AUGUSTA (WGME)– There’s a new push for a Red Flag Law in Maine. Gun safety advocates turned in petitions for a statewide referendum on the issue; they believe it can be an effective tool to prevent gun violence. Opponents argue Maine already has a law to temporarily seize firearms, one that’s effectively been used 550 times since the Lewiston tragedy.
“Enough is enough. It is time to do everything we can to prevent another tragedy,” Nacole Palmer of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition told a group of supporters at a rally inside the State House. Afterwards, they brought boxes of petitions to the Secretary of State containing signatures of 80,000 Mainers who support an Extreme Risk Protection Order, or Red Flag Law.
“Mainers know we can respect people’s right to own guns and also do more to keep our kids and our communities safe,” said Arthur Bernard, who lost his son in the tragic shooting at Schemengees Bar and Grill. He and others believe a Red Flag Law could have prevented the Lewiston tragedy, and so does the executive director of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition.
“If Maine had had an Extreme Risk Protection Order in place, perhaps one of the many warnings about the would-be shooter could have resulted in his disarming,” says Nacole Palmer. She says the difference between the state’s current Yellow Flag law is that under a Red Flag Law, families can directly petition a court when a loved one poses a danger to themselves or others.
“In these instances, it’s often family who are the first to know or realize that their loved ones are in crisis,” says Dr. Tony Owens, an emergency room physician. But David Trahan, with the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, says Mainers can already confidentially petition a court under Maine’s Protective Custody Laws to get a person in crisis into protective custody.
“The families can already use Maine’s law. But the public has not been educated on how to use it,” Trahan told us. He also says Maine’s enhanced Yellow Flag Law is more effective than the one now being sought by gun safety advocates. “I think our law is far superior to Red Flag,” he says. If passed, the new referendum would not replace Maine’s Yellow Flag Law.
But supporters believe it would give families another tool to prevent a deadly attack or school shooting. “We should take every step we can to protect our children,” says retired teacher Cathy Harris. It could also prevent suicides. “If an Extreme Protection Order had existed, (my father) would have had his firearms removed and gotten the help he needed,” says Rev. Lisa Durkee.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows still has to validate the signatures. Her office has 30 days to do that. Putting it on the November ballot would come later. Maine Gun Safety Coalition leaders fully expect this Red Flag Referendum to be on the November ballot. They also expect a fight on their hands from the NRA and other gun rights organizations.