Maine: Gun Bills Stalled in Committee

On Thursday, April 24, the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary tabled all gun bills scheduled for work session votes, dealing yet another blow to anti-gun lawmakers' agenda in Augusta. These tabling motions came after bipartisan members of the committee expressed significant concerns with proposed anti-gun legislation. The full list of tabled bills can be found below. Please check your inbox and NRA-ILA regularly to stay up-to-date on when committee votes will occur. 

Anti-Gun Bills

LD 677 introduced by leading gun-grabbing politician Sen. Anne Carney, creates a backdoor ban on commonly owned 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. This legislation is so broad it could implicate a variety of firearm parts and aftermarket triggers. Additionally, commonly performed trigger modifications used in a wide array of legal activities, including shooting sports, hunting, and self-defense could make an otherwise law-abiding individual susceptible to legal liability. 

LD 1120 and LD 1299 seek to implement "safe storage” laws aimed at implementing a top-down government mandate telling you how to store your firearms. While we support storing firearms in a responsible manner, we do not support top-down one-size-fits-all government mandates. As NRA’s safety materials explain, “Many factors must be considered when deciding where and how to store guns. A person's particular situation will be a major part of the consideration."

Pro-Gun Bills

LD 208 seeks to repeal Maine's 72-hour waiting period law. Maine's current waiting period law, which was passed by only one vote through the exploitation of an obscure Senate rule, has been mired in controversy. After going into law without Governor Mills' signature, state-level gun rights groups Gun Owners of Maine and the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine challenged the law in federal court. Citing constitutional concerns, a preliminary injunction was ordered, and subsequent appeals by the State have been unsuccessful. 

LD 1062 seeks to repeal Maine's expanded background check requirement that includes the transfers of private advertised sales. This law seeks to serve as another stepping stone to the full-blown Universal Background Check scheme that Mainers voted down at the ballot box in 2016. 

LD 953 seeks to amend Maine's definition of a "machine gun" to match the federal definition. Currently, Maine statutes use the term "projectiles" instead of "shots," creating concerns over how firearms that can shoot certain loads, including birdshot, could be misclassified as machine guns.

Please stay tuned to the NRA-ILA website and your inbox for updates.