By Dave Workman
Maine voters have passed a “red flag” law which the gun prohibition lobby claims will prevent more tragedies like the Lewiston mass shooting two years ago, but opponents of the measure issued a statement Tuesday night declaring the state will be less safe.
According to WMTW news, Question No. 2 is passing with 63.2 percent (252,687) of the vote, while the “no” vote trailed badly at 36.8 percent (147,022).
The Associated Press—calling proponents of the restrictive new law “gun safety advocates”—said the push for the new law started after the Lewiston massacre