On June 9, 2025, New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin, Maryland Attorney General Brown, and Delaware Attorney General Kathleen Jennings led a coalition of 16 state attorneys general in filing suit against the Trump administration and its Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). The ATF recently announced a plan to distribute “forced reset triggers” (FRT), which had been prohibited under federal and state law as a machinegun conversion device (MCD). California joined the case in July, bringing the number of plaintiffs to 17.

Forced reset triggers replace standard triggers on semi-automatic firearms and allow a shooter to maintain continuous fire with only a single trigger pull. For years, the ATF had confiscated these illegal devices. Trump reversed course, and on May 16, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced settlement agreements in litigation with FRT manufacturers and firearms advocates. As part of the settlement, the DOJ stated that it was abandoning enforcement of federal law that prohibits FRTs and outlined plans to redistribute the 12,000 FRTs that it had confiscated.

The state attorneys general argue in their complaint against the Trump administration that FRTs remain unlawful under current federal law, and the federal government is therefore prohibited from distributing them. In addition, many states separately ban FRTs. The ATF thus would be aiding and abetting violations of state law by distributing FRTs.

On July 11, the Department of Justice agreed not to sell or redistribute any FRTs within the plaintiff states over the course of the litigation, allowing the AGs to withdraw their request for a preliminary injunction while the case moves forward.

We will not stand by as the Trump Administration attempts to secretly legalize machine guns in an effort to once again put firearms industry profits over the safety of our residents. Forced reset triggers turn firearms into machine guns that can fire hundreds of rounds a minute, and they do not belong in civilian hands. Although the Trump Administration wants to distribute thousands of these illegal devices into our communities and endanger our residents, that will not happen on our watch. Protecting New Jerseyans has been my top priority, and our state has already seen several years of record-low shootings. To keep our state safe, we are filing suit to stop these illegal actions. Attorney General Matt Platkin