The forced reset trigger (FRT) saga has come to an end with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) backing down in federal court.
The ATF and DOJ have entered an agreement in National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR) v. Garland that had the government admitting that FRTs are not machine guns and agreed to return all confiscated triggers to their owners. In addition to returning all triggers to their owners, the government has decided to drop its appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit over its loss in District Court and drop all other lawsuits across the country.
The battle over forced reset triggers started in July 2021 when the ATF served Rare Breed Triggers with a cease-and-desist letter demanding that the company stop selling the popular FRT-15 trigger.
The FRT-15 is a forced reset trigger that forces the trigger of an AR-15-style rifle into a reset position, allowing for quicker follow-up shots. The ATF claimed these triggers were drop-in auto sears (DIAS). Rare Breed Triggers disputed the claim, stating that the trigger did not meet the statutory definition of a machinegun conversion device (MCD).
The statutory definition of an MCD is that it converts any semiautomatic firearm into a machinegun. A machinegun expels multiple rounds with a single function of a trigger. Rare Breed Triggers pointed out that its trigger only fires a single round with each function of the trigger and did not convert a semiautomatic firearm into a machinegun. Rare Breed Triggers refused to comply with the cease-and-desist letter.
This refusal set off multiple lawsuits across the country. At the same time, the ATF visited the now-defunct Big Daddy Unlimited (BDU) and seized all its Wide Open Triggers (WOT). The WOT was determined by a court of law to be a knockoff of the FRT-15. The ATF started going door-to-door to confiscate the triggers from owners. Several cases charged owners with having an MCD.
In addition to lawsuits filed by Rare Breed Triggers against the ATF and DOJ, the government sued the company in New York State, preventing Rare Breed Triggers from selling the product directly to consumers. Eventually, Rare Breed Triggers would team up with NAGR and sue the ATF and DOJ in a Federal Texas District Court. The pair would get a victory from District Court Judge Reed O’Connor. The ATF was barred from taking enforcement action against the NAGR and its members. The government was also ordered to return the triggers, which it was reluctant to do. The government would then appeal the decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Now, under the agreement reached in District Court, the government will drop its appeal to the Fifth Circuit and all other cases around the country, bringing a four-year battle over the triggers to an end.
The government will take no enforcement action against anyone for owning or selling force reset triggers, whether they are a member of NAGR or not. Rare Breed Triggers is free to sell the triggers once again. According to their website, Rare Breed Triggers will sell the item again starting Monday, May 19th. The ATF is also barred from taking future action against FRTs.
This victory shows the change that has taken place at the DOJ. Under the previous Biden-Harris administration, the DOJ would never have considered such an agreement, but after President Donald Trump issued an executive order instructing Attorney General Pam Bondi to examine all legal cases for possible Second Amendment infringements, the Justice Department has been more open to relenting on gun-related cases.
During the first Trump Administration, the President declared the war on the Second Amendment was over. After Trump made that statement, the ATF targeted bump stocks under Trump’s orders. This term is shaping up differently, leading many to wonder if the war against the Second Amendment is now truly over.
About John Crump
Mr. Crump is an NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people from all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons, follow him on X at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
