State Legality MatrixBinary TriggersColorado
Statute-cited, not legal advice, last verified 2026-10-20
Banned
No. Prohibited as a rapid-fire device, which Colorado classifies as a dangerous weapon. Effective 2025-04-10.
Controlling law: Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 18-12-101(1) & 18-12-102 (SB25-003, 2025)
Contested entry
SB25-003 (2025 Colo. Sess. Laws ch. 68) took effect on signing, April 10, 2025, under its safety clause. It defines a rapid-fire device as any device, part, kit, tool, accessory, or combination of parts that has the effect of increasing a semiautomatic firearm's rate of fire above its standard rate without the device, and adds rapid-fire devices to the dangerous-weapon list in § 18-12-102. The definition does not name binary triggers; no Colorado appellate decision has applied it to one. The separate August 1, 2026 date applies to the act's specified-semiautomatic purchase rules, not to the device provision.
The statute in practice
Senate Bill 25-003 defines a rapid-fire device as any device, part, kit, tool, accessory, or combination of parts that has the effect of increasing the rate of fire of a semiautomatic firearm above its standard rate of fire without the device, and adds rapid-fire devices to the dangerous-weapon list in Colorado Revised Statutes section 18-12-102. The definition does not name binary triggers; it turns on the effect of the device on the firearm's rate of fire.
Timeline
Federal law
Binary triggers are legal under federal law and are not machine guns under 26 U.S.C. § 5845(b); ATF treats the trigger pull and the trigger release as two separate functions of the trigger, so one round is fired per function. Cargill v. Garland (2024) concerned bump stocks, not binary triggers, and does not change this.
Federal baseline verified 2026-10-20. Scope: Binary triggers (Franklin Armory BFSIII and similar): fire one round on trigger pull and one on release. Forced reset triggers are a separate class.
Common questions
No. Prohibited as a rapid-fire device, which Colorado classifies as a dangerous weapon. Effective 2025-04-10. Controlling law: Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 18-12-101(1) & 18-12-102 (SB25-003, 2025).
The controlling law is Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 18-12-101(1) & 18-12-102 (SB25-003, 2025). Prohibited as a rapid-fire device, which Colorado classifies as a dangerous weapon.
Colorado's rule took effect 2025-04-10. SB25-003 (2025 Colo. Sess. Laws ch. 68) took effect on signing, April 10, 2025, under its safety clause. It defines a rapid-fire device as any device, part, kit, tool, accessory, or combination of parts that has the effect of increasing a semiautomatic firearm's rate of fire above its standard rate without the device, and adds rapid-fire devices to the dangerous-weapon list in § 18-12-102. The definition does not name binary triggers; no Colorado appellate decision has applied it to one. The separate August 1, 2026 date applies to the act's specified-semiautomatic purchase rules, not to the device provision.