The ATF sent notices to thousands of owners of forced-reset triggers a while back, telling them to either turn them in or be charged with having an unregistered machine gun.
Unsurprisingly, this sparked lawsuits and legal actions.
Of the cases going on, the National Association for Gun Rights scored a key victory. They won a district court ruling that said, no, forced reset triggers aren’t machine guns and the ATF needs to give them back.
Now, that seems pretty straightforward.
But my friend Jared Yanis at Guns & Gadgets posted this video on Wednesday:
In short, it looks like the ATF is manufacturing a lot of nonsense to justify their actions and, more importantly, to refuse to comply with the district court’s ruling.
First, Jared takes issue with the fact that the ATF is demanding people prove membership in NAGR before getting their devices back. He argues that it’s nothing but a stalling tactic.
If the district court ruling only applies to NAGR members, then they might have a point. I haven’t read it myself, having missed the report of NAGR’s win in the case, but I really don’t think it should apply to just a single organization’s members. For the sake of argument, though, let’s say they’re right on this one.
The rest is less murky, in my book.
See, the ATF is telling the court that they need to conduct background checks on each individual before their property can be returned to them.
Uh…no. No they do not.
These aren’t firearms. They’re triggers. These are firearm parts that are not covered by any regulation in federal law, or even in ATF regulation that I’m aware of.
Instead, the ATF argues, “But this Court unequivocally excluded individuals prohibited from possessing firearms from the scope of its injunction. Order at 60, ECF No. 100 (‘[T]his injunctive relief shall not extend to any individual prohibited from possessing firearms under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g).’).”
Sure, but that also doesn’t give the ATF authority to conduct background checks on people who are trying to get their own property back, either. These aren’t controlled items, and no one should be submitted to a background check for any item that isn’t explicitly controlled in the first place.
Then the ATF continues to act like these are, in fact, machine guns when they’re not. They don’t even meet the legal definition of a machine gun. If a felon puts one in a weapon, the only law they’re breaking in that moment is being a felon in possession of a firearm. If they just have the trigger sitting on a table, they’ve broken no law at all.
Look, I know Jared personally. He and I have chatted in person a few times and via text. He’s a pretty chill guy, so to see him this worked up makes it clear where he stands on this, and so when he calls out Attorney General Pam Bondi and acting ATF Director Kas Patel on this, saying this is now their baby and they’re responsible for what happens. I honestly agree.
Both Bondi and Patel need to get a handle on whoever did this with the ATF and the US attorney’s office. This is nothing more than an effort to try and undermine the court’s ruling and we all know it. The new leadership could put a stop to this right here and now. Jared figures they may be unaware, and I agree, but it’s our job to make them aware so they can step up and do what’s expected of them.
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