Supporters and some opponents of gun safety reforms rallied at the State House on January 3, 2024, less than three months after Maine’s deadliest mass shooting. (Photo by Jim Neuger/ Maine Morning Star)
With the November election just six weeks away, experts for and against the statewide referendum question proposing a red flag law participated in a televised town hall Tuesday night.
Proponents were represented by psychiatrist David Moltz and former Public Safety Commissioner Anne Jordan, while David Trahan, the head of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, and Rep. Jennifer Poirier (R-Skowhegan) spoke for the opposition.
The four presented their reasons why Maine voters should support or reject Question 2 on the November ballot. It will read: “Do you want to allow courts to temporarily prohibit a person from having dangerous weapons if law enforcement, family, or household members show that the person poses a significant danger of causing physical injury to themselves or others?”
Maine already has what’s known as a yellow flag law, which allows law enforcement to take guns away from people after a mental health evaluation.
Though law enforcement has reported that the law is cumbersome, there has been increased use since the October 2023 mass shooting in Lewiston in which 18 people were killed. In late August, the state Department of Public Safety announced that more than 1,000 orders to seize dangerous weapons have been issued since the law took effect in 2019.
The shooting in Lewiston reinvigorated the conversation around extreme risk protection orders after an independent commission found that local law enforcement had sufficient probable cause to both take the perpetrator, Robert Card II, into protective custody under Maine’s yellow flag law and start a petition to confiscate his firearms.
“Our yellow flag law, as you’ve discussed, was an experiment — the only one like it in the nation — and it failed,” said Jordan, who also served as executive director of the independent commission that gathered facts about the Lewiston shooting.
She went on to say that a red flag law would provide another “effective tool” to allow families and household members to petition the court when they have concerns about someone’s potential for danger to themself or others.
If the referendum passes, it would not replace Maine’s current law, but would be an additional tool police or the general public can use to temporarily confiscate weapons.
However, Trahan pointed out that Maine State Police argued in a public hearing before the Legislature that having both laws on the books would be confusing.
“That is the very agency that we depend on,” he said, “that is supposed to keep the public safe. When they stand up there and say, ‘This is going to make it less safe and more dangerous for everyone involved,’ then we should listen to them. Vote ‘no’ on 2.”
What is a red flag law?
Red flag laws are active in twenty-one states, including four states in New England. Maine is the only state with a yellow flag law.
The referendum proposes allowing a family member, household member or law enforcement officer to file a petition, along with an affidavit of facts, for an extreme risk protection order if someone is suspected of posing a significant danger of causing physical injury to themself or another person. That protection order would prohibit the person from purchasing, possessing or controlling a “dangerous weapon.”
A court would be required to schedule a hearing within 14 days of when the petition is filed. If the court finds the individual does pose a significant risk of causing physical injury, the court must issue an order prohibiting them from purchasing, possessing or receiving a dangerous weapon for up to one year. The person would need to immediately surrender any dangerous weapons in their possession to law enforcement.
A person could request to have the order terminated if they can show evidence that they no longer pose a risk of physical harm. Conversely, an order can also be renewed for up to one additional year.