Republicans Push Back Against Gun-Control Laws Passed in the Wake of Lewiston Shooting

Maine Republicans are working to end some of the new restrictions placed on gun ownership in the state last year with a trio of bills either to repeal the 72-hour waiting period for firearm purchases or the background check requirement for private sales.

[RELATED: Federal Judge Issues Injunction Against Maine’s 72-Hour Waiting Period after Purchasing a Firearm…]

The Judiciary Committee held public hearings on three bills on Wednesday, drawing a multitude of Mainers to testify on both sides of the issue.

Two of the bills, LD 208 from House Republican Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) and LD 1230 from Rep. Quentin Chapman (R-Auburn), are identical and straightfoward pieces of legislation that would repeal the 72-hour required waiting period for firearm purchases. Each bill drew support from six Republican co-sponsors.

“While this requirement may have been well-intentioned, it is ultimately unnecessary burdensome, and of questionable constitutionality,” said Rep Faulkingham.

“Maine’s Constitution is clear. Article One, Section 16, states, ‘every citizen has the right to keep and bear arms, and this right shall never be questioned.’ Maine’s Constitution doesn’t leave much room for delay, doubt or discretionary impositions, and a mandatory waiting period does precisely that. It questions and obstructs the right of Mainers to exercise a fundamental constitutional freedom,” he added.

Many gun owners joined Faulkingham by speaking in favor of ending the waiting period.

Kyle Kent, a research and development consultant for Kent Ordinance Technologies with 15 years of experience in firearm policy, supported Faulkingham’s bill.

“Multiple studies examining jurisdictions with similar waiting periods have shown
little to no measurable impact on firearm-related crimes or suicides. In fact, the vast
majority of firearms used in crimes are not newly purchased but are illegally obtained
or stolen. Imposing a mandatory delay on lawful purchasers does little to address the
core issue of criminal access to firearms, and instead places undue burden on
responsible citizens,” he said.

The 72-hour waiting period bill requires that a gun purchaser wait three days after agreeing to buy a firearm before they can actually take possession of it. The law was intended to provide a “cooling-off period” for anyone buying a firearm on impulse to harm themselves or others to reconsider.

That law came with a greater push for gun control in the wake of the October 2023 Lewiston shooting. If the law had been in effect during the shooting, it would have done nothing to stop Robert Card, the shooter, from committing his murders, since he had owned his firearms for far longer than three days.

The gun-control measure passed through the legislature by a slim margin, with a nearly even split of 73-70 in the House and an even closer 18-17 Senate vote. Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine) allowed the bill to become law without her signature, in an apparent effort to avoid angering firearm rights enthusiasts, who are common in Maine.

The waiting period has not been enforced since February, when U.S. District Court Judge Lance Walker issued a temporary injunction against the bill in response to a lawsuit filed against Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey claiming that the waiting period violates the Constitution.

“If a citizen cannot take possession of a firearm then his or her right to possess a
firearm or to carry it away is indeed curtailed, even if, as Frey claims, the curtailment is
modest,” said Judge Walker in his ruling

“Because the act of acquiring a firearm, including by purchase, falls within the ambit
of what it means to keep and bear arms, it is presumptively protected by the Second
Amendment,” he continued.

The case has not yet been fully adjudicated, but the injunction will remain in place while it is being considered.

Despite the constitutional issues raised by Walker’s injunction and addressed by some testimonies in favor of Faulkingham’s and Rep. Chapman’s repeal, many gun-control activists still rallied against the repeal.

“Eliminating the 72-hour waiting period for firearm purchases and eliminating background checks for private sales of firearms would jeopardize Mainers’ safety. It would represent a devastating loss of the hard-won advances we made just last year in passing landmark legislation requiring 72-hour waiting periods and background checks,” said Jane Field of the Maine Council of Churches.

The Council of Churches frequently offers testimony in favor of far-left proposals, framing support for left-wing policies as moral imperatives for Christians.

“We in the faith community are here to speak to the moral imperative of saving lives
with sensible gun safety laws, and we are here to condemn our culture’s idolatrous
fascination with weapons designed to take human life in acts of mass shooting that
leave people slaughtered, families shattered, and communities devastated,” she said.

“A 72-hour waiting period law is an effective and time-tested public health measure. It
interrupts impulsive violence of all types, including suicide, which accounts for the vast
majority of gun deaths occurring in Maine,” the Maine Medical Association said in a statement, adding: “Suicides often occur in moments of crisis, and the presence of a gun makes it substantially more likely the attempt will be fatal. A 72-hour waiting period can provide a life-saving timeout for a person’s mental and emotional de-escalation, allowing someone in crisis to seek help and obtain life-saving resources.”

Though the Republican-led efforts to repeal the waiting period are not likely to pass through the Democrat-controlled legislature, the law may ultimately be overturned as a result of the ongoing court proceedings.

The other pro-firearm rights bill under consideration, LD 1062, brought by Rep. Jennifer Poirier (R-Skowhegan), along with eight Republican co-sponsors, would repeal burdensome, post-Lewiston shooting background check requirements.

Under current law, a Mainer cannot sell a firearm to a friend or family member directly, but must instead go through a licensed firearm dealer who will then conduct a background check on the buyer prior to the sale.

Rep. Poirier’s bill would repeal that requirement, though it is also unlikely to pass. Unlike the waiting period, the background check through a licensed dealer is not subject to an injunction and remains in effect.