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State Legality Matrix Binary TriggersMinnesota

Are Binary Triggers Legal in Minnesota?

Statute-cited, not legal advice, last verified 2026-10-20

Status: Legal
Verified: 2026-10-20

Legal

Yes. Minnesota's binary trigger ban was struck down in state court; binary triggers are currently lawful.

Contested entry

Litigation Status and Details

The 2024 binary-trigger clause of Minn. Stat. § 609.67 (2024 Minn. Laws ch. 127, art. 36, § 2) was struck down and severed as violating the state single-subject clause in Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus v. Walz (Minn. Ct. App. No. A25-1507, affirmed May 26, 2026). The ruling is procedural, not a Second Amendment holding. In the 2026 session the Senate passed SF 4067, an omnibus bill that would have reinstated the ban, 34-33 on May 4, 2026; it received no House action, and the standalone reenactment bill HF 4359 stayed in committee. The FRT-reaching 2023 clause of the same statute survives.

The statute in practice

Minnesota Law in Detail

Minnesota Statutes section 609.67 still prints the 2024 clause defining a trigger activator to include a device that allows a firearm to shoot one shot on the pull of the trigger and a second shot on the release without a subsequent pull. In Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus v. Walz (A25-1507), the Court of Appeals on May 26, 2026 affirmed the district court's ruling that the clause, enacted in the 2024 omnibus law on the operation and financing of state government, violated the single-subject clause, and affirmed severing that provision rather than striking the whole law.

Timeline

Legislative and Court History

20242024 Minn. Laws ch. 127, art. 36, sec. 2 added the binary-trigger clause to section 609.67.
2026-05-04The Senate passed SF 4067, an omnibus firearms bill that would have reenacted the 2024 clause, 34-33; the House took no action on it before the 2026 session ended.
2026-05-26The Court of Appeals affirmed in Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus v. Walz, A25-1507.

Sources

Federal law

Federal baseline

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

Frequently Asked Questions