State Legality Matrix / Forced Reset Triggers / Massachusetts
Statute-cited, last verified 2026-07-28
No. Prohibited as a rapid-fire trigger activator under the 2024 firearms modernization act. Effective 2024-10-02.
Controlling law: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 140, § 121 (definition) & § 131M; St. 2024, c. 135
Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024 defines and bans rapid-fire trigger activators; the Attorney General separately blocked return or sale of these devices in-state.
Under the 2025 DOJ settlement with Rare Breed Triggers, an FRT fires one round per trigger function and is not an NFA machine gun federally. The settlement covers rifles and grip-forward pistols; it does not extend to grip-fed handguns (Glock, S&W M&P, Canik), whose federal FRT status remains less settled. State bans operate independently of federal law through broader state machine-gun, trigger-activator, or rate-of-fire definitions.
Scope: Forced reset triggers (Rare Breed FRT-15, Dairyland Defender, and similar) and forced-reset selectors (AR Super Safety, ARC-Fire). One round per trigger function. Binary triggers are a separate class.
No. Prohibited as a rapid-fire trigger activator under the 2024 firearms modernization act. Effective 2024-10-02. Controlling law: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 140, § 121 (definition) & § 131M; St. 2024, c. 135.
The controlling law is Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 140, § 121 (definition) & § 131M; St. 2024, c. 135. Prohibited as a rapid-fire trigger activator under the 2024 firearms modernization act.
Massachusetts's rule took effect 2024-10-02. Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024 defines and bans rapid-fire trigger activators; the Attorney General separately blocked return or sale of these devices in-state.
Under the 2025 DOJ settlement with Rare Breed Triggers, an FRT fires one round per trigger function and is not an NFA machine gun federally. The settlement covers rifles and grip-forward pistols; it does not extend to grip-fed handguns (Glock, S&W M&P, Canik), whose federal FRT status remains less settled. State bans operate independently of federal law through broader state machine-gun, trigger-activator, or rate-of-fire definitions.