Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine) expressed support on Tuesday for a Republican-led effort that would strengthen the state’s existing “Yellow Flag” gun laws instead of an effort led by gun control activists to implement stricter “Red Flag” measures.
“The proposed competing measure enhances the current law without putting a burden on families and neighbors who want to keep themselves and others safe without putting themselves on the line,” said Gov. Mills in a statement acquired by the Bangor Daily News.
Democrats in the legislature are working to pass strict Red Flag laws through LD 1378, which sparked controversy earlier this session when Democrats on the Judiciary Committee tried to avoid holding a public hearing on the bill, as Maine legislative procedure requires.
The question of whether to impose a Red Flag law on Maine will be put before voters in November during a referendum vote following a citizen-initiated petition led by the Maine Gun Safety Coalition. The current alternative will help sharpen and crystallize the state-wide debate on the matter that is likely to unfold in the months ahead.
Maine’s current Yellow Flag laws allow law enforcement to petition for a firearm confiscation order for individuals they believe pose a threat to themselves or others, but only after a mental health evaluation of the individual in question. The petition must then be approved by a judge.
[RELATED: Maine Gun Owners Leery of Rising Red Flag Campaign Six Months Before November Referendum]
Red Flag laws would make it much easier for police to confiscate firearms by allowing family members, rather than law enforcement, to petition for firearm removal via an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) mechanism foregoing the need for a mental health evaluation.
Rep. Jennifer Poirier (R-Skowhegan) proposed an alternative measure last week, which Gov. Mills has now endorsed, that would direct more funding to law enforcement and mental health services to help enforce existing yellow flag laws rather than implementing new, stricter laws.
Poirier’s measure would require a late-session work session in the Judiciary Committee before it can be sent to voters alongside the red-flag referendum. According to Poirier, House Speaker Ryan Fecteau (D-Biddeford) had no intention of calling a work session on the bill before the legislative session comes to an end today or tomorrow. Mills’ support may serve to change Speaker Fecteau’s decision.
The Republican-led alternative drew support from firearm rights groups such as the Sportsmen’s Alliance of Maine (SAM), which aided in drafting the measure.
Mills has a history of opposing Red Flag laws and was instrumental in the defeat of a similar measure as the legislature focused on gun control in the wake of the 2023 Lewiston shooting.
