Q: Are FRTs legal in the state of Virginia?
I'm wondering if they violate the 2020 law that was passed regarding trigger activators. The device doesn't explicitly use the recoil energy of the firearm to function the same way a bump stock does, but does use the rearward bolt movement of it to function. I asked the state police but they were unable to provide a definitive answer. I would like to know before purchasing one if I even legally can so as to not get into trouble. Thanks.
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A: Litigation at the federal level regarding forced reset triggers seems to be ongoing. The latest ruling I could find is from Texas, where a federal district court ruled against the ATF this summer regarding seizure of these devices. In Virginia, the closest controlling statute I could find is § 18.2-308.5:1, which criminalizes possession of certain "trigger activators" but does not criminalize anything possessed in compliance with the National Firearms Act. FRTs appear to function differently from trigger activators, but there's no guarantee that a law enforcement officer, prosecutor, or judge would agree with that assessment. For a review of the statute, it can be found at: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title18.2/chapter7/section18.2-308.5:1/
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