WA joins 15 states suing over deregulation of rapid-fire gun devices

Washington is joining a multi-state lawsuit targeting a specific type of gun trigger.

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown announced on Monday that he’s joining 15 other attorneys general in suing the Trump Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) over their plans to allow the sale of forced reset triggers.

WA joins forced reset triggers lawsuit

“Communities are less safe with these mass-shooting devices in circulation,” Brown said in a statement. “Essentially deregulating them is another example of this administration being driven by extreme ideology rather than commonsense.”

Forced reset triggers are devices that allow semi-automatic rifles to be fired more rapidly. The suit says returning the devices to market violates federal law, arguing they turn regular guns into machine guns.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently settled with the maker of the triggers, Rare Breed Triggers, resolving previous lawsuits brought by the Biden Administration.

The agreement states Rare Breed Tiggers “will not develop or design FRTs for use in any handgun.” It also requires the ATF to return the triggers “that it has seized or taken as a result of a voluntary surrender.”

“This Department of Justice believes that the 2nd Amendment is not a second-class right,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “And we are glad to end a needless cycle of litigation with a settlement that will enhance public safety.”

The federal lawsuit announced on Monday was filed in the state of Maryland. Attorney General Brown is joining New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Colorado, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia.

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