Current:Home > NewsMaine governor will allow one final gun safety bill, veto another in wake of Lewiston mass shootings -Wealthify
Maine governor will allow one final gun safety bill, veto another in wake of Lewiston mass shootings
View
Date:2025-04-13 09:16:39
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills said Monday she will allow one of a final pair of gun safety bills — a waiting period for gun purchases — to become law without her signature in the wake of the Lewiston mass shooting.
The governor announced that she would let a 10-day period pass without signing or vetoing the 72-hour waiting period bill, allowing it to go into effect without action. The law will go into effect this summer.
The governor also said Monday she has vetoed a ban on bump stocks that would have applied to a device that can be added to a semiautomatic rifle to allow it to fire like a machine gun. A gunman used a bump stock during the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, in which 60 people were killed and 869 people injured.
The 72-hour waiting period for gun sales drew fierce opposition from Republicans who said it would infringe on the rights of people who want to exercise their constitutional right to buy a gun. Maine hunting guides said that it also could crimp gun sales to out-of-state hunters who come to Maine for short excursions and buy a gun while visiting the state.
Mills said she is allowing the waiting period to become law with “caveats and concerns,” and that steps to shepherd it along will follow, such as tasking the state’s attorney general and public safety commission to monitor constitutional challenges over waiting periods that are playing out elsewhere in the country.
“This is an emotional issue for many, and there are compelling arguments for and against,” Mills said in a statement.
The bills were among a number of actions taken by lawmakers after the deadliest shooting in state history, in which an Army reservist killed 18 people and injured 13 more at a bowling alley and at a bar and grill on Oct. 25 in Lewiston. The shooter was later found dead by a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Mills said she vetoed the bump stock proposal because despite its “well-meaning nature” she felt the language of the bill and the way it was developed “create the risk for unintended mistakes.”
The governor already signed a bill that she sponsored to strengthen the state’s yellow flag law, boost background checks for private sales of guns and make it a crime to recklessly sell a gun to someone who is prohibited from having guns. The bill also funds violence-prevention initiatives and funds mental health crisis receiving centers.
Lawmakers never voted on a so-called red flag bill. Red flag laws, which have been adopted by more than 20 states, allow a family member to petition to have someone’s guns removed during a psychiatric emergency.
The state’s yellow flag law differs by putting police in the lead of the process, but the law was updated to allow police to ask a judge for a warrant to take someone into protective custody.
That removes a barrier of police meeting with a person to assess whether protective custody is needed, something that came into play when the Lewiston gunman refused to answer his door during a police welfare check more than a month before the shootings. The officer said no crime was committed and he didn’t have authority to force the issue.
veryGood! (13531)
Related
- Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
- Seizures may be cause of sudden unexplained death in children, study using video analysis finds
- Shia LaBeouf converts to Catholicism after being confirmed at New Year’s Eve Mass
- 3 years after Jan. 6 Capitol riot, Trump trial takes center stage, and investigators still search for offenders
- Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
- Many people wish to lose weight in their arms. Here's why it's not so easy to do.
- Carnival begins in New Orleans with Phunny Phorty Phellows, king cakes, Joan of Arc parade
- 50-year friendship offers a close look at caring dialogue on Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- Mets have visions of grandeur, and a dynasty, with Juan Soto as major catalyst
- New York governor promises a floating pool in city waterways, reviving a long-stalled urban venture
Ranking
- San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
- Lawsuit says Georgia’s lieutenant governor should be disqualified for acting as Trump elector
- 3 years after Jan. 6 Capitol riot, Trump trial takes center stage, and investigators still search for offenders
- Cher is denied an immediate conservatorship over son’s money, but the issue isn’t done
- Why Sean "Diddy" Combs Is Being Given a Laptop in Jail Amid Witness Intimidation Fears
- Vessel loaded with fertilizer sinks in the Danube in Serbia, prompting environmental fears
- Wisconsin’s Democratic governor says Biden must visit battleground state often to win it
- San Quentin project’s $360 million price tag should be slashed, governor’s advisory group says
Recommendation
South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
Fire in Elizabeth, New Jersey: Massive blaze engulfs industrial warehouse: See photos
USA wins gold medal at world junior championship with victory vs. Sweden
'Love is Blind' contestant Renee Poche sues Netflix, says she 'felt like a prisoner' while filming show
Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
Alabama man accused of stripping, jumping naked into Bass Pro Shop aquarium: Reports
Iowa school principal was shot trying to distract shooter so students could flee, his daughter says
Microsoft adding new PC button in its first significant keyboard change in decades