Federal Judge Overturns ATF Ban on Trigger Devices That Enhance Firing Speed

The ATF’s ban on the forced reset triggers was in part motivated by the October 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas.

An AR-15 rifle at FT3 tactical shooting range in Stanton, Calif., on May 3, 2021. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

A federal judge in Texas has ruled in favor of gun rights groups who sued the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in a bid to overturn the agency’s prohibition of forced reset triggers, devices that increase the firing rate of semi-automatic guns.

U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth, Texas wrote in a July 23 order that the ATF exceeded its authority when it classified forced reset triggers as machine guns and, with very narrow exceptions, made them illegal.