The Democrat-controlled Maine Legislature continues to send gun control measures to the waiting desk of Gov. Janet Mills.
Mills last week signed into law a proposal, LD 2130, that makes it a Class D crime to conduct "unauthorized paramilitary training" in the state. The bill had been sent to the Democrat governor's desk in a 20-14 vote by the state Senate and a narrow 72-71 roll call in the state House. While the law makes it a crime to gather and provide firearms or explosives instruction when " training or demonstrating is intended to be used by the other person in or in furtherance of civil disorder," the fuzzy language raised a flag with some as being too broad.
"This bill could unintentionally impede well-intentioned groups from training," warned the Maine Sheriffs’ Association. "Groups like private security firms or American Legions who might want to train as a hobby could be affected by the broad nature of this bill."
Violators of the new law will be subject to up to 364 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.
3 Day Wait
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Maine House approved two new measures by a single vote. One bill, LD 2086, shoehorns a ban on bump stocks into the state's gun regulations to the opposition of local 2A groups, while the other, LD 2238, installs a mandatory three-day waiting period between over-the-counter gun sales and transfers.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation cautioned lawmakers the arbitrary waiting period in a time of near-instant background checks is an artificial barrier to exercising the right to keep and bear arms while having negligible impact on crime.
When a law-abiding citizen in a rural area (the majority of Maine) must drive an hour or more in some cases to purchase a firearm from a federally licensed retailer (FFL), only to be told that he or she must turn around and return in three days, or a week plus, an obstacle is created. Or when a single mother in an urban area secures childcare and time off work to purchase a rearm at a licensed retailer, to be turned away and told to repeat the process in several days, an obstacle is created. Or when a collector finds a firearm at a gun show that he has been looking for, seeks to purchase the firearm from a licensed retailer at the event, and is told that he cannot purchase the firearm for another three business days, by which time the gun show will be over, an obstacle is created.
LD 2086 and LD 2238 now proceed to the state Senate for final approval.
But wait, there's more
A bill proposed and championed by Gov. Mills, LD 2224, aims to institute near-universal background checks in the state by requiring any "advertised private sale," such as a gun listed on an online classified service or local swap board, as requiring a NICS check to proceed. It also aims to up the punishment for transferring a gun to a prohibited possessor from a misdemeanor to a felony.
Finally, it tweaks the state's so-called "yellow flag" gun confiscation law to allow authorities to take a subject into protective custody even if they haven't committed a crime.
Banner image: ARs on the range, just hanging out. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
