California Attorney General Rob Bonta has joined a lawsuit against the Trump Administration’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). The legal action is led by the attorneys general of New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. It challenges the ATF’s decision to return thousands of forced reset triggers (FRTs) to communities across the United States.
FRTs allow semi-automatic firearms to fire rapidly like fully automatic machine guns when the trigger is held down. Previously classified as illegal machine guns by the ATF, FRTs were reclassified following a settlement agreement during the Trump Administration. This agreement involved returning seized FRTs nationwide. In response, Attorney General Bonta issued a bulletin emphasizing that FRTs remain illegal under California law.
Bonta stated: “It is a devastating fact that in our nation, children and teens are more likely to die by gun violence than any illness or accident. In California, we know that commonsense gun laws save lives, and we won’t stand idly by as the Trump Administration pours illegal weapons into our communities.”
The lawsuit involves 16 other attorneys general aiming to prevent FRT redistribution. Despite federal prohibition estimates suggest at least 100,000 FRTs have been distributed recently. These devices are increasingly found at crime scenes.
Federal judges have had differing opinions on whether FRTs qualify as machine guns under federal law. However, the Trump Administration settled lawsuits related to this issue in a manner seen as undermining federal prohibitions on FRTs.
The multistate lawsuit contends that returning these devices violates federal law prohibiting machine guns or conversion devices for semi-automatic firearms. The coalition argues this move endangers public safety nationwide and could lead to violations of state laws where such devices are banned.
Attorney General Bonta joins his counterparts from several states including Colorado, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont Washington alongside Washington D.C., in pursuing this legal challenge.
A copy of the amended complaint can be accessed online.
