Seems to be the coming thing, as per the French FAMAS *Clarion and the Steyr AUG/USR:
More and more "operators" have taken to wearing gloves while in combat. Whether the gloves are the thicker ones for protection against cold, or the thinner ones for protection against abrasion, they tend to fill up a standard trigger guard rather quickly. By enlarging the trigger guard to protect the entire front surface of the grip, they made it easier to get the gloved hand (WITH FINGER OFF OF THE TRIGGER UNTIL ON TARGET!!) into a firing grip. The M-16 rifle has a hinged trigger guard that is supposed to allow for safer "glove-handed" firing - works "okay" with thin gloves, but not with heavy "anti-frostbite" type winter gloves. With heavy gloves and an M-16 off safe, the risk of an unintended discharge is high - hence the reason we used to cut the index finger off of the old D3 gloves when operating in a cold environment.
Regards,