Maine: Senate Advances Anti-Gun Bills, Votes on the House Floor are Imminent!

Late Friday night, the Maine Senate passed a number of extreme anti-gun bills that have now moved to the House and could receive floor votes as soon as Monday. The eligible bills include 72-hour waiting periods on firearm purchases and transfers, redefining semi-automatic firearms as "machine guns," and expanded background checks. The bills undermine Mainers' constitutional rights and would destroy Maine's robust firearm and hunting tourism industries. 

It's critical that NRA members and gun rights supporters engage with lawmakers by using the Take Action button below and attending the "Patriot's Day Gun Owners Lobby Day" on Monday, April 15^th at the Maine State House.  

Below is a list of extreme gun-control bills that Mike Bloomberg and his extreme gun-control lobby are pushing in Maine:

LD 2238 delays Second Amendment rights by imposing a three-day waiting period before an individual may receive a firearm that they lawfully purchase, with limited exemptions. There is no evidence that waiting periods reduce violent crime. If passed, LD 2238 would deny the right of self-defense to abuse victims or any individual facing an imminent threat. Additionally, waiting periods would destroy Maine’s hunting tourism industry because guides would be unable to provide hunters with firearms and local firearm dealers would be unable to sell and transfer firearms in a timely manner. 

LD 2086, introduced by leading gun-grabbing politician Sen. Anne Carney, creates a backdoor ban on commonly owned firearms and firearm parts by redefining a “machine gun” to include any semi-automatic firearm that includes parts that can “increase the rate of fire." This poorly written bill attempts to sneak a so-called “rapid-fire modification ban” past Mainers in a bill completely unrelated to firearm parts. As written, this bill would ban legally and commonly owned firearm parts used for training, hunting, or self-defense, and could be utilized to ban shotguns and other firearms capable of firing birdshot or snake shot.

LD 2224 seeks to expand Yellow Flag laws and implement the first steps toward Universal Background Checks in Maine. If passed, this bill would require all “advertised” sales to be subject to background checks regardless of the relationship between the buyer and the seller, in an effort to close the so-called “gun show loophole” and to stop Mainers from selling firearms on Facebook. First and foremost, there is no gun-show loophole, all purchases through Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) are required to go through background checks regardless of location or where the sale takes place. Additionally, Facebook already bans firearm sales on their website, highlighting a further misunderstanding of firearm sales by the Mills administration. Finally, this bill puts Mainers at risk of becoming felons for the simple act of transferring a firearm to a family member, friend, or neighbor.

In addition to proposing failed Universal Background Checks, LD 2224 also seeks to expand Maine’s current Yellow Flag law to Red Flag “Extreme Risk Protection Order” laws. These laws strip citizens of their Second Amendment rights without due process based on weak and nebulous standards. If passed, Maine’s Red Flag law could strip Mainers of their Constitutional rights without a hearing and based on hearsay for up to 30 days. It does not include any penalties for erroneous accusations, allowing for an open season against gun owners in Maine.

LD 2283 is a last-minute submission by Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland) to replace Maine's Yellow Flag law with a more extreme Bloomberg-style Red Flag law. This Hail Mary attempt by anti-gun lawmakers in Augusta has prompted major push back, including Sen. Matt Harrington (R-York) calling the tactics "absurd" on the Senate floor. If passed, LD 2283 would remove protective barriers and streamline the process for government officials to strip you of your Second Amendment rights without due process. 

LD 1696 creates a “course of action” against firearm manufacturers and retailers whose firearms are used in criminal activity. This “course of action” attempts to evade the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which protects manufacturers from being held responsible for third-party misuse. Just like it is unreasonable for an auto retailer to be held liable when a driver harms someone with their vehicle, it is unreasonable for firearm manufacturers and retailers to be held liable when their products are used in a crime.

Again, please contact these lawmakers NOW. For those who wish to contact them via email, please click the TAKE ACTION button above.