Sixteen Democrat Attorneys General announced the filing of a lawsuit Monday to block the ATF from complying with the Trump administration and returning Forced Reset Triggers (FRTs) to their rightful owners.

On May 17, 2025, Breitbart News reported that Trump’s DOJ announced it would not maintain or enforce the ban on FRTs which was put in place under the Biden administration.

The decision resulted in the DOJ making clear it would not continue a legal battle against the National Association for Gun Rights, the organization which had filed suit against the ban.

NBC News quoted Attorney General Pam Bondi saying, “This Department of Justice believes that the 2nd Amendment is not a second-class right… And we are glad to end a needless cycle of litigation with a settlement that will enhance public safety.

A portion of what Trump’s DOJ rejected was the way Biden’s ATF had arbitrarily redefined at least some FRTs as “machineguns.” As a result, all FRTs that were “seized or taken as a result of a voluntary surrender” under Biden were to be returned to their owners.

On Monday, InsiderNJ reported the Democrat Attorneys General from Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, plus the Attorney General of the District of Columbia, have now filed suit to block the ATF from returning seized FRTs.

WMAR noted Maryland AG Anthony Brown (D) and the other AGs “claim the…[return of the FRTs] would fuel more gun violence, resulting in extra tax dollars being spent on treating casualties of firearm-related injuries.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at [email protected].