• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Digital News Updates
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business

Montana Attorney General Leads 28-State Coalition Challenging Biden Admin’s New Firearm Regulation

November 18, 2024

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.

By: DNU staff

Click here to read the brief.

Filed Under: News

Related Articles:

  • Governor Armstrong Appoints Andrew Eyre to Northeast Central Judicial District Judgeship
  • UM Program Awarded $2.4M to Support Behavioral Health Care Across Montana
  • Governor Little Appoints Juliet Charron as Director of Idaho Department of Health and Welfare
  • 66 New Officers Graduate from Montana Law Enforcement Academy
  • Four Killed in Shooting at The Owl Bar in Anaconda
  • University of Montana and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Launch Center for Hunting and Conservation

Primary Sidebar

Digital News Updates Logo

Recent News Posts

  • Governor Little Appoints Juliet Charron as Director of Idaho Department of Health and Welfare
  • North Dakota Development Fund Approves $2.16 Million in Loans Supporting Child Care, Technology, and Agriculture
  • Montana Digital Academy Launches Frontier Learning Lab
  • UM Program Awarded $2.4M to Support Behavioral Health Care Across Montana

Recent Politics Posts

  • Montana Leaders Rally Behind Flint Appointment
  • Trump signs order to bring back Presidential Fitness Test
  • What will redistricting mean for the 2026 midterms?
  • Governor Gianforte Seeks Applicants for Two District Court Vacancies in Yellowstone County

Recent Business Posts

  • North Dakotaʼs LIFT Program Awards $1 Million Loan to Trilogy LLC for Oil and Gas Innovation
  • Market Hits Seasonal Turbulence After Soaring to Record Highs
  • Stocks Rally as Tech and Earnings Power Wall Street
  • Simplot to Acquire Clarebout Potatoes

Copyright © 2025 Digital News Updates, All Rights Reserved.