State Legality Matrix / Forced Reset Triggers / Minnesota

Are Forced Reset Triggers Legal in Minnesota?

Statute-cited, last verified 2026-07-28

Banned

No. Prohibited as a trigger activator under the 2023 expanded definition. Effective 2023-08-01.

Controlling law: Minn. Stat. § 609.67

Litigation Status and Details

The 2023 amendment (2023 c 52 art 4 s 15) rewrote 'trigger activator' to capture recoil-harnessing devices that reset and continue firing without additional physical manipulation, reaching FRTs; felony with penalties up to 20 years. The May 2026 single-subject ruling in Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus v. Walz severed only the 2024 binary-trigger prong; this FRT-reaching prong survives, though it is untested in court as applied to one-pull FRTs.

Federal baseline

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are forced reset triggers legal in Minnesota?

No. Prohibited as a trigger activator under the 2023 expanded definition. Effective 2023-08-01. Controlling law: Minn. Stat. § 609.67.

What law covers forced reset triggers in Minnesota?

The controlling law is Minn. Stat. § 609.67. Prohibited as a trigger activator under the 2023 expanded definition.

When did Minnesota's forced reset trigger restriction take effect?

Minnesota's rule took effect 2023-08-01. The 2023 amendment (2023 c 52 art 4 s 15) rewrote 'trigger activator' to capture recoil-harnessing devices that reset and continue firing without additional physical manipulation, reaching FRTs; felony with penalties up to 20 years. The May 2026 single-subject ruling in Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus v. Walz severed only the 2024 binary-trigger prong; this FRT-reaching prong survives, though it is untested in court as applied to one-pull FRTs.

Are forced reset triggers legal under 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.

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