Democrat Attorneys General File Lawsuit Against ATF

On Monday, 16 Democrat Attorneys General announced they are filing a lawsuit aimed at stopping the ATF from monitoring the actions of the Trump administration and returning the forced reset triggers (FRTs) to their rightful owners.

Breitbart News highlighted on May 17, 2025, that the Trump Department of Justice (DOJ) stated it would not continue to enforce the FRT ban that had been implemented under the Biden administration.

This move clearly indicated that the DOJ would not pursue its legal struggle with the National Gun Rights Association, which had initiated a lawsuit against the FRT restrictions.

Attorney General Pam Bondi commented to NBC News that “The Department of Justice believes that the Second Amendment is not a second-rate right.”

The Trump DOJ rejected the Biden administration’s ATF’s arbitrary classification of certain FRTs as “machine guns.” Consequently, all FRTs that had been “confiscated or collected as a result of voluntary surrender” during Biden’s tenure would be returned to their owners.

According to reports, the lawsuit, which also includes Democratic Attorneys General from states like Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia, aims to prevent the ATF from taking FRTs back.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown and other AGs have argued that the return of the FRTs could lead to increased gun violence, ultimately resulting in higher public expenditures for treating victims of firearm-related injuries.