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Two important bills will soon be fully enacted to strengthen the state’s gun safety laws. Most notably, at the behest of Gov. Janet Mills, a requirement for background checks has been extended to all advertised gun sales in the state. The governor’s bill, which was passed by lawmakers and then signed into law by the governor last week, also includes new investments in mental health services and seeks to improve the state’s yellow flag law.
A new 72-hour waiting period for gun purchases will also become law without the governor’s signature.
On Monday, Mills vetoed a bill that would have banned bump stocks and required the destruction of weapons forfeited to police. This bill, which started as a straightforward requirement that law enforcement agencies destroy guns that are forfeited to them, unfortunately was amended to include a bump stock ban, which was worthy of consideration, but based on the governor’s veto message, clearly needed more work. That work should continue in the next legislative session.
The bills that will become law mark the most significant strengthening of state firearm laws in decades. We believe that these changes will fill troubling gaps in Maine’s existing gun laws, while continuing to respect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners.
The action on guns came about six months after a horrific mass shooting rocked Lewiston, and the entire state. Eighteen people were killed and 13 injured by a member of the U.S. Army Reserve who had offered numerous troubling warning signs about his deteriorating mental health and violent intent.
Maine, despite a high rate of gun ownership, has long had a low crime rate and was considered a relatively safe state. The events of Oct. 25, 2023, shook that confidence.
The mass murder by Robert Card II was a stark reminder that Maine’s — and the nation’s — mental health care system and firearms laws are insufficient.
After an event like the Lewiston shooting, there is naturally a call for quick action to prevent a similar tragedy. There is also pushback that new laws aren’t needed, that, perhaps if current laws had been properly enforced, tragedies like the one on Oct. 25 could have been avoided. This is a natural, and healthy debate.
However, this debate can sometimes be stymied by a familiar criticism of any new gun safety measures; That they wouldn’t have prevented the most recent firearms tragedy or wouldn’t prevent all tragedies. It is possible that there aren’t sufficient laws to prevent every gun murder and suicide. However, it is incumbent upon lawmakers and others to take a close look at the state’s laws to look for gaps, gaps that were exploited in the past and gaps that could contribute to future tragedies.
Just looking backwards does not provide the whole picture of gun violence. In addition, sadly, there are so many gun deaths in the U.S. each year that some patterns have become pretty clear.
For example, waiting periods and broad background checks have been shown to reduce gun violence, especially suicides, which account for nearly 90 percent of gun deaths in Maine.
A 2017 study found a 17 percent drop in homicide deaths and a 7 percent to 11 percent drop in deaths by suicide when gun purchase waiting periods were in place. Studies have suggested waiting periods can lower intimate partner gun homicide rates. Likewise, background checks can reduce homicide and suicide rates by allowing time before a gun purchase is complete.
Strengthening gun laws, with the aim of preventing future violence, is always a balancing act with also protecting Second Amendment rights. So, it is appropriate and timely for Gov. Mills to call for assessment of the impacts of the new waiting period law and to monitor legal challenges to similar laws in other states.
After a tragedy as significant as last fall’s shooting in Lewiston, there is no one right answer. But, lawmakers and the governor have taken reasonable steps to reduce gun violence in the future.
