Maine’s lack of basic gun safety laws puts its residents at grave risk, and lawmakers owe it to their communities to stand up to this crisis.
Maine passed a reckless permitless carry law in 2015 that allows residents to carry loaded, concealed handguns in public without a permit or background check. In 2020, Maine had the 11th-lowest gun death rate in the country and supplied crime guns to other states at the 29th highest rate in the country. To protect residents from gun violence, lawmakers in Maine could repeal the state’s dangerous permitless carry law, require background checks on all gun sales, enact an extreme risk protection law, and strengthen protections for victims of domestic violence and hate crimes.
What Maine Does Well
- Mental health record reporting
- Child access prevention law
What Maine Is Missing
- Universal background checks
- Gun owner licensing
- Extreme risk protection orders
- Most domestic violence gun laws
- Assault weapon restrictions
- Large capacity magazine ban
- Waiting periods
- Concealed carry permit
- Open carry regulations
SPOTLIGHT
GUN LAW SCORECARD
The data is clear: states with stronger gun laws have less gun violence. See how your state compares in our annual ranking.
Read MoreEXPLORE MAINE’S GUN LAWS
WHO CAN HAVE A GUN
OWNER RESPONSIBILITIES
CHILD & CONSUMER SAFETY
GUNS IN PUBLIC
HARDWARE & AMMUNITION
OTHER LAWS & POLICIES
SUPPORT GUN SAFETY
We’re in this together. To build a safer America—one where children and parents in every neighborhood can learn, play, work, and worship without fear of gun violence—we need you standing beside us in this fight.
