Latest news with #MaineGunSafetyCoalition
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Red flag law citizen initiative officially valid to appear on November ballot
A portrait of Margaret Chase Smith in the background as proponents of gun safety rally in the halls of the State House on Jan. 3, 2024. (Jim Neuger/Maine Morning Star) A citizen-led initiative to strengthen Maine's gun safety laws is headed to the ballot this November, after the Secretary of State's Office confirmed Friday that enough valid signatures had been collected. Maine could join 21 other states that have passed red flag laws, officially called an Extreme Risk Protection Order, which would make it easier to temporarily confiscate one's guns if they are deemed to be a threat by law enforcement or their family members. Both gun safety advocates and owners in Maine have emphasized the need for such a law, according to Nacole Palmer, executive director of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition, which spearheaded the initiative. Red flag laws have been proven effective in reducing incidents of suicide – the leading cause of firearm death in Maine, especially among men. Maine is currently the only state to have a yellow flag law, a weaker provision that allows law enforcement officials to take away guns from someone considered a safety risk to themselves or others after an evaluation from a mental health professional. The red flag law, if passed, would authorize family members to directly petition courts to take someone's guns away if they pose a threat. After a failed legislative attempt to pass the red flag law last year, the coalition collected more than 80,000 signatures in about two months in support of passing the initiative. Of those, 74,888 were found to be valid, according to a release by the Secretary of State's Office, still exceeding the number required for a valid petition (which is 67,822, or 10% of the total votes cast in the most recent gubernatorial election). The initiative will now go to the Legislature for consideration, and lawmakers can choose to enact the bill as written or refer it to a statewide vote in November 2025. In her State of the Budget address in late January, Gov. Janet Mills defended Maine's yellow flag law, which she helped craft in 2020. Use of the yellow flag law has increased since the deadly Lewiston mass shooting in 2023, although some law enforcement agencies rely on it more than others. The independent commission tasked with investigating the events that led to the shooting determined, among other things, that the Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office had sufficient cause to take the shooter into protective custody under Maine's Yellow Flag Law, but failed to do so. In a press statement, Palmer said that with the Secretary of State's validation, the coalition can start its campaign. 'This was the final hurdle in a process that began in the aftermath of Lewiston, as people across Maine and family members of those lost asked how we prevent this from ever happening again,' she said. 'This is a proven, commonsense tool for families that's been effective in many other states in saving countless lives and preventing tragedies like Lewiston.' Palmer said the gun lobby has already started 'spreading misinformation and scare tactics' about red flag laws, which have been upheld as constitutional and proven effective in states where they've passed. 'Maine is a strong gun rights state, where many of us hunt and shoot recreationally, but we're also a state that believes in gun responsibility,' said David McCrea, former state legislator and retired educator from Fort Fairfield and a volunteer for the Maine Gun Safety Coalition in a statement. 'As a gun owner myself, I'm proud to support this commonsense measure that will give family members tools to get help for their loved ones when they're in need, before a crisis becomes a preventable tragedy.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Red flag proposal from gun safety advocates qualifies for November ballot
Mar. 7—A proposal for a red flag law that would make it easier to remove weapons from people deemed a threat to themselves or others has qualified for the November ballot. The Maine Department of the Secretary of State announced Friday that gun safety advocates have gathered the required number of signatures from voters to send their proposal to a statewide referendum. If approved, a red flag law, also known as an extreme risk protection order, would provide a pathway for family or household members, in addition to law enforcement, to petition a court to temporarily remove someone's weapons. And unlike Maine's current yellow flag law, the proposal would eliminate the need for a mental health evaluation before a judge can order the temporary confiscation of weapons. The Maine Gun Safety Coalition launched the effort to get a proposal for a red flag law before voters after the Maine Legislature failed to act on a red flag bill last year in the wake of the mass shooting in Lewiston that killed 18 people. "This past fall, tens of thousands of Mainers decided to step up where elected leaders didn't and put a real extreme risk protection order law on the ballot," said Nacole Palmer, executive director of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition, in a written statement. "This is a proven, commonsense tool for families that's been effective in many other states in saving countless lives and preventing tragedies like Lewiston." The secretary of state's office said Friday that supporters of the initiative gathered more than 74,000 valid signatures in support of the referendum, exceeding the required number of 67,682. The proposal will now go to the Legislature, which has the option of enacting the bill as written or sending it to a statewide vote in November. This story will be updated. Copy the Story Link
Boston Globe
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Maine judge pauses state's three-day waiting period for gun sales
Residents 'wishing to purchase a firearm are dispossessed of one for 72 hours exclusively by operation of the [law's] requirement that everyone be subjected to a 'cooling off' period, even those who have passed an instant background check at the [federally licensed] dealer's counter,' he wrote. 'That is indiscriminate dispossession, plain and simple.' State Attorney General Aaron M. Frey 'impliedly concedes the point by suggesting that the [law] merely prohibits 'immediate' possession through a 'commercial transaction,' emphasizing that the infringement is only temporary and presumptively subject to regulation,' Walker ruled. Advertisement But the state's position does 'not call into question whether as an initial matter the [law] impairs conduct presumptively covered by the Second Amendment,' Walker ruled. 'Acquiring a firearm is a necessary step in the exercise of keeping and bearing a firearm. Any interpretation to the contrary requires the type of interpretative jui jitsu that would make Kafka blush.' Gun rights advocates immediately slammed the decision. 'We're deeply troubled by the decision of a Trump-appointed judge to roll back Maine's gun safety laws,' Nacole Palmer, executive director for the Maine Gun Safety Coalition, said in a statement. 'That the gun lobby sued to roll back a common-sense law that doesn't prevent anyone's right to buy guns but does help prevent suicide is unsurprising. That a judge granted them this political victory at the cost of Mainers is surprising.' Palmer said suicide is a leading cause of gun death in Maine, especially among men. 'Three-day waiting period laws provide a brief cooling-off period so someone in crisis who may be buying a gun to take their own life has time to reconsider and get help,' Palmer said. 'These laws have been upheld as constitutional in countless other states where they exist, some up to 10 days. Once again, Maine is an outlier and this ruling is an exception to established law, and it's an exception that will cost lives and cause Maine families heartbreak and loss.' Advertisement In a statement, the Gun Owners of Maine hailed the ruling. 'We couldn't be more thrilled with this ruling and would encourage all of our members to read it in its entirety. 'We anticipate that the State of Maine will file an appeal, and would encourage all interested parties to follow the legal proceedings closely,' the advocacy group said. 'This is a great day for gun rights advocates in our State and our Nation.' Maine passed the law after the mass shooting Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. Travis Andersen can be reached at
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
In budget address, Gov. Mills takes swipe at gun safety citizen initiative
Maine Gov. Janet Mills enters the House of Representatives chamber to deliver her State of the Budget address to a joint House-Senate session on Jan. 28, 2025. (Photo by Jim Neuger/ Maine Morning Star) During the State of the Budget address in Augusta on Tuesday night, Gov. Janet Mills took the opportunity to defend Maine's unique 'yellow flag law' and swiped at a citizen-led effort to bolster the gun safety measure. Under the current law, known as an Extreme Risk Protection Order, law enforcement can detain someone who they deem a threat to themselves or others, or confiscate someone's weapons after a mental health evaluation is completed. Last week, advocates with the Maine Gun Safety Coalition submitted 80,000 signatures to put a stricter 'red flag' law on the ballot this November, which would also allow family members to directly petition a judge to temporarily limit someone's access to firearms when they are in crisis. Gun safety groups deliver signatures to place red flag law on November ballot Maine is the only state to have a yellow flag law, which Mills helped draft with help from the pro-gun Sportsmans Alliance of Maine. However, the law came under criticism last year for not being used by the Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Department to take guns away from Lewiston shooter Robert Card II after reports of threatening behavior and concerns about his mental health. But Mills said the law is working, and has been used 672 times so far by law enforcement agencies to take firearms away from those who should not have them. 'I also don't believe a private citizen should have to navigate what can be a complex and confusing court procedure by themselves, especially in the middle of already difficult circumstances,' she said. 'It is the government's responsibility, not that of a private citizen, to protect the public from gun violence.' After the speech, the gun safety coalition released a statement pointing to the findings of the commission tasked with investigating the Lewiston shooting, which determined the yellow flag law should have been used but described the statute as 'cumbersome.' 'Maine communities and families are still reeling from this colossal failure, and we can't wait until the next tragedy as we tweak our current law bit by bit,' said Nacole Palmer, executive director for the Maine Gun Safety Coalition. 'Maine voters are clear – it's time we pass an Extreme Risk Protection Order to empower families to get help when a loved one is in crisis.' At the press conference ahead of the signature delivery, Palmer said the ballot initiative does not replace the existing yellow flag law, but would layer on the protections of the red flag law. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
