Gun rights advocates file lawsuit challenging 72-hour waiting period

Nov. 13—Maine gun rights advocates filed a federal lawsuit in Bangor Wednesday seeking to overturn the state's new three-day waiting period for firearm purchases.

The plaintiffs, including Rep. James White, a Guilford Republican who is also a gunsmith, say the waiting period is unnecessary and unconstitutional.

"(The law) does not purport to be tethered to the time it takes to conduct a background check, or to any other investigatory efforts into whether someone is disqualified from exercising Second Amendment rights," the lawsuit says. "To the contrary, it forces law-abiding citizens to wait 72 hours to acquire a firearm even if they pass the requisite background check in a matter of minutes, which most people do."

The law is one of several passed last session in response to the mass shooting in Lewiston that killed 18 people.

Two prominent gun rights groups in Maine — the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine and the Gun Owners of Maine, vowed to challenge the law shortly after it was passed. In August, the groups announced that their legal challenge would be funded by the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

The plaintiffs are White, J. White Gunsmithing, Andrea Beckworth, East Coast School of Safety, Adam Hendsbee, A&G Shooting, Thomas Cole and TLC Gunsmithing and Armory. They are represented by a team of lawyers, including Josh Tardy of Bangor.

The suit was filed against Attorney General Aaron Frey in U.S. District Court in Bangor.

The lawsuit comes as gun safety advocates are collecting signatures for a citizen initiative to adopt an additional gun safety measure that failed to pass last year. That efforts aims to create an extreme risk protection order program, or red flag law, that would allow family members and police to petition a court to restrict firearm access of someone deemed to be a danger to themselves or others.

Maine has a similar law, but it does not allow family members to petition a court. Instead, police are required to take someone into protective custody and have them undergo a mental health evaluation before a court petition can be filed.

The waiting period bill narrowly passed last session with a three-vote margin in the House and by a single vote in the Senate. Gov. Janet Mills said she was "deeply conflicted" about the bill when she allowed the bill to take effect without her signature. The law took effect on Aug. 9.

Internal communications obtained by the Press Herald through a public records request showed that Mills' chief legal counsel had requested a veto letter be drafted while Mills was considering whether to sign the bill.

Advocates for the bill said a waiting period could help reduce gun violence by providing a "cooling off period," especially suicides, since they are impulsive acts.

Gun rights advocates, however, argued that the law would violate the constitution by burdening responsible gun owners. They worried the law would hurt the state economy and endanger people who need to quickly obtain a weapon for self defense.

The Legislature approved the bill on April 17, but by narrow margins. The final vote was 73-70 in the House of Representatives. In the Senate, the bill passed 18-17 after Democrats employed an infrequently-used procedural move allowing the votes of two absent senators to be taken into account.

This story will be updated.

Copy the Story Link