The head of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine is crediting Gov. Janet Mills for introducing a slate of proposals aimed at reducing gun violence, but also said the influential gun rights group isn’t ready to declare what it will and won’t support.
The Sportsman’s Alliance has long played a key role in crafting gun policy in Maine. It negotiated the state’s version of an extreme risk protection order law, which allows for the confiscation of guns if the owner is deemed dangerous to themselves or others.
That initiative, enacted in 2019 and commonly known as a yellow-flag law, has come under scrutiny in the wake of the Lewiston mass shooting last fall as gun control advocates and law enforcement officials argue that it’s too cumbersome.
Mills’ new proposal would allow police to seek a judge’s approval to take a person into custody, but it does not change the steps required to begin the weapon confiscation process. And the alliance’s director, David Trahan, said that’s a good thing.
“What I like about the governor’s approach is she’s not changing any of the due process standards. They’re still highest in the country when you take a person’s liberty away,” he said.
The Maine Gun Safety Coalition described the proposal as a good starting point for negotiations, and applauded the governor’s plan to expand background checks to weapon sales at gun shows and those advertised on Facebook or Uncle Henry’s.
Trahan also credited the governor for her proposal to create a statewide network of crisis prevention centers.
Details of the initiatives are not yet public, but are expected to be packaged in one bill for the Legislature to consider this session.
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.