The tragic mass shooting in Maine has put a spotlight on the state’s gun control laws and led to renewed calls from anti-gun activists for stricter action.
At least 18 people were killed and 13 injured when a gunman opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle at a children’s bowling league and a nearby bar in Lewiston on Wednesday evening.
Army Reserve firearms instructor Robert R. Card, 40, who spent two weeks in a mental health facility earlier this summer, is the only person of interest who remains at large.
The senseless massacre immediately renewed debate over one of the most divisive issues in American politics, gun control, and drew attention to Maine’s laws, which do not require background checks at gun shows and have a more limited “yellow flag law” rather than a red flag law.
Maine is one of 25 states that allow legal gun owners to carry a concealed handgun without a permit. It is also one of 38 states that allow open carry, or the visible carrying of a firearm, without a permit.
In a file photo, a customer is seen purchasing a gun during a gun show at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta, Maine. Maine’s gun laws are under renewed scrutiny
A police officer in his car stands guard next to the Schememgees bar where a man opened fire, killing and wounding scores of people in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday
Anti-gun advocacy groups generally rate Maine’s laws poorly, with Everytown for Gun Safety writing, “Maine has very few basic gun safety laws.”
“Despite 89% of the state’s gun deaths being due to suicide, the Pine Tree State lacks most of the basic laws that would help reduce suicide, including background checks for all gun sales, an extreme risk law and waiting periods,” Everytown wrote. in one assessment, Maine ranked 25th out of 50 states in the strength of its gun laws.
“Maine is also an unlicensed state, although gun violence remains low compared to weaker gun laws, likely in part because it is protected by the strict laws of other states in the region,” the group added.
The U.S. federal government has many laws regulating the sale and possession of guns, including mandatory background checks for purchases from licensed dealers, and a ban that prohibits felons and convicted domestic abusers from owning firearms.
However, many states are adding their own regulations, such as adding background checks for sales to private parties, including those at gun shows.
Maine, where Democrats control the governor’s office and the state legislature, is fairly lax when it comes to such additional requirements, similar to many other states with large rural populations.
The Pine Tree State does not require a permit to purchase a firearm, has no firearm registration rule, and allows concealed and open carry without a permit by anyone legally allowed to possess a firearm.
On July 18, 2022, several guns are on display at a store in Auburn, Maine
In addition, Maine is among 42 U.S. states without an “assault weapons ban” that restricts the sale of certain types of semi-automatic rifles with high-capacity magazines.
Maine also has a weaker version of the “Red Flag” laws passed in 21 other states, which allow a judge to issue a protective order temporarily confiscating a person’s firearms if there are reasonable grounds to believe they pose a threat shapes for themselves or others. .
Maine lawpassed in 2020, is known as a “yellow flag law” because a doctor must first “assess whether the person presents a likelihood of foreseeable harm” before a judge can order their firearms confiscated.
Critics say this additional hurdle hampers law enforcement in situations where time may be of the essence, while supporters of the yellow flag law say it provides necessary checks on the government’s power to seize private property.
Maine’s yellow flag law was under special scrutiny after Wednesday’s massacre, after the suspected Lewiston shooter was found to have committed psychiatric crimes in recent months.
However, many details about the shooter remain unclear, including when and how he obtained the gun, making it difficult to determine whether a specific law could have prevented the shooting.
A Maine resident stands at his table during the 2016 gun show held at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta, Maine
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, blamed Maine’s Republican legislative minority, saying they “rejected a bill this year that would have required a waiting period for firearm purchases.”
“We need immediate action – we can’t just sit around and wait for Congress. We need to change the Constitution to help prevent tragedies like this,” he wrote in a post on X.
In a now-deleted post on
“The shooting happened less than 50 miles from where I live. I went to high school in Lisbon. They’re the rapid-fire killing machines, folks. This is madness in the name of freedom. Stop electing apologists for murder,” he wrote in another post that has now been deleted.
On the other side of the debate, former Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives New Gingrich advocated relaxing gun restrictions after the Maine shooting.
“Frankly, in states that have concealed carry permits and other constitutional carry permits, you have a much quicker response to these types of people who are crazy,” he said in an appearance on Fox News Wednesday night.
“We must provide our citizens with more options to protect themselves as it is clear that law enforcement is responding in the wake of the massacre. But law enforcement is almost never there to stop the carnage,” he added.
Maine already allows concealed carry without a permit, also called constitutional carry.
So far, there are no reports that bystanders at the massacre were able to return fire or otherwise attack the shooter.