TRENTON, N.J. — A coalition of over a dozen Democratic attorneys general announced their intention on Thursday to defend two gun regulations currently under legal challenge. One of these regulations prohibits devices that allow semiautomatic firearms to have increased firing rates.
New Jersey’s Attorney General, Matt Platkin, indicated that alongside other Democratic-led states, they are preparing to take action in existing court cases just before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
One of the cases pertains to devices known as forced reset triggers (FRTs), which can be affixed to firearms, effectively converting them into machine gun-like operations, according to Platkin. The other case concerns a regulation from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) that was established under a law enacted in 2022. This rule aims to close the so-called “gun show loophole” by mandating that approximately 95,500 firearm sellers conduct background checks.
Second Amendment advocacy organizations and states with Republican leadership have brought legal challenges against these regulations. “The incoming Administration has threatened these common-sense protections, so States are stepping in,” Platkin remarked in a statement.
While the specifics of Trump’s approach remain unclear, he previously assured an audience at an NRA event during his campaign that “no one will lay a finger on your firearms.”
This announcement follows closely after New Jersey and other Democratic state attorneys general sought involvement in legal matters concerning Dreamers—young adults who were brought to the United States illegally as children. The timing aligns with the broader efforts of Democrats to counteract moves from Trump’s upcoming administration.
In 2024, a federal judge in Texas ruled that FRTs are not classified as machine guns, subsequently blocking the ATF from enforcing a ban on these devices. That decision is currently pending review by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Moreover, the same federal judge ordered the ATF to return FRTs to distributors by February 22, 2025, while the government filed an appeal against this ruling. The involved parties are now waiting for the federal appeals court to make a determination.
New Jersey is not alone in this intervention; states joining in include Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
The second regulation in question stems from the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden. The ATF rule broadened the definition of individuals considered to be “engaged in the business” of selling firearms. This change means that an estimated 26,000 to 95,500 dealers will be required to obtain federal licensing and conduct background checks prior to sales. In response, 26 Republican attorneys general filed lawsuits aimed at obstructing this rule, claiming it infringes upon Second Amendment rights.
In addition to New Jersey, states including Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington are also stepping in to join the legal fight over this regulation.
