He who pays the piper calls the tune, the old saying goes. Looking closely at the most recent dust-up under the dome, the role of money in Maine politics explains why Democrats have stubbornly resisted multiple efforts to hold their latest gun control proposal up for public scrutiny: deep-pocketed, out-of-state interests are paying them to pull out all the stops for imposing a “Red Flag” law on Mainers.
Two Democratic lawmakers, both attorneys and co-chairs of the Maine Legislature’s Judiciary Committee, have played central; roles in blocking a public hearing on a controversial “Red Flag” gun confiscation bill connected to citizen initiative that will be on November’s ballot. Efforts by the Republican minority to hold the Judiciary Committee to its obligation to allow a statutorily required hearing failed late Thursday night.
Tensions escalated around 10 p.m. on June 5 when Senate President Mathea Daughtry (D-Cumberland), backed by party-line votes, overruled a number of parliamentary moves by Minority Leader Trey Stewart (D-Aroostook) to compel the Judiciary Committee to hold the statutorily required hearing—effectively shutting down four separate motions demanding transparency on the measure.
The current efforts by Judiciary Chairs Representative Amy Kuhn (D-Falmouth) and Senator Anne Carney (D-Cumberland) to evade transparency and public input contrast with previous statements from Sen. Carney from early 2024.
“In the next few months, we will pass impactful gun safety legislation. Reaching effective solutions requires building a broad and dynamic coalition, and listening to everyone, most especially the powerful voices of Mainers all across our state who have contacted their Senators and Representatives to advocate for gun safety legislation,” said Sen. Carney in a press release from Everytown for Gun Safety on January 26, 2024.
An Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO), more commonly known as a “Red Flag” disarmament, is a key policy initiative for groups who brand themselves as advocates for ‘gun safety’ instead of ‘gun control’. Red Flag laws allow a concerned party to contact law enforcement if they fear someone is in possession of weapons or firearms and are either suicidal or homicidal. It allows law enforcement to seize those weapons without any due process.
As opposed to ERPOs, due process in the seizure of arms from those said to be in distress is a key component of Maine’s ‘Yellow Flag’ law. Yellow Flag is currently the legal standard in Maine, and involves mental health professional in evaluating the subject’s threat level. Critics of Red Flag policy initiatives argue that the system is primed for abuse by disgruntled neighbors, angry former domestic partners and even political opponents.
[RELATED: Maine Gun Owners Leery of Rising Red Flag Campaign Six Months Before November Referendum]
The current Red Flag bill in the legislature is tied to a ballot initiative question that would go before voters if the legislative version of the ballot initiative fails to pass. Sen. Carney and Rep. Kuhn seem to want the bill to die quietly so it goes directly to voters. The Judiciary chairs not releasing the bill to the full Senate almost guarantees that the bill will not have a public hearing or receive a floor vote. The former violates state statute. The latter would keep voting fingerprints off of a roll call for Democrats in rural districts with strong sentiment in support of the right to keep and bears arms.
Carney has been a longtime advocate for gun control in the state of Maine. She also serves as the co-Chair of Maine’s Legislative Gun Safety Caucus in addition to her role as the Senate Chair of the Judiciary Committee.
Vesting Maine with a “Red Flag” law has long been a goal of the gun control lobby in Augusta — and beyond. According to campaign finance reports filed on the Maine Ethics Commission website, the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee (SDCC) PAC received $25,000 from Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund on October 30 last year, days before the election. Based in New York City and financed by billionaire Michael Bloomberg, Everytown for Gun Safety is one of the largest players in the national gun control movement.
The SDCC PAC’s principal officer is Senate President Mathea Daughtry. Sen. Daughtry presided over the Senate session late Thursday night, and it was her rulings that defeated Minority Leader Trey Stewart’s (R-Aroostook) four Joint Orders attempting to force the hands of Sen. Carney and Rep. Kuhn to hold a public hearing on the Red Flag Bill.
