Attorney General Ellison blocks returns and sales of machine gun conversion devices in Minnesota
After suing Trump Administration, AG Ellison secures commitments from ATF and country’s largest purveyor of forced reset triggers to prevent their return and sale in Minnesota and 15 other jurisdictions
July 15, 2025 (SAINT PAUL) — Attorney General Ellison today announced that, following his June 9 lawsuit alongside a coalition of 16 attorneys general, the Trump Administration has committed to carving out Minnesota from its illegal plans to distribute thousands of machine-gun conversion devices (MCD) into communities across the United States.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) used to classify Forced Reset Triggers (FRTs), which dramatically increase the rate of fire of some semi-automatic firearms, as machine guns. However, under directive from Trump Administration leadership, the ATF recently signed a settlement in which it agreed to both stop enforcing federal law against FRTs and redistribute thousands of FRTs that the ATF had previously seized. This decision prompted the June 9 lawsuit from the coalition.
In submissions made in response to that June 9 lawsuit, the ATF has expressly confirmed to a judge that it will not return FRTs into Minnesota or the other plaintiff states.
"Machine guns have no place on Minnesota streets, nor do devices that turn semi-automatic firearms into machine guns," said Attorney General Ellison. “By making firearms far more deadly, these devices threaten the safety of both the public and members of law enforcement. It is deeply disturbing that the Trump Administration was planning to distribute thousands of these devices across the country, and I am pleased to have stopped them from doing so in Minnesota.”
In addition, Rare Breed Triggers, the country’s largest purveyor of FRTs, has confirmed in its court filings that it will not sell any FRTs in the plaintiff states. As a result, the coalition is withdrawing its motion for a preliminary injunction, based on a notice that lays out these representations in detail.
In recent years, machine-gun conversion devices like FRTs, which dramatically increase a firearm’s rate of fire, have been frequently used in violent crimes and mass shootings, worsening the gun violence epidemic in the United States. Firearms equipped with MCDs are able to exceed the rate of fire of many military machine guns, firing up to 20 bullets in one second. 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.
In addition to Minnesota, the states involved are Delaware, Maryland, Colorado, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.
Fighting Firearm Conversion Devices in Minnesota
Attorney General has a history of working to improve public safety by protecting Minnesotans from dangerous firearm conversion devices. On December 12, 2024 Attorney General Ellison announced that he was suing Glock for manufacturing, marketing, and selling semi-automatic handguns that Glock knows can easily be converted into illegal machine guns with a device known as a “Glock switch.”
Glock has known for nearly 40 years that its semi-automatic handguns can be easily converted into illegal machine guns. Glock could fix this problem by changing its handgun design to prevent the easy conversion of legal Glock handguns into illegal machine guns. Not only has Glock not chosen to do so, but it has also continued to glorify and promote the “fun” of shooting a fully automatic Glock, in full knowledge both that its semi-automatic handguns can be quickly and easily converted into machine guns and that machine guns are illegal in the United States.
Although Glock does not manufacture switches itself, many switches bear Glock’s logo and Glock knows they are commonly called “Glock switches.” They can be purchased for as little as $10 apiece or printed by anyone with a 3D printer.
The proliferation of converted Glocks has contributed to a dramatic increase in automatic gunfire. Minneapolis ShotSpotter data shows that fully automatic gunfire increased in Minneapolis from 154 rounds fired in 2020 to 2,033 rounds fired in 2021, 3,024 rounds fired in 2022, and 2,595 rounds fired in 2023. Similarly, incidents involving fully automatic firearms increased from 16 in 2020 to 194 in 2021, 283 in 2022, and 257 in 2023.
Attorney General Ellison seeks to compel Glock to make design changes that would inhibit the ability of a Glock switch to easily convert a Glock into a machine gun, pay civil penalties, and disgorge profits it has made through its illegal conduct.
