On May 16, 2025, the National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR) and Texas Gun Rights (TXGR) entered into a settlement agreement that stops further litigation and enforcement by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) regarding Forced Reset Triggers (FRTs).
The DOJ and ATF have agreed to drop all three ongoing lawsuits involving Forced Reset Triggers, return all seized or surrendered FRTs, and pledge to keep their hands off FRTs in the future, as long as the devices meet the legal definition upheld in a summary judgment ruling issued by Federal District Court Judge Reed O’Connor in NAGR v Garland last summer.
“This is one of the most stunning victories in the history of the gun rights movement,” said Dudley Brown, President of the National Association for Gun Rights. “This decision marks a new era of holding the DOJ and ATF accountable when they trample the rights of law-abiding gun owners. We made them give back what they took, and that’s a precedent they’ll never forget.”
In court filings, the ATF said testing on Rare Breed’s FRT-15s showed the device’s rate of fire can meet or exceed that of the military’s M-16 machine gun. The ATF says the triggers are machine guns because they fire more than one round with one pull of the trigger.
Rare Breed Triggers was founded in Florida and is now based in Fargo, North Dakota. Before the settlement, court documents showed the company has sold about 100,000 FRT-15s since December 2020. The drop-in triggers have generally been sold at just under $400 apiece.
Under the settlement terms, the ATF will return all FRTs that were seized or surrendered, regardless of whether they belong to NAGR members or not. Individual owners must request returns by September 30, 2025; instructions will be published on the ATF’s website. Additionally, the DOJ agrees to respect FRTs that meet the criteria established in Judge O’Connor’s ruling, even beyond the current presidential administration.
Hannah Hill, Vice President of the National Foundation for Gun Rights, praised the settlement as a major breakthrough for Second Amendment rights. “Under Joe Biden, the DOJ and ATF thought they could simply decree gun owners into criminals overnight. Thanks to the new administration’s leadership and changes in personnel, the DOJ wisely reversed course and adopted a policy in line with the law and the Constitution. This win restores the rights of thousands of gun owners and sets a powerful precedent for standing up to federal overreach.”
Rare Breed Triggers, whose FRTs were targeted by the ATF, expressed their satisfaction with the outcome. “This victory is a landmark moment in the fight against unchecked government overreach. The ATF and DOJ tried to silence and bury us not because we broke the law, but because I refused to bend to the will of a tyrannical administration,” said Lawrence DeMonico, President of Rare Breed Triggers. “With the support of the National Association for Gun Rights and renewed leadership at the DOJ under President Trump, we fought the machine and won.”
“This victory is a direct result of refusing to compromise. The federal government tried to criminalize law-abiding gun owners with the stroke of a pen – and we stopped them,” said Chris McNutt, President of Texas Gun Rights. “Texas Gun Rights was proud to help lead this fight, and today’s win proves that when gun owners stand their ground against the deep state, we win.”
Other pro-gunowners-rights winners involved in the case were Dhillon Law Group and fellow plaintiffs Patrick Carey, James Wheeler, and Travis Speegle.
To read the settlement agreement in its entirety, click here.
