NRA-ILA | Maine: Rally to Stop Extreme Gun-Control Next Week

If you have been paying attention, you are already aware that anti-gun politicians in Augusta have released an all-out assault on your Second Amendment rights. From waiting periods on legally made firearm purchases, to universal background checks, and gun registries, it has become apparent that these lawmakers will stop at nothing to strip you of your rights.

This week, these same politicians have doubled down on their efforts, introducing additional bills that would redefine semi-automatic firearms to ban common legally owned firearm parts and create agencies to weaponize the state government to strip you of your constitutional rights. By their own admission in a press conference this week, these politicians admitted that their proposals would have made no impact on the Lewiston tragedy last year.

National anti-gun groups are dumping massive amounts of money into Maine to tip the scales and enact these laws. To save the Second Amendment in Maine, we NEED you to act. Join fellow NRA members and Second Amendment supporters at an upcoming rally at the Maine State House:

Save the Second Amendment Rally

Thursday, March 7^th

10:00AM

Maine State House

Gun-rights supporters will move to the Judiciary Committee Public Hearing at 11:30AM

Below is the full slate of anti-gun public hearings this week. NRA members and gun-rights supporters are encouraged to attend and participate in these hearings in addition to the rally on Thursday, March 7^th. To contact committee members and urge them to oppose this extreme slate of gun-control, click the TAKE ACTION button below.

Monday, March 4^th, 10:00AM

Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services, State House, Room 126

LD 2237 provides funding to expand Maine’s mental healthcare system. While many provisions of this bill are necessary to address systematic and funding pitfalls within Maine’s mental healthcare system, it includes dangerous anti-gun sections that need to be addressed. This includes creating an “Office of Violence Prevention,” a weaponized government agency tasked to strip you of your Second Amendment rights. Instead of arming the government for a long-term fight against constitutional rights, lawmakers should focus on delivering necessary funding and resources to the professionals on the frontlines fighting to fix Maine’s broken mental health system.

Tuesday, March 5th, 11:00AM

Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary. State House, Room 438

LD 2086, introduced by leading gun-grabbing politician Sen. Anne Carney, creates a backdoor ban on commonly owned firearm parts by redefining a “machine gun” to include any semi-automatic firearm that includes parts that can “increase the rate of fire.” This poorly written bill attempts to sneak a so-called “rapid-fire modification ban” past Mainers in a bill completely unrelated to firearm parts. As written, this bill would ban legally and commonly owned firearm parts. This could include certain firearm parts, competition triggers and other commonly performed trigger modifications used in a wide array of legal activities, including shooting sports, hunting and self-defense.

LD 2119 would create a legal avenue for Maine residents to waive their Second Amendment rights and be prohibited from purchasing a firearm. Major concerns surround this bill including the ability for an individual to be coerced or intimidated into forfeiting their Constitutional rights. Additionally, this bill has no clear rights restoration process, meaning that someone who forfeits their rights may never be able to regain them and remain a prohibited individual indefinitely.

Thursday, March 7^th, 11:30AM

Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary. State House, Room 438

Save the Second Amendment Rally at 10:00AM

LD 2224 seeks to implement Red Flag and Universal Background Checks in Maine. Both provisions have already been voted down this legislature, and Universal Background Checks were recently voted down by Maine voters at the ballot box.

If passed, this bill would require all “advertised” sales to be subject to background checks regardless of the relationship between the buyer and the seller to close the so-called “gun show loophole” and stop Mainers from selling firearms on Facebook. First and foremost, there is no gun-show loophole. All purchases through Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) are required to go through background checks regardless of location or where the sale takes place. Additionally, Facebook already bans firearm sales on their website, highlighting a further misunderstanding of firearm sales by the Mills administration. Finally, this bill puts Mainers at risk of becoming felons for the simple act of transferring a firearm to a family member, friend, or neighbor.

In addition to proposing failed Universal Background Checks, LD 2224 also seeks to expand Maine’s current Yellow Flag law to Red Flag “Extreme Risk Protection Order” laws. These laws strip citizens of their Second Amendment rights without due process based on weak and nebulous standards. If passed, Maine’s Red Flag law could strip Mainers of their Constitutional rights without a hearing and based on hearsay for up to 30 days. It does not include any penalties for erroneous accusations, allowing for an open season against gun owners in Maine.

LD 2238 delays Second Amendment rights by imposing a three-day waiting period before an individual may receive a firearm that they lawfully purchase, with limited exemptions. There is no evidence that waiting periods reduce violent crime. If passed, LD 2238 would deny the right of self-defense to abuse victims or any individual facing an imminent threat. Additionally, waiting periods would destroy Maine’s hunting tourism industry because guides would be unable to provide hunters with firearms and local firearm dealers would be unable to sell and transfer firearms in a timely manner.

Stopping this extreme slate of gun-control is critical to protecting the Second Amendment in Maine. Do not delay, contact committee members NOW by clicking the TAKE ACTION button below!

Please stay tuned to the NRA-ILA website and your inbox for updates as this legislation progresses and for future events.