Oregon Joins Several States to Protect Ban on Forced Reset Triggers and Expanded Criminal Background Checks
Attorney General Dan Rayfield today announced that Oregon and several other states are joining together to defend two federal rules aimed at reducing gun violence nationwide.
The first action defends the Biden Administration’s work to crack down on certain kinds of machine gun conversion devices, which can be made with a 3D printer and turn a handgun into a fully automatic weapon with the firepower of a military machine gun. The second action defends another Biden Administration rule that requires anyone who sells guns to run federal background checks — a process that would cut down on what’s been commonly known as the “gun show loophole.”
Both actions are proactive steps that state Attorneys General are taking to protect gun safety efforts if the incoming Trump Administration abandons its defense of these two important federal policies. Oregonians have consistently supported measures to prevent gun violence. As a state legislator, Attorney General Rayfield passed common-sense gun laws to protect survivors of domestic violence, increased funding for background checks, and worked to get ghost guns off our streets.
“I am proud to join today’s effort to defend the modest gains our federal government has made on gun safety,” Attorney General Rayfield said. “Community safety is one of my top priorities, and I will continue to do everything in my power as Attorney General to protect Oregonians from gun violence.”
Cracking Down on Machine gun Conversion Devices
Machine gun Conversion Devices (MCDs) pose a serious threat to public safety and law enforcement because they convert semiautomatic rifles and pistols into fully automatic weapons that fire at rates comparable to military machine guns – up to 20 bullets in one second. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has noted a significant rise in the use of MCDs, leading to increasing incidents of machine gun fire – up 1,400% from 2019 through 2021.
Forced Reset Triggers (FRTs) are a type of MCD that replace the standard trigger on a semiautomatic firearm to allow the shooter to maintain continuous fire with one trigger pull, like the operation of fully automatic weapons. In 2021, ATF built upon actions stemming back to the 1970s and classified FRT-equipped guns as machine guns, which are illegal with very narrow exceptions.
In 2024, a federal judge in Texas blocked that action, ruling that FRTs do not qualify as machine guns and prohibiting ATF from taking criminal or civil enforcement actions regarding FRTs. 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 Oregon and 15 other states will help protect communities from these military-style machine guns if the Trump Administration stops defending the policy. As the States’ motion explains, any decision that FRTs are legal under federal law would be a major step backward in the effort to reduce gun violence, at a time when the people of Oregon are demanding more federal action on common sense gun violence protection measures.
In addition to Oregon, other jurisdictions joining today’s filing include Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
Expanding Federal Background Checks
In 2022, Congress passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. ATF later issued a Final Rule implementing the law’s expansion of background checks, requiring anyone “engaged in the business” of selling guns at a profit to register as a federally licensed firearms dealer. That means those sellers must run background criminal and mental health checks on potential customers. Those sellers must also retain records of sales to help law enforcement solve violent crimes and go after gun traffickers.
ATF estimates that this effort to address the “gun show loophole” means 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.
President-elect Trump repeatedly attacked ATF rulemaking during his 2024 campaign, and specifically mentioned this Final Rule, signaling an impending withdrawal of a federal defense. Oregon and 14 states are intervening to protect this life saving action to close the gun show loophole and fully implement the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
In addition to Oregon, 14 other jurisdictions are joining today’s filing: Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
