Attorney General Phil Weiser takes action to protect federal firearm safety measures from incoming Trump administration

Jan. 16, 2025 (DENVER)—Attorney General Phil Weiser today announced that he and more than a dozen other states are joining together to defend two major actions by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to protect residents nationwide. These filings come as the incoming Trump administration may abandon the defense of these two important federal policies.

The first action defends ATF’s decision to prohibit Forced Reset Triggers (opens new tab) , or FRTs, nationwide—a device that allows owners to illegally convert their firearms into fully automatic weapons with the firepower of a military machinegun. The second action defends ATF’s so-called “engaged in the business” rule (opens new tab) , which implements the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act’s expansion of gun dealers that must go through criminal background checks for their purchasers and keep records of their sales to help law enforcement solve crimes.

“In Colorado, we have seen up close the impact on lives and our communities of gun violence,” said Weiser. “That’s why we take gun violence prevention measures seriously and are committed to sensible gun safety measures. In joining this case, we are prepared to defend important federal protections that are now at risk of being undermined by the incoming Trump administration.”

Forced Reset Triggers

In recent years, devices like FRTs, which dramatically increase a firearm’s rate of fire, have been frequently used in violent crimes and mass shootings. FRT devices replace the standard trigger on a semiautomatic firearm to allow the shooter to maintain continuous fire with one trigger pull, similar to the operation of fully automatic weapons. Firearms equipped with these devices can exceed the rate of fire of many military machineguns, firing up to 20 bullets in one second.

Since at least 1975, ATF has classified devices that operate similarly to FRTs as machineguns prohibited by federal law. Despite the prohibition, in recent years, at least 100,000 FRTs have been distributed across the country.

In 2024, a federal judge in Texas held that FRTs do not qualify as machineguns and issued a court order prohibiting ATF from taking criminal or civil enforcement actions regarding FRTs against a broad swath of entities and ordering ATF to return FRTs to distributors by February 22, 2025. The United States appealed that decision, and the parties are awaiting a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Today’s filing by Weiser and the other states will act to protect communities from military-style machineguns in light of the risk that the Trump administration will stop defending this policy, allowing FRTs to proliferate and threaten public safety nationwide.

In addition to Colorado, others joining today’s filing include Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

“Engaged in the Business” Final Rule [Background Checks]

After enactment of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, ATF issued a rule implementing the law’s expansion of the category of firearm dealers who must go through a background-check process before they can sell firearms to a customer, and who must retain records of those sales that federal, state, and local law enforcement can use to solve violent crimes and prosecute straw purchasers and gun traffickers.

ATF estimates that anywhere from 25,563 to 95,505 previously unlicensed individuals would now require federal licenses, therefore subjecting them to background-checks prior to selling weapons, as well as record-retention requirements. Barring the expansion of these important licensing requirements, felons and other persons prohibited from purchasing weapons will have more avenues open to illegally purchase a firearm.

President-elect Trump repeatedly (opens new tab)  attacked ATF rulemakings during his 2024 campaign, and specifically mentioned this rule, signaling an impending withdrawal of a federal defense of the rule. Colorado and the other states are intervening to protect this critical rule and the implementation of bipartisan legislation to keep our communities safe from gun violence.

In addition to Colorado, others joining today’s filing include Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

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Media Contact:
Lawrence Pacheco
Chief Communications Officer
(720) 508-6553 office | (720) 245-4689 cell
lawrence.pacheco@coag.gov