By a one-vote margin, the Maine state Senate on Wednesday passed a measure to require a 72-hour waiting period for firearm purchases, in response to the Lewiston mass shootings in October.
Lawmakers also approved banning bump stocks that can transform a weapon into a machine gun. Hours later, they passed another bill that includes requiring background checks on private gun sales, criminalizing selling firearms to someone who is barred from owning guns, and strengthening the state's “yellow flag” law. In addition, the measure would fund violence prevention initiatives and open a mental health crisis receiving center in Lewiston.
Gov. Janet Mills (D) and the Democratic-led legislature had pushed for gun control and mental health measures to respond to the shootings, when Robert Card killed 18 people and injured another 13, according to law enforcement.
The legislature did not, however, pass a “red flag law” — a measure gun control activists argue is particularly effective in stopping shootings before they happen — that would allow family members to petition a judge to remove guns from someone who is in a psychiatric crisis. The “yellow flag” law in Maine, where hunting and gun ownership is popular, puts police in charge of the process.
State legislators worked through the night and early morning as they attempted to greenlight various priorities, including a contentious supplemental budget, before the bodies adjourned.
