Two years after the deadliest mass shooting in state history, Maine residents voted Tuesday to make it easier for family members to petition a court to restrict a potentially dangerous person's access to guns, the AP reports. A ballot question asked residents if they wanted to build on the state's yellow flag law, which allows police officers to initiate a process to keep someone away from firearms. Approval adds Maine to more than 20 states that have a red flag law, which empowers family members to take the same step.
Gun safety advocates began pushing for that after 18 people were killed when an Army reservist opened fire at a bowling alley and a bar and grill in Lewiston in October 2023. An independent commission appointed by Maine's governor later concluded that there were numerous opportunities for intervention by both Army officials and civilian law enforcement. Gun control proponents characterized that law as too weak and difficult to implement. The yellow flag law requires police to take the potentially dangerous person into protective custody and hold them for a mental health evaluation. In the aftermath of the shooting, law enforcement officers testified before the independent commission that they had difficulty implementing the state's existing yellow flag law, which they described as cumbersome and time-consuming.
The red flag proposal has encountered resistance from Republicans, hunting groups, gun rights organizations, and some Democrats. Maine is a state with relatively low crime where gun ownership is common, and the state's laws should reflect that, opponents have said. Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, opposed the ballot question. She said in October that the yellow flag law was "carefully crafted" with Maine in mind, and it remains the right law for the state.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
