2 days ago
Advocates make case for red flag ballot measure in last-minute legislative hearing
Nacole Palmer (right), executive director of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition, sits with Arthur Barnard (center), who held a picture of his son, Lewiston shooting victim Arthur Strout, during a public hearing before the Maine Legislature's Judiciary Committee for a red flag citizen's initiative on June 11, 2025. (Photo by Eesha Pendharkar/ Maine Morning Star)
Dozens of people gathered at the State House Wednesday to discuss stricter gun safety regulations that Mainers will be voting on this November.
After a failed legislative attempt last year to implement a so-called 'red flag law' — which would allow courts to temporarily take guns away from people perceived as a threat by law enforcement or their family members — a citizen-led initiative collected more than 80,000 signatures to put a referendum question on the ballot for this year.
But before the question goes to voters in November, the Legislature is required to hold a public hearing for the referendum: LD 1378. Wednesday's meeting came after Republicans repeatedly questioned why a public hearing was never scheduled for the proposal.
After pleas from Republicans, last-minute hearing scheduled for red flag initiative
Red flag laws, formally known as extreme risk protection orders, are active in twenty-one states, including four states in New England. Maine is the only state with a yellow flag law.
The referendum proposes allowing a family member, household member or law enforcement officer to file a petition, along with an affidavit of facts, for an extreme risk protection order if someone is suspected of posing a significant danger of causing physical injury to themself or another person. That protection order would prohibit the person from purchasing, possessing or controlling a 'dangerous weapon.'
A court would be required to schedule a hearing within 14 days of when the petition is filed. If the court finds the individual does pose a significant risk of causing physical injury, the court must issue an order prohibiting them from purchasing, possessing or receiving a dangerous weapon for up to one year. The person would need to immediately surrender any dangerous weapons in their possession to law enforcement.
A person could request to have the order terminated if they can show evidence that they no longer pose a risk of physical harm. Conversely, an order can also be renewed for up to one additional year.
At the hearing, about 30 speakers highlighted flaws in Maine's current 'yellow flag law,' which allows law enforcement to take guns away from people after a mental health evaluation. Family members of people who died in the October 2023 mass shooting in Lewiston as well as doctors, psychiatrists and school teachers all pointed to issues with the yellow flag law, arguing that stricter regulations could have helped prevent the shooting.
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'I get regular calls from people who are desperate for help when a loved one or others are in crisis, who are dangerous and harmful firearms that are not getting help from the police. I have to explain to them that there's nothing that I can do as an individual on this kind of advocacy,' said Nacole Palmer, executive director of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition, which collected signatures for the citizen initiative.
'But there's something that we can all do together this November by passing this proven, life-saving law that empowers family members and will help keep our schools and communities safe,' she added.
Mental health professionals and doctors from several national organizations said the current law's required mental health evaluation weakens it.
'Ultimately, family members know their loved ones best. They are first to notice when something is wrong and when someone they love is wrong,' said Madeleine DesFosses, speaking on behalf of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Maine Medical Association. 'We need to ensure that an efficient process is available, and that makes it easier to get dangerous weapons away from someone.'
Critics of the bill included members of law enforcement, who said the yellow flag law is working well and that allowing courts to directly take away weapons makes enforcement of the red flag law more dangerous for law enforcement officers who have to confiscate them. Some opponents also argued that it's unconstitutional and lacks due process.
If the referendum passes, it would not replace Maine's current law, but would be an additional tool police or the general public can use to temporarily confiscate weapons. But Lt. Michael Johnston of the Maine State Police argued that having two different avenues is unnecessary, since the current system is working well, as evidenced by the increase in frequency of use.
Maine medical community backs proposed red flag law
'I think this is going to be a heightened risk of service for law enforcement and for the respondent,' Johnston said, testifying in opposition to the referendum. 'You get diminished returns if you have similar processes in place, people aren't sure which ones to take advantage of.'
The public hearing included lengthy discussion on the effectiveness and barriers of the current law. Since the Lewiston shooting, the use of the yellow flag law has skyrocketed. Law enforcement used it more times in the first two months of this year than the first three years after its passing in 2020. So far, there have been 881 total applications, 800 of which were after the October 2023 shooting, according to Maine State Police. Johnston said he is only aware of two times that state police were unsuccessful in temporarily confiscating weapons under the yellow flag law rules.
But that use remains high because the yellow flag law 'failed so spectacularly that 18 Mainers were slaughtered,' Palmer said. 'And the people of Maine, including our law enforcement, are so desperate to make sure that kind of thing doesn't happen again.'
Johnston said 'Lewiston was a wake up call for everyone,' and that law enforcement is already focused on better training and implementation of the yellow flag law. Adding another tool that doesn't work as well to the tool chest, he said, 'can detract or diminish from what's already working.'
Similar legislation was introduced last session, but it died without a vote in the full Senate or House of Representatives.
That bill was sponsored by Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Cumberland), who at the time was speaker of the House. A lengthy budget debate on the last day of the session upended plans for the chambers to take it up.
At the time, the measure was particularly popular among Maine's medical community which praised the proposal for its efforts to address the public health crisis of gun violence without stigmatizing mental illness.
Like last year's proposal, the red flag bill heard Wednesday is up against the legislative clock. Though lawmakers are no longer beholden to the statutory adjournment date of June 18, given that they are technically in a special session, leaders have indicated they intend to stick with that deadline.
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