State Legality MatrixBinary TriggersMaryland
Statute-cited, last verified 2026-07-31
Banned
No. Expressly prohibited: the rapid fire trigger activator definition names binary trigger systems. Effective 2018-10-01.
Controlling law: Md. Code, Crim. Law § 4-301 (definition) & § 4-305.1
Contested entry
Section 4-301 defines rapid fire trigger activator to include a bump stock, trigger crank, hellfire trigger, binary trigger system, and burst trigger system. The ban was upheld by the Fourth Circuit (Maryland Shall Issue).
The statute in practice
Maryland Criminal Law section 4-301 expressly includes a 'binary trigger system' within the rapid-fire-trigger-activator definition, alongside bump stocks, trigger cranks, hellfire triggers, and burst systems. Section 4-305.1 supplies the operative conduct rules for those devices.
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.
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. Expressly prohibited: the rapid fire trigger activator definition names binary trigger systems. Effective 2018-10-01. Controlling law: Md. Code, Crim. Law § 4-301 (definition) & § 4-305.1.
The controlling law is Md. Code, Crim. Law § 4-301 (definition) & § 4-305.1. Expressly prohibited: the rapid fire trigger activator definition names binary trigger systems.
Maryland's rule took effect 2018-10-01. Section 4-301 defines rapid fire trigger activator to include a bump stock, trigger crank, hellfire trigger, binary trigger system, and burst trigger system. The ban was upheld by the Fourth Circuit (Maryland Shall Issue).
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.