State Legality MatrixForced Reset TriggersMassachusetts
Statute-cited, not legal advice, last verified 2026-10-20
Banned
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 (definitions); ch. 269, § 10(c); St. 2024, c. 135
Contested entry
Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024 defines rapid-fire trigger activators to include any device designed to increase a semiautomatic firearm's rate of fire, excluding trigger-pull-weight adjustments and magazine spring changes, and § 10(c) bans their possession. Chapter 135 is the subject of Question 9, a referendum on the November 3, 2026 state ballot: a yes vote keeps the law and a no vote repeals it.
The statute in practice
Massachusetts rewrote its firearms definitions in Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024. General Laws chapter 140, section 121 defines a rapid-fire trigger activator to include any manual, power-driven, or electronic device designed to increase a semiautomatic firearm's rate of fire when attached, and any other device, part, or combination of parts designed to substantially increase that rate above the firearm's standard rate.
The same act separately defines automatic conversion, including modifications that alter or increase rate of fire to mimic automatic fire. Before Chapter 135, Chapter 110 of the Acts of 2017 had added bump stocks and trigger cranks to the machine-gun definition.
Timeline
In the legislature
Asks voters whether to approve Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024. A yes vote keeps the law in place; a no vote repeals it.
What it means for you
General Laws chapter 269, section 10(c) supplies the possession offense for rapid-fire trigger activators and related devices. Trigger-pull-weight adjustments and magazine spring changes are excluded from the rapid-fire definition.
Federal law
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.
Federal baseline verified 2026-10-20. 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.
Common questions
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 (definitions); ch. 269, § 10(c); St. 2024, c. 135.
The controlling law is Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 140, § 121 (definitions); ch. 269, § 10(c); 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 rapid-fire trigger activators to include any device designed to increase a semiautomatic firearm's rate of fire, excluding trigger-pull-weight adjustments and magazine spring changes, and § 10(c) bans their possession. Chapter 135 is the subject of Question 9, a referendum on the November 3, 2026 state ballot: a yes vote keeps the law and a no vote repeals it.
No. Chapter 135 added independent state definitions for rapid-fire trigger activators, automatic parts, and automatic conversion.
Question 9 is a referendum on Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024, the law that defines and bans rapid-fire trigger activators. A yes vote keeps the law and a no vote repeals it.