PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Following a last-minute order from the state, gun dealers in Maine on Friday began requiring a three-day waiting period for gun purchases, one of the new safety laws passed after the state’s decision. deadliest mass shooting.
Maine joins a dozen other states with similar lawsrequiring buyers to wait 72 hours to complete a purchase and pick up a gun. The law is one of several gun-related bills passed after an Army reservist killed 18 people and injured 13 others in Lewiston on October 25, 2023.
The new law could not have prevented the tragedy – the shooter bought his weapons legal months earlier – but Friday’s milestone was celebrated by gun safety advocates who believe it can prevent firearm deaths by giving people a cooling-off period before firing a weapon with the intent to harm themselves or others.
“These new laws will certainly save lives, both here in Maine and across the country,” said Nacole Palmer, executive director of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition.
Gun shop owners complained about the policy, which was only released Tuesday, and the loss of revenue from out-of-state visitors during Maine’s busy summer season. They also said the wait time will negatively impact gun shows.
In Kittery, Dave Labbe of the Kittery Trading Post said his main store will have virtually no gun sales starting Friday because customers subject to the wait will have to return to pick up their firearms. He fears customers will not buy guns because they have to make an extra trip to the store because of the wait.
“You can imagine how I feel,” he said.
Unlike other Maine dealers, Kittery Trading Post allows out-of-state buyers of rifles and shotguns to bring those sales to the New Hampshire location and complete them the same day. But that increases the cost of doing business and is inconvenient for customers. In some cases, customers may prefer to ship the gun to a dealer in their home state, Labbe said.
Some retailers claimed the guidance was late and vague.
“It’s as clear as mud,” said Laura Whitcomb of Gun Owners of Maine, noting that there are gray areas, such as the legal definition of the “agreement” that must be reached for the waiting period to begin.
Critics of the law have announced plans to sue. They claim that it only harms law-abiding citizens and does not prevent criminals from obtaining guns illegally. They also claim that if people who want to harm themselves are unable to purchase a gun locally, they will simply find another way.
The waiting period law went into effect without the signature of Democratic Gov. Janet Mills. It was one of several bills passed after the mass killings at a bowling alley and a bar and grill in Lewiston.
Mills told lawmakers during her State of the Union address that doing nothing after the tragedy was not an option.
The laws strengthened the state’s so-called “yellow flag” law, which allows the taking of guns from a mental health crisis, criminalized the transfer of guns to people with prohibited access and required background checks for people offering a gun for sale on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace or elsewhere.
Maine has a long hunting tradition and the bills faced opposition from Republicans who accused Democrats, who control both houses of the legislature, of using the tragedy to push through bills, some of which had previously been rejected.
