigger because the trigger must be pulled for every bullet, so it is still semi-automatic.
Can I still buy the FRT-15 trigger? ›
A federal judge issued a preliminary ruling that temporarily halts the sale of our FRT-15 triggers. This decision comes amid claims by the U.S. government that these devices could be misconstrued as converting semiautomatic frearms into machine guns, which are heavily regulated under U.S. law.
Did FRT triggers get banned? ›
Aug 31 (Reuters) - The Biden administration's decision to categorize a type of rapid-fire gun accessory used with AR-15 type rifles as illegal machine guns is "likely unlawful," a federal judge in Texas concluded.
How many forced reset triggers were sold? ›
Rare Breed Triggers, founded in Florida and now based in Fargo, North Dakota, has sold about 100,000 FRT-15s since December 2020, taking in $39 million in revenue, according to court filings. The devices have generally been sold at just under $400 apiece and take only minutes to install.
What is the ATF ruling on binary triggers? ›
As in all semi-automatic firearms, only one round is fired within a single function of the trigger. This allows guns outfitted with a binary trigger to avoid classification as a machine gun within the definitions used by United States federal law, as stated by various ATF private-letter rulings.
Is a FRT the same as a binary trigger? ›
Unlike traditional triggers and binary triggers (sometimes referred to generally as “FRTs”), the subject FRTs do not require shooters to pull and then subsequently release the trigger to fire a second shot.
Under Penal Code § 32900 PC, California law makes it illegal to use, possess, manufacture or give away bump stocks. Also called multiburst trigger activators, bump stocks are gun accessories that increase the rate at which semiautomatic rifles fire. The language of the code section reads as follows: 32900.
Which state has the strictest gun laws? ›
State With Strictest Gun Laws
California and New Jersey are the states that have the strictest gun laws in the nation, scoring both A on the Giffords gun law scorecard. California requires a 10-day waiting period for all gun purchases, as well as a thorough background check for all gun purchasers.
What is the 28th Amendment? ›
California State Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (AD-06):
A 28th Constitutional Amendment will give states the power to regulate firearms and protect the work that is being done to keep our families safe.”
Which state tried to nullify federal laws? ›
The nullification crisis was a conflict between the U.S. state of South Carolina and the federal government of the United States in 1832–33.
Are automatic reset triggers illegal? ›
The forced-reset trigger introduced by Rare Breed Triggers in late 2020 has been deemed an illegal machine gun by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The ATF says the trigger can make an AR-15-style rifle fire as fast as a military M-16 machine gun.
What triggers are now illegal? ›
Being one of the more strict states in terms of gun laws, California specifically bans “multi burst trigger activators” which they define in two ways.
