The attorneys general for Maryland, New Jersey, and Delaware are filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration aimed at preventing it from legalizing devices that allow individuals to convert semi-automatic weapons into machine guns. 

The lawsuit stems from a May 16 settlement agreement that the Trump administration made with Rare Breed Triggers, a company that manufactures devices known as forced reset triggers.

What are forced reset triggers?

FRT’s are aftermarket triggers that enable semi-automatic guns to fire as fast as fully automatic weapons. 

In 2022, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ordered the company to halt sales, and declared that FRT’s would be considered machine guns under federal law, which consequently made them subject to tighter restrictions.

Rare Breed Triggers disputed the ATF’s stance and continued selling its FRT’s, leading the federal government to file a lawsuit against the company in 2023.

At the same time, the National Association for Gun Rights sued the ATF in federal court in Texas, challenging its classification of the FRT-15 as a machine gun.

The May 16 settlement ended the litigation between the U.S. government and Rare Breed Triggers. 

“The Department’s agreement with Rare Breed Triggers avoids the need for continued appeals in United States v. Rare Breed Triggers and continued litigation in other, related cases concerning the same issue,” an announcement by the Department of Justice read.

“We’re seeking a preliminary injunction to block the redistribution of forced reset triggers into our states,” New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said Monday morning. “This is just part of what were doing in New Jersey and in the states were representing to reduce gun violence.”

Maryland leaders attempt to stop automatic weapon conversion

In a similar move, Maryland and Baltimore sued gun manufacturer Glock in February, alleging the company violated the state’s Gun Industry Accountability Act. 

The lawsuit alleged that Glock contributed to the gun violence crisis by promoting the use of switches, a device that converts a pistol into a machine gun. 

During the Maryland General Assembly, lawmakers proposed a bill banning a list of weapons that can be converted from semi-automatic weapons to fully automatic using an attachment referred to as an auto-sear, or “switch.”

Just last week, Baltimore Police arrested a group of teens who they said had multiple guns and ammunition, along with an auto-sear attachment.