Maine Misses Opportunity to Act on Critical Gun Violence Prevention Measures
In the last few years, other New England states, even under the leadership of Republican governors, like Vermont, have passed gun safety laws—including universal background checks.
Washington DC — GIFFORDS, the gun violence prevention organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, expressed disappointment, alongside our partners, in Maine’s failure to enact critical gun violence prevention measures. With this year’s legislative session coming to a close, Maine is on track to be one of the only Democratic-controlled states in the country to fail to take bold action on gun safety this year.
Joe Platte, State Legislative Manager, GIFFORDS:
“Gun violence remains a crisis throughout Maine. Portland alone saw a 300% increase in the number of people shot in the city between 2021 and 2022. Just months ago, four people were gunned down and three were injured in a mass shooting that rocked the state and was committed by a person with a long history of violent felonies. We must not turn a blind eye to the toll of gun violence in Maine’s communities, as every individual deserves the right to live in safety and security. Governor Mills and Senate President Jackson must take the same stand that Speaker Talbot Ross did this session and treat the crisis of gun violence with the urgency it deserves.”
Lynn Ellis, Legislative Director, Maine Gun Safety Coalition:
“The rising incidents of gun violence in Maine and the challenge of passing evidence-based, commonsense legislation here continues to be disheartening. We know that our presence in the State House is making a difference. We continue to forge relationships with legislators who are also committed to passing laws that will save lives. In particular, we are very grateful to the Maine Gun Safety Caucus for their collaboration and support as we worked to make progress where we could and defeated several dangerous bills. But we know this is not enough. You can be sure we will continue our efforts as a leading and trusted voice in Maine on gun violence prevention. Today, however, we express our deep dismay at being one of the only Democratic controlled states to not take bold action on life saving, gun safety legislation.”
Representative Vicki Doudera & Senator Anne Carney, Co-Chairs, Maine Gun Safety Caucus:
“Mainers have asked us to act to prevent gun violence and House Democrats are listening. This session, the House passed critical gun safety bills to require universal background checks and ban rapid fire mechanisms like bump-stocks. Although we couldn’t bring our Senate colleagues along, our votes show real progress and we’re proud. Just as important, we also defeated dangerous bills, such as so-called ‘stand your ground’ and arming school staff. We even passed LD 22, a modest, bipartisan, and common sense bill to help prevent access to firearms by prohibited individuals. We hope that this one bright spot can serve as the beginning of making more progress in the future. This work isn’t easy in a rural state like Maine, but every step of progress matters when it comes to saving lives from the crisis of gun violence.”
Judi and Wayne Richardson, parents of Darien, Founders of Remembering Darien Victims Foundation:
“We are outraged that the Speaker’s amended background check bill didn’t pass the Senate. Apparently our daughter, Darien’s life and other Maine victims of gun violence means nothing to many of them. Darien’s homicide is still unsolved in part due to this dangerous loophole in Maine law. How can these elected officials claim they represent the people of Maine but fail to support victims of gun violence and fail to pass bills to keep the public safe? How many more people will have to be injured or die before this state starts to care more about the people than guns?
We (as responsible gun owners) know that we need to keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have them because they are a danger to themselves or others. Maine citizens have to pass background checks to get a job, get a loan, volunteer in schools, or adopt a pet, but we can sell a gun to someone with no background because it’s a ‘burden’?State lawmakers, you once again failed the people of Maine, but we won’t give up until we have gun safety guardrails in place.”
Maine received an F on GIFFORDS Law Center’s Annual Gun Law Scorecard. In 2015, Maine passed a reckless permitless carry law that allows residents to carry loaded, concealed handguns in public without a permit or background check, and because it lacks commonsense gun safety laws, the state has the highest gun death rate in New England. Additionally, in 2021, Mainers lost more than 150 of their friends, family, and neighbors to suicide with a firearm.
In the last few years, other New England states like Vermont have passed gun safety laws, including requiring universal background checks, requiring waiting periods for firearm sales, and enacting actual extreme risk protection order laws, all while under the leadership of Republican governors.
A June 2023 poll by Pan Atlantic Research on behalf of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition found 72% of all Mainers and 72% of gun owners in the state support universal background checks. These results echo a June 2021 poll for GIFFORDS that found 70% of Mainers support universal background checks, and actually shows an increase in support from gun owners over the last two years.
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