NEW JERSEY - New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced that he, along with Attorneys General from Delaware and Maryland, is co-leading a 16-state coalition in a lawsuit against the Trump Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). The legal action seeks to stop the federal government from redistributing thousands of machine gun conversion devices (MCDs), specifically Forced Reset Triggers (FRTs), which are currently classified as illegal under federal law.
The lawsuit, filed on June 9, follows a May 16, 2025, settlement in which the ATF—acting under the direction of the Trump Administration—agreed to cease enforcement of federal prohibitions on FRTs and return previously seized devices to individuals and sellers nationwide. Plaintiffs argue this settlement circumvents longstanding federal firearms regulations and poses a substantial risk to public safety.
Forced Reset Triggers are designed to replace the standard trigger mechanism on a semiautomatic firearm, allowing for continuous fire with a single trigger pull, effectively converting it into a machine gun. While ATF has long considered such devices illegal under the National Firearms Act, recent legal disputes produced conflicting federal rulings. One judge in New York upheld the federal ban, while another in Texas ruled against it—a decision now under appeal.
Despite the legal ambiguity, the coalition of attorneys general contends that the settlement constitutes a breach of federal firearm statutes. Their lawsuit argues that the ATF cannot use a legal settlement to sidestep existing prohibitions, particularly when doing so would reintroduce dangerous devices into jurisdictions where they are explicitly banned.
“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,” said Attorney General Platkin. “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.”
The complaint underscores that machine gun conversion devices like FRTs have increasingly appeared at crime scenes across the U.S. According to ATF data, incidents involving machine-gun-style fire increased by 1,400% between 2019 and 2021. FRT-equipped firearms have been linked to violent crimes and mass shootings, with the devices capable of firing up to 20 rounds per second—surpassing the rate of fire of many military-grade weapons.
The coalition is seeking a preliminary injunction to halt the distribution of FRTs, citing the potential for irreparable harm to public safety and state enforcement efforts. The lawsuit emphasizes that returning such devices to individuals in states where they are banned could “aid and abet” violations of state laws, a concern ATF itself has acknowledged.
In New Jersey, the case is being handled by Solicitor General Jeremy Feigenbaum, Deputy Solicitor General Shankar Duraiswamy, and several Deputy Attorneys General, including Marie Cepeda Mekosh, Chris Ioannou, Max Lesser, Justine Longa, Amanda McElfresh, Nathaniel Rubin, and Lucy Sprague.
The lawsuit is joined by Attorneys General from Colorado, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia, in addition to those from New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland.
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