- A judge temporarily blocked Maine’s new 72-hour waiting period for firearm purchases after gun rights groups challenged it. The law, passed by the state’s Democratic-controlled legislature following a mass shooting in 2023, was contested for allegedly violating the Second Amendment.
- U.S. District Judge Lance Walker agreed with the challenge, stating the law harms those seeking firearms for self-defense.
- Gun rights groups expect the state to appeal, while the Maine Gun Safety Coalition criticized the ruling.
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Gun retailers in Maine don’t have to abide by the state’s 72-hour waiting period for firearm purchases, at least for now. A judge issued a hold on the law after gun rights groups filed a challenge.
In August, a new law requiring a 72-hour waiting period to purchase a firearm went into effect after the state’s Democratic-controlled legislature passed several gun control measures. Lawmakers took action after a gunman killed 18 people in a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, in October 2023.
Gun rights groups sued, arguing the law violates the Second Amendment of a person seeking to exercise the right to keep and bear arms.
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In the injunction, U.S. District Judge Lance Walker writes, “Persons most harmed by the waiting period are likely to be seeking to carry for self-defense in case of confrontation.”
He added, “Although members of the public undoubtedly feel that they have a genuine interest in laws curtailing the right to keep and bear arms, their interest is not exclusive and not one that can win out in terms of an interest-balancing exercise by a court that is sworn to uphold the Constitution.”
In response to the judge’s ruling, the National Shooting Sports Foundation Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane said in a statement, “Rights delayed are rights denied. The decision to enjoin this law while it is challenged in court ensures that law-abiding Mainers are not encumbered and deprived of their rights to keep and bear arms after they have proven they are not prohibited from legally possessing a firearm.”
The Maine Gun Safety Coalition also reacted to the ruling. Executive Director Nacole Palmer said in part, “We’re deeply troubled by the decision of a Trump-appointed judge to roll back Maine’s gun safety laws. That the gun lobby sued to roll back a common-sense law that doesn’t prevent anyone’s right to buy guns but does help prevent suicide is unsurprising. That a judge granted them this political victory at the cost of Mainers is surprising.”
Gun rights groups say they’re expecting the state to appeal the ruling.
