Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen spearheaded a coalition of 28 states in filing an amicus brief opposing the Biden-Harris administration’s attempt to classify forced reset triggers (FRTs) as machine guns under federal law. The brief, submitted to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, supports the National Association for Gun Rights in their challenge to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
The coalition argues that the ATF’s classification of FRTs as machine guns under the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) is an overreach. FRTs, they contend, do not meet the statutory definition of a machine gun, which fires “more than one shot…by a single function of the trigger.”
“Time and again, ATF has ventured off into the regulatory wilderness, abandoning the only statutes that give it life in the first instance,” Knudsen stated in the brief. “But ATF misunderstands its job, and this misconception is statutorily unjustified and constitutionally impermissible.”
The coalition’s brief asks the court to uphold a lower court’s decision rejecting the ATF’s classification and argues that regulating FRTs or any firearm-related policy is a power reserved for Congress, not federal agencies or courts.
The ATF’s history of regulatory overreach is highlighted in the brief, citing recent cases where courts struck down its actions. Examples include the agency’s attempt to require gun owners to register stabilizing braces or face felony charges, its reclassification of bump stocks, and its efforts to categorize weapon parts kits as firearms under the GCA.
“Regulating FRTs, like sports gambling and many other controversial subjects, requires important policy choices reserved for Congress, not courts or agencies,” Knudsen wrote.
Attorneys General from West Virginia, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wyoming, and the Arizona State Legislature joined Montana in signing the brief.
The Fifth Circuit’s decision could have significant implications for firearm regulations and the scope of federal agency authority.
