GIFFORDS Applauds New Background Checks Law in Maine

Washington DC — Today, GIFFORDS, the national gun violence prevention organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, applauded expanded background checks being signed into law by Governor Janet Mills. This commonsense and popular gun safety measure will protect communities while upholding Maine’s long tradition of responsible gun ownership and hunting.

“This is a huge victory for gun safety advocates and communities across Maine. Following the devastating shooting in Lewiston, legislative leaders took action to honor those impacted by expanding background checks. I want to specifically thank Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, Senate President Troy Jackson, Senator Peggy Rotundo for sponsoring this legislation, and Senator Anne Carney and Representative Vicki Doudera for their work over so many years to get the job done. Mainers demanded that their leaders take action, and legislators listened.

“At the same time, this legislation does not include everything that Mainers want, namely a red flag law. While expanded background checks will save lives, there still isn’t a pathway for Maine families to get help when a loved one is in a crisis. Today, though, we celebrate this leap forward.”

Gun safety advocates successfully brought background checks across the finish line this session after a similar bill failed in the Maine House in 2019 and failed in the Maine Senate last year. Demands for action against gun violence surged after the mass shooting in Lewiston last October, when a gunman killed 18 people and injured 13 more at a bowling alley and restaurant.

The mass shooting emphasized the weakness in the state’s “yellow flag” law, which relies too heavily on law enforcement and depends on a mental health diagnosis. The improvement to the state’s “yellow flag” law, however, does not go far enough to achieve a true red flag law, also known as an extreme risk protection order (ERPO). GIFFORDS and local gun safety advocates will continue to work to pass an ERPO law. 

Congresswoman Giffords also urged Governor Mills to sign two more gun safety bills on her desk, including a waiting period bill and bump stock ban.

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