December 17, 2024:
Maine Most Improved in Gun Safety Legislation on Guiffords Scorecard
2025 Gun Safety Measures Will Need to Be State Driven. You Can Advocate Even Before the Legislative Session Begins:
HELP Collect Signatures Extraordinary Progress on Citizen Path To Create A True Extreme Risk Protection Order
The Maine Gun Safety Coalition and our allies have launched the Safe Schools, Safe Communities citizen initiative to pass an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) law in Maine to protect our communities from another tragedy like the 2023 mass shooting in Lewiston. Significant progress was made colledting signatures on Election Day.
The Lewiston Commission report shows that our current “yellow flag” law is weak, ineffective, and cumbersome. We need a true Extreme Risk Protection Order system to keep Mainers safe. Get involved now.
JOIN our Show Up Network to stay informed of our work and next steps in the upcoming legislative session.
DONATE. We Can’t Do Our Work Without You.
A True Extreme Risk Protection Order is a MGSC Priority in the
2025 Legislative Session
PBS Frontline Focused on October 25th Mass Shooting: Breakdown in Maine
After the program the Portland Press Herald issued a powerful editorial calling for an ERPO. Find it HERE.
The Commission Report on the Lewiston Shooting Cites Law Enforcement Testimony Regarding Insufficiencies in Yellow Flag Law.
On August 20, 2024, the Independent Commission to Investigate the Facts of the Tragedy in Lewiston issued its final report on the October 2023 Shooting. It states that law enforcement officials testified Maine’s Yellow Flag Law is “cumbersome, inefficient, and unduly restrictive regarding who can initiate a proceeding” to remove a firearm. The Yellow Flag Law is insufficient because:
it limits family, who know a loved one best, from having the ability to file a petition with the court, requiring instead that a law enforcement officer take that step;
it requires a finding of a “mental illness” diagnosis instead of permitting a mental health crises to serve as grounds for a court order to remove firearms; and,
it requires too many steps before a court order may be obtained.
Find the report here and discussions of how it relates to Maine’s Yellow Flag Law and the need for a true Extreme Risk Protection Order by Margaret Groban, Adjunct Professor at University of Maine School of Law, retired Assistant US Attorney, and MGSC board member on August 21, 2024 and September 9, 2024.
2024 “STICK YOUR NECK OUT” AWARD: Joseph Anderson, DO
Dr. Anderson is a pediatrician and child health advocate born and raised in Fort Kent. Following the Lewiston shooting, collaborating with other pediatric advocates, he organized a rally in Lewiston last November, sparking the creation of Maine Providers for Gun Safety. This group, with over 500 healthcare professionals, played a key role in advocating for firearm safety legislation in Maine during the 2024 legislative session.
Thank You for Your Support.
It Makes Our Work Possible.
2024 GOOGINS AWARD: Lt. Colleen J. Adams
Lt. Adams has been a member of the Sanford Police Department since 2009. Over the past several years she has been a dedicated member of the Sanford Police Department’s Mental Health Unit (MHU), and as sergeant oversaw the unit. In September 2024, Colleen was promoted to Lieutenant and currently is assigned to Support Services which includes the Criminal Investigation Division and Mental Health Unit. In 2024, Colleen was named USA Today’s “Woman of the Year for Maine” based on the accomplishments of the Mental Health Unit and Sanford Police Department.
2024 Annual Fitzgerald Awards
2024 KEYNOTE SPEAKER: U.S. Congressman Jamie Raskin
Watch his interview with MGSC board member and retired Federal Prosecutor Margaret Groban HERE.
Representative Raskin is a passionate critic of our nation’s lax gun laws and one of the most prominent gun safety champions on Capitol Hill. He vehemently opposes the political stranglehold that the NRA has over members of Congress and is working diligently to address the horrific gun violence epidemic engulfing America.
Prior to his time in Congress, he was a three-term state senator in Maryland where he worked to introduce and pass one of the most comprehensive state gun safety laws in the nation. This law banned the sale of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, required fingerprint licensing, instituted a universal violent criminal background check on all gun purchases, and made it a crime to fail to report a lost or stolen gun within 48 hours.
2024 FITZGERALD AWARD: Hon. Troy D. Jackson
The Senator is a fifth-generation logger from Allagash, serving his third consecutive term as President of the Maine Senate where he has spearheaded efforts to rein in prescription drug prices, lower the cost of health insurance, invest in rural hospitals, and support emergency medical services. He also authored the new law making Maine one of the first states in the nation to provide school meals to all students, and in 2024, he was instrumental in the passage of gun safety laws that make our schools and communities less susceptible to gun violence.
Historic Progress on Gun Safety Measures in the 2024 Legislative Session
Background Checks: LD 2224 expands the requirements for Background Checks to advertised firearm sales and was signed by the Governor. See the Governor’s Press Release.
72 hour Waiting Period: LD 2238 requires a 72 hour waiting period to access a gun after purchase. The Governor allowed this bill to become law without her signature. Read her statement. This law becomes effective August 9, 2024. See the Advisory on its implementation issued by the Department of Public safety.
With respect to the other MGSC priorities for this past legislative session:
Bump Stocks: LD 2086 would have banned bump stocks and other rapid-fire conversion devices. The bill was approved in both the House and Senate but was vetoed by the Governor. On June 14, 2024, the US Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on bump stocks so now there is no protection from this device being bought, sold and used in Maine
A true ERPO: LD 2283, a true Extreme Risk Protections Order, was not taken up by either the House or the Senate.
Law enforcement and healthcare professionals support all four of these measures.
How did your Legislators vote on these bills? See our 2024 Legislative Scorecard. And, see our list of A+ Legislators who voted for expanded background checks, for a 72 waitng period, and for a prohibition of rapid-fire devices.
Our Community Partnership demanding gun safety legislation had a strong voice this session.
Maine Providers for Gun Safety organized and sent a strong message. Maine physicians called for meaningful change.
Maine Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics was very active.
As was the Maine Council of Churches.
As were many others. The Partnership demanding change consisted of over 60 organizations. Please contact us if you would like to join us.
What’s New on the Federal Level
US Supreme Court Cases: June 2024
Court Overturns Prohibition on Bump Stocks
Garland v. Cargill: On June 14, 2024, the Court struck down a federal prohibition on bump stock rapid-fire devices. These devices were prohibited by the Tump administration after the massacre in Las Vegas, the deadliest mass shooting in US history. Read about the decision here.
Governor Mills vetoed the bump stock prohibition that was passed by the Maine Legislature this spring, one of MGSC’s 4 priorities. After this decision overturning the federal prohibition, bump stocks can now be bought, sold and used in Maine, under both state and federal law. 15 states and the District of Columbia prohibit bump stocks. Maine must prohibit firearm accessories whose only purpose is to make a firearm more deadly.
Maine needs to prohibit bump stocks now more than ever.
Court Upholds Prohibition on Possession of a Firearm by Those Deemed Dangerous
United States v. Rahimi: On June 21, 2024 the Court held that the Second Amendment does not guarantee an alleged domestic abuser’s right to possession of a firearm. This is the most significant Second Amendment decision since New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen in which the court upheld an individual ‘s right to carry a firearm in public for self-defense, finding that a gun regulation is only constitutional if a similar principle existed in early American history. In Rahimi however the Court appears to limit Bruen by holding that a person can be temporarily disarmed consistent with the Second Amendment if they pose a credible threat to another as determined by a court. This decision could have significant implications for the constitutionality of backgrounds checks and red flag laws. Read more about the decision here.
Executive Orders Invest in Gun Violence Prevention
On Septenber 26, 2024 the Biden-Harris Administration announced new measures and funding to prevent gun violence. They include $135 million to fund the implementation of extreme risk protection orders at the state level.