BALTIMORE — Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown is starting off the week by filing another lawsuit against the Trump Administration.
As is customary with Brown, he's joined by a coalition of other Democratic led states, who've sued the federal government at every turn.
This week, they want a federal court to stop the ATF from redistributing a gun part known as Forced Reset Triggers (FRTs).
These devices are capable of converting regular firearms into machine gun like weapons.
Under the previous Biden Presidency, FRTs were federally prohibited with many owners having theirs seized by the ATF.
This triggered multiple lawsuits, including one in Texas, where a judge appointed by former President George W. Bush ruled FRTs don't qualify as machine guns under federal law.
Meanwhile, a second judge in New York, appointed by Biden, ruled that federal law does ban FRTs.
Upon retaking office, Trump led the ATF in settling the Texas lawsuit, in which the government agreed to cease enforcing FRT laws.
As part of the agreement, the feds vowed to return some FRTs recovered in the past.
Brown and company claim the move would fuel more gun violence, resulting in extra tax dollars being spent on treating casualties of firearm-related injuries.
"In 2024, Plaintiff State Maryland expended $60.3M treating 3,549 patients with firearm related injuries in its state, a cost that will increase if the Redistribution Policy takes effect," Brown wrote in the lawsuit. "Each fatal shooting in Baltimore can cost taxpayers $2,427,333 and each non-fatal shooting can cost taxpayers $1,509,434."
060925 NJ v Bondi (FRTs) Corrected
Brown cited one example, a December 2024 shooting along Loch Raven Boulevard in Baltimore County, that left one person dead and nine others injured.
Although no arrests were made directly tied to the shooting, Brown highlights a traffic stop near the crime scene, two days later, that turned up a loaded AK-47 and Glock switch.
In February, Baltimore City took Glock to court over switch sales.
This is the latest in a slew of recent cases concerning gun control and gun rights in Maryland.
Just last week, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed state bans on assault weapons and semiautomatic rifles to remain intact.
In January, the justices also refused to strike down Maryland's Handgun Qualification License (HQL) requirements for gun owners.
However, the high court did rule last year that adding bump stocks to semiautomatic firearms does not amount to a machine gun.
That opinion could bode well on appeal in the event a preliminary injunction is issued against the government, considering the bump stock argument rings similar to what Brown's presenting against FRT's.
Brown's lawsuits have mostly come through courts based in Maryland or New England, which've proven more favorable towards left-leaning causes, as evidenced by the many injunctions they've placed since Trump returned to the White House.
Some rulings have been overturned, while others continue to play out at the appellate levels.