Maine: Floor Votes on Extreme Anti-Gun Bills Imminent

This evening, lawmakers will caucus with their respective parties to discuss firearm bills ahead of floor votes this week. This meeting signals that floor votes on firearm bills are imminent and can happen at any time.

NRA members and Second Amendment advocates are urged to contact their lawmakers NOW and encourage them to OPPOSE the extreme slate of gun control measures being put forth by progressive Portland politicians. To contact your lawmakers, click the TAKE ACTION button below.

A list of anti-gun bills is below.

LD 677 introduced by leading gun-grabbing politician Sen. Anne Carney, creates a backdoor ban on commonly owned firearm parts by redefining a “machine gun” to include any semi-automatic firearm that includes parts that can “increase the rate of fire.” This poorly written bill attempts to sneak a so-called “rapid-fire modification ban” past Mainers in a bill completely unrelated to firearm parts. This legislation is so broad it could implicate a variety of firearm parts and aftermarket triggers. Additionally, commonly performed trigger modifications used in a wide array of legal activities, including shooting sports, hunting and self-defense could make an otherwise law-abiding individual susceptible to legal liability. 

LD 1109 seeks to outlaw standard capacity magazines in Maine. Introduced by Portland progressive Rep. Matthew Beck (D-Portland), would ban the possession, sale, manufacture, or transfer of magazines that exceed 10 rounds.  A recent National Shooting Sports Foundation study found that nearly 1 billion detachable magazines are currently in circulation for both rifles and pistols. Due to the massive volume of standard-capacity magazines in circulation, criminals will continue to have unfettered access to such magazines, while law-abiding citizens will be restricted to low-capacity carrying capabilities.

LD 1743 seeks to implement roving gun-free zones throughout Maine by allowing municipalities to ban firearms within their municipal buildings, municipal meetings, and voting places. If passed, this law would violate Maine's longstanding preemption laws and disarm and disenfranchise law-abiding gun owners. These bans could apply to all municipally owned properties, meetings, and polling places, including ballot drop boxes. Passing this bill would create a confusing patchwork of firearm laws throughout Maine, entrapping otherwise law-abiding gun owners. 

LD 1126, progressive politicians' so-called "ghost gun bill," redefines firearms under Maine law to include both finished and unfinished receivers. This definition change also explicitly requires that all finished and unfinished frames, receivers, and homemade firearms must be serialized at an FFL. This would hinder law-abiding Mainers' ability to build and repair firearms in their homes and require them to obtain expensive serialization on firearms and firearm parts. This "ghost gun" scheme does not address criminal activity in Maine. Instead, it serves a national agenda to ban homemade firearms, which have been part of our nation's history since its inception.

LD 1120 and LD 1299 seek to implement "safe storage” laws aimed at implementing a top-down government mandate telling you how to store your firearms. While the NRA supports storing firearms in a responsible manner, we do not support top-down one-size-fits-all government mandates. As NRA’s safety materials explain, “Many factors must be considered when deciding where and how to store guns. A person's particular situation will be a major part of the consideration."

LD 1364 is an anti-hunting bill that seeks to direct the State of Maine to commission a study of the impacts on and risks to wildlife, humans, and the environment of using lead-based ammunition. As seen throughout the country, commissioning these types of studies is the initial action taken by anti-hunting groups to implement their extreme long-term agenda. If passed, this bill would begin the process of potentially banning traditional ammunition, which would decrease hunting participation due to the substantial increase in the cost of ammunition. Maine has over 200,000 hunting license holders, which provides over $307,000,000 in annual economic impact. Restricting Maine's hunting economy through ammunition bans would reduce critical Pittman-Robertson funding and negatively impact Maine's rural economies.

LD 411 prohibits the state from selling forfeited firearms. If passed, this bill would ban the State of Maine from selling firearms and instead direct them to be destroyed.

Please stay tuned to the NRA-ILA website and your inbox for updates as these bills arrive on the floor.