Even before the Everytown contribution, the Washington D.C.-based Giffords Political Action Committee donated $2,500 to the SDCC PAC on October 4. The Giffords PAC is the political action arm of a gun control group founded by former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) and her husband Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ). In 2024, the Giffords PAC endorsed six Maine state senators and four Maine state representatives, including Judiciary Chairs Sen. Anne Carney and Rep. Amy Kuhn, as well as Senate President Daughtry and Speaker of the House Ryan Fecteau (D-Biddeford).
After the Giffords PAC donation, on October 8, 2024, the same campaign finance report revealed that the Safer Maine PAC contributed $130,000 towards efforts to support Democratic majorities in both houses. The funds were split evenly between the chambers, with the House Democratic Campaign Committee PAC and the SDCC PAC each receiving $65,000.
The Safer Maine PAC was founded by the Maine Gun Safety Coalition. According to the Maine Ethics website, the purpose of the Safer PAC is “to support candidates who support gun safety and oppose candidates who oppose gun safety.” The PAC is run by principal officer Nacole Palmer, who also serves as the Executive Director of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition’s 501(c)(3) non-profit arm. The PAC’s Treasurer is former Senator and gun control advocate Rebecca Millett (D-Cape Elizabeth), who now serves on the Board of Directors of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition Foundation, the 501(c)(4) political arm of the organization.
Palmer identified herself as the Executive Director of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition in written testimony to the Judiciary Committee on March 7, 2024. The registration for Safer Maine PAC was filed on October 3, 2024, shortly before the combined six-figure plus donations to support Maine Democrats.
According to the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for elective public office. Violating this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status.
Generally, it is the 501c4 wing of an organization that does political work to avoid blurring the lines with the politically restricted 501c3 non-profit entity. This does not appear to have happened with the Maine Gun Safety Coalition’s Safer Maine PAC. The PAC as founded by the 501c3 non-profit and not the political 501c4 and the 501c3’s executive director served as its principal officer and decision maker.
In 2024, the Maine Gun Safety Coalition also spent an additional $28,000 on lobbying efforts to pass several gun control bills in the 131st Maine legislature, including passing a similar version of the current Red Flag bill that failed that session. The Maine Gun Safety Coalition spent $28,000 to hire the Resurgam Group to lobby for them.
The Resurgam Group is one of Augusta’s top firms for advocacy and lobbying for left-wing policy in the state capital. Founded by B.J. McCollister, former chief of staff to Maine Senate President Troy Jackson (D-Aroostook), the lobby shop has quickly grown in influence. Chace Jackson is listed as a Partner on the Resurgam Group’s website. He is the son of former Senate president and current gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson. The younger Jackson has worked as a Lobbyist Associate to McCollister. That work included lobbying for bills on assault weapons bans, a Red Flag law, a 72-hour waiting period for gun sales, and background checks for private firearm transfers.
Given the significant amount of money that the Maine Gun Safety Coalition and their partner groups to finally pass a Red Flag law in Maine, it appears likely that such initiatives are a national priority for many of the gun control activist groups. Maine is often considered a more accessible state politically for ballot initiatives to pass ideological priorities into law. If national gun control groups are able to pass their priorities in Maine, they will be able to notch another win relatively cheaply, indicating a trend towards national success for donors and supporters.
In addition to substantial money being spent by the gun control lobby, there are powerful special interest endorsements on the line for Democrats to use in their re-election campaigns. Such ‘gun safety’ endorsements are a strong way to ward off a primary challenge in deep blue districts. All of these things put together appear to be outweighing the public’s legal statutory right to be heard in a public hearing, as demonstrated by the Maine Senate on Thursday night.
Currently, the Red Flag public hearing issue is at a standstill. It is possible that Carney and Kuhn may choose to have an unannounced, quick public hearing on Monday to meet the legal requirement. Alternatively, they may keep the bill in their committee’s possession until the legislature adjourns in just over a week, avoiding the public hearing and a recorded floor vote.
If so, the Red Flag bill would go directly to the ballot as an initiative question without any public or legislative input. Should that happen, we may see the process issues about a lack of a statutorily required public hearing wind up in a court case if the ballot initiative is passed by Maine’s voters.
The Judiciary Committee next meets on Monday, June 9, at 12 p.m.
