Trump Permits Sale of Device That Enables Machine-Gun-Like Fire

The Trump administration will allow the sale of devices that enable semiautomatic firearms to fire like machine guns, reversing a prior ban on so-called "forced reset triggers."

Gun control advocates swiftly condemned the reversal.

The move came as part of a Justice Department settlement with the National Association for Gun Rights, Ken Dilanian reported for NBC News.

The devices, which effectively increase the firing speed of standard weapons to near-automatic levels, had previously been restricted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Attorney General Pamela Bondi defended the decision, stating, “This Department of Justice believes that the Second Amendment is not a second-class right,” and argued the settlement would end a “needless cycle of litigation.”

Gun control advocates swiftly condemned the reversal.

Vanessa Gonzalez, spokeswoman for Giffords—the gun violence prevention group founded by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords—warned, “The Trump administration has just effectively legalized machine guns. Lives will be lost because of his actions.”

She called the move “incredibly dangerous” and said it would only benefit those profiting from the devices. One person familiar with the internal policy debate told NBC that the change was “by far the most dangerous thing this administration has done” on gun policy.