Citing ongoing lawsuit, committee opts to defer proposals to alter Maine's 72-hour waiting period
Maine lawmakers will wait to take action on proposed legislation regarding the state's 72-hour waiting period for firearm purchases.
The Legislature's Judiciary Committee unanimously voted to carry over LD 208, a proposal from House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) to repeal the law passed just last year that requires someone who sells a firearm to wait three days before delivering it to the buyer.
However, the committee was divided on whether to carry over an identical bill, LD 1230, with Democrats voting in support and Republicans opposed. The votes taken Friday were not an absolute, but rather a request of the presiding officers who have the final say on what will be carried over.
After the waiting period took effect in August, opponents filed a lawsuit in November claiming it violates the Second Amendment rights of people who have passed background checks.
Earlier this year, a U.S. District Court judge sided with the gun rights advocates and temporarily paused the waiting period. Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey appealed the decision, but a federal appeals court last week refused to reinstate the waiting period while the lawsuit unfolds.
Over the past few weeks, Senate co-chair Anne Carney (D-Cumberland) encouraged the committee to carry over Faulkingham's bill and kill the other proposal to streamline the committee's work and allow time for the legal process to play out before making any changes.
However, multiple Republicans on the committee said they did not want their names on the record as voting against the bill.
'I'm not going to have my name on that report and follow me forever,' said Rep. Jennifer Poirier (R-Skowhegan), though she agreed it's important to carry over one of the bills in case changes need to be made.
Stuck at a stalemate, Carney suggested Friday that the committee vote to carry over both bills, but Republicans also raised concerns with this approach.
Committees are only allowed to carry over a limited number of bills from the first to second session, so some Republicans were concerned carrying over identical proposals would waste one of those slots and lead to Senate president and speaker of the House of Representatives killing one of the bills.
'Why can't we have a conversation on the floor?' asked Rep. Rachel Henderson (R-Rumford), encouraging the committee to advance LD 1230 this session
Rep. Adam Lee (D-Auburn), who voted to carry over both proposals, said his understanding was that the committee decided to not work on either bill while the lawsuit is ongoing. Since the committee hasn't fully workshopped the bills, Lee said sending one to the chamber floors wouldn't make sense.
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