Following a concerted legal push by Washington Attorney General Nick Brown and his counterparts from 15 other states, the Trump administration has backed down in court, agreeing to stop the circulation of machine-gun conversion devices, such as forced reset triggers, within the plaintiff states. This development emerged from the multistate lawsuit endeavoring to curb the spread of these devices, which are associated with increased firearm violence.
The ATF, in its latest court filings, has guaranteed that they will not distribute forced reset triggers across Washington and other plaintiff states, as documented in the case briefs. In the same vein, Rare Breed Triggers, the nation's leading supplier of these devices, confirmed that it will cease sales in these regions. Despite these legal victories, AG Brown lamented the need for litigation, stating, "It is unfortunate that litigation was necessary when the federal government could have made these commitments much earlier," in a statement made by the Washington State's Attorney General's Office.
The use of machine-gun conversion apparatuses has been linked with a stark rise in gun-related crimes, particularly mass shootings. When equipped on firearms, these devices can enable a gun to discharge bullets at a rate comparable to, or surpassing, military-grade machine guns—unleashing up to 20 rounds per second. According to the ATF, there's been a worrying 1,400% spike in the employment of such devices from 2019 to 2021.
In step with Washington, states like Delaware, Maryland, Colorado, Hawai'i, and several others are part of the lawsuit. The aim is to prevent the proliferation of mechanisms that could exacerbate an already dire gun violence epidemic. The legal action initiated on June 9 is ongoing, and updates on the case are available on the State Attorney General's website.
