Forced Reset Trigger (FRT) Ban Reversed by Federal Judge

Fresh on the heels of the bump stock ban reversal, the Biden ATF has taken yet another loss, as the agency's attempt at banning forced reset triggers (FRTs) was thrown out in court.

A Texas federal judge – the reliable Justice Reed O'Connor – decided ATF exceeded its authority by attempting to unilaterally change the law:

A federal judge in Texas has overturned a Biden administration ban on forced reset triggers, after-market accessories that allow AR-15 type rifles to be fired more rapidly by automatically returning the trigger to its starting position after it is pulled.

U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth, Texas on Tuesday ruled the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) had gone beyond its legal authority in 2021 when it decided to classify forced reset trigger-equipped guns as machine guns, which are illegal with very narrow exceptions. He granted judgment without trial to the National Association for Gun Rights, a national gun rights group that had challenged the ban.

O'Connor cited the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling striking down a ban on bump stocks, another device that allows a gun to be fired at a speed similar to a machine gun. The court found that the legal definition of a machine gun requires the gun to fire continuously while the trigger is held, which neither bump stocks nor forced reset triggers do.

It's possible that ATF will appeal the decision, but it's unlikely that the appellate court will overturn it, and it is even less likely that SCOTUS will. It looks like this one is over with.