FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 16, 2025
Washington, D.C. — In a monumental win for gun owners, the National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR) and Texas Gun Rights (TXGR) have forced the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to back down in their assault on Forced Reset Triggers (FRTs).
As part of a settlement agreement signed Friday, under the new administration, the DOJ and ATF have agreed to drop all three ongoing lawsuits, return all seized or surrendered FRTs, and pledge to keep their hands off FRTs in the future, as long as they 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. We didn’t just beat the ATF — we put them in a submission hold, and they tapped out,” 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.”
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. I made a promise to see this battle through to the end, no matter the consequences, and today I am proud to say… Promise kept!”
“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.”
NAGR and TXGR thank Rare Breed Triggers, Dhillon Law Group, and fellow plaintiffs Patrick Carey, James Wheeler, and Travis Speegle for helping make this victory possible.
The National Association for Gun Rights and its legal team are celebrating this historic win as a defining moment in the battle against federal gun control measures. NAGR will continue to fight for the rights of peaceable Americans and hold the ATF accountable for any further infringements on gun ownership.
For more information, please contact Taylor Rhodes at [email protected].
To read the settlement agreement in its entirety, click here.
The National Association for Gun Rights is a 501(c)(4) organization headquartered in Loveland, Colorado, dedicated to defending the Second Amendment and fighting for the rights of peaceable Americans to keep and bear arms. Since its founding in 2001, NAGR has worked to hold anti-gun politicians accountable and promote maximum individual liberty by mobilizing more than 4.5 million members and grassroots activists nationwide.
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