There is more federal gun control coming down the pike.
On March 22, the ATF sent an open letter to federally licensed firearm dealers informing them that guns utilizing some “forced rest triggers” (FRTs) are considered machine guns under the National Firearms Act of 1939 and the Hughes Amendment to the Gun Control Act of 1969.
In effect, these popular firearms accessories will be regulated just like machine guns. This opens to door for the ATF to confiscate FRTs.
In practice, a forced reset trigger does exactly what the name implies. It forces the trigger to reset after every shot. As it resets, the trigger pulls the shooter’s finger forward. If the shooter maintains constant pressure, the trigger will reset and the finger pressure will pull the trigger again. It creates an effect similar to a fully automatic weapon, but it still requires a pull of the trigger for each shot.
According to the ATF, “any FRT that allows a firearm to automatically expel more than one shot with a single, continuous pull of the trigger is a ‘machinegun,’ and is accordingly subject to the GCA prohibitions regarding the possession, transfer, and transport of machineguns.” The agency says it plans to take “appropriate remedial action with respect to sellers and possessors of these devices.”
The Firearms Policy Coalition called the new rule “further proof of the agency’s abusive overreach of statutory and constitutional bounds and a manic desire to expand its dominion.”
Gun Owners of America (GOA) obtained an ATF internal email that seems to indicate “appropriate remedial action” could include outright confiscation of FRTs. The internal memo directs ATF field agents to “be prepared to take possession of any documents and FRTs the manufacturer, distributor, retailer offers to surrender. They may choose to abandon the items in which case ask them to complete a ‘forfeiture of property notice.'” The email refers to firearms dealers in possession of these FRTs as “defendants,” meaning they are considered law-breakers. By extension, any individual in possession of an FRT would be committing a criminal act under ATF rulemaking.
This is part of a broader push by the Biden administration to ramp up federal gun control. This summer, two new regulations drawn up under executive orders will go into effect. One will increase regulations on “80-percent lowers,” and the second will regulate “pistol braces.”
These new regulations are bad news for gun owners, but there is a way to stop them. State and local governments can refuse to assist in the enforcement of these rules. For more information on Biden’s gun control plans and how to stop them, click HERE.
