Weekly Spotlight 5/10/24 – 5/16/24
Maine Governor Allows Waiting Period Law to Take Effect
Last week, Maine Governor Janet Mills elected to allow LD 2238 to become law, which will require a 72-hour waiting period for all gun sales in the state. Firearm purchase waiting periods, like many other gun control measures, will not only curb the Second Amendment rights of Mainers, but it will also make vulnerable Mainers less safe and able to defend themselves.
Waiting periods create unnecessary delays for law-abiding citizens who’ve passed an instant federal background check to equip themselves for self-defense. In urgent situations where immediate protection is needed, 72 hours is simply too long of a delay. This disproportionately impacts vulnerable populations, especially women, who may face increased risks of violence and need timely access to firearms for self-protection.
Furthermore, individuals who intend to use firearms for criminal purposes are unlikely to be deterred by waiting periods; they often acquire firearms through illicit means regardless of legal restrictions. There is no conclusive research to show that waiting periods reduce crime in any way. It’s an overly broad “solution” aimed at a problem that doesn’t truly exist.
Mainers should be very concerned with this new law. Ask yourselves, is there any other constitutional right you possess that the government has implemented an arbitrary waiting period before you can exercise it? Of course not. Like any other gun control measure, it’s not geared to public safety; it’s merely a means to restrict law-abiding citizens’ ability to exercise their Second Amendment rights. Rather than push these ineffective, anti-gun policies, Maine lawmakers should focus on addressing the root causes of violent crime.
Join us in advocating for sensible legislative solutions that will help save lives!
OTHER NEWS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
- Associated Press: Semi-Automatic Gun Ban Nixed In Colorado’s Democratic-Controlled Statehouse After Historic Progress
A bill to ban the sale and transfer of semi-automatic firearms was nixed in Colorado’s Democratic-controlled Legislature on Tuesday as lawmakers pressed forward with a slew of other gun control bills on the 25th anniversary year of the Columbine High School massacre. The western state has a deep history with firearms that is pockmarked by some of the most high-profile mass shootings nationwide. Both factors loom large over gun control debates in the Legislature, complicating attempts at such bans that nine other Democratic-controlled states have in place, including California and New York.
This week, we saw an unexpected ruling out of the Fifth Circuit. A panel in the nation’s most conservative federal circuit upheld the brand new “enhanced” background check process from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. It did so by essentially sidestepping the Bruen test. Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman argues the ruling is evidence even right-leaning judges may be hesitant to undo popular gun laws like background checks.
- Breitbart: Gun Owners Of America, State Of Texas, File Suit Against ATF’s Universal Background Check Rule
Gun Owners of America (GOA) and the Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) joined Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in suing Biden’s ATF over the new rule requiring background checks on private gun sales. Breitbart News reported the ATF’s announcement of the proposed rule on August 31, 2023. The rule redefines what it means to be “engaged in the business of selling guns,” thereby expanding the instances in which an unlicensed seller — i.e., a private citizen — must use the NICS to sell or transfer a gun.
A Kansas judge and 21 state attorneys general have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s “Final Rule” that changes the definition of “engaged in the business” as a firearms dealer. The rule is scheduled to take effect this month. The lawsuit was filed May 1 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Delta Division. Phillip Journey, acting as a private citizen and not in any official capacity, told Ammoland News via telephone he is the lead individual plaintiff in the case.