On Monday, April 12, the State and Local Government Committee is scheduled to consider legislation that would allow municipalities to impose a gun-free zone on polling locations across Maine. Please contact committee members and ask them to OPPOSE LD 805.
Legislative Document 805 takes the first step in eliminating Maine’s current firearms preemption law by allowing municipalities to impose an almost total prohibition on the possession a firearm in a “voting place.” The bill effectively creates a gun-free zone not only in the actual “voting place”, but prohibits possession in every place, public or private, that comes within a 250-foot zone of the entrance. The exemption, allowing for an unloaded firearm if stored in a container in a locked vehicle, entraps law-abiding citizens who have a firearm locked in their home; those transporting firearms; or those passing through a right-of-way while lawfully carrying a firearm. This is not only an attack on the right to self-defense for Maine citizens and gun owners, but an attack on current preemption law in the state of Maine.
State firearms preemption was enacted by the Maine Legislature to avoid a confusing patchwork of firearm laws across the state. Without preemption, there would be a myriad of local firearm laws making compliance impossible for law-abiding gun owners.
Again, please act now and call on members of the State and Local Government Committee to OPPOSE LD 805. NRA Members and Second Amendment supporters are also encouraged to testify or submit written testimony. You must be signed-up to testify remotely, 30 minutes prior to the start of the hearing.
