Del. AG announces lawsuit against Trump Administration regarding machine gun devices

DELAWARE – Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings has announced a lawsuit against the Trump Administration over plans to distribute thousands of machinegun conversion devices to communities across the United States.

The action by the Trump Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives involves Forced Reset Triggers, allowing even novice shooters to achieve the firepower of a military machinegun. The agency reportedly signed a settlement agreement that promised to stop enforcing federal law against FRTs and redistribute thousands of FRTs that ATF had previously seized. This litigation seeks to prevent the imminent redistribution, as FRTs are illegal to possess under federal law.

In recent years, machinegun conversion devices have frequently been used in violent crimes and mass shootings, worsening the gun violence epidemic in the U.S. Firearms equipped with MCDs can exceed the rate of fire of many military machine guns, firing up to 20 bullets per second. ATF says they have noted a significant rise in the use of MCDs, leading to the increase of incidents of machine-gun fire, up 1,400% from 2019 through 2021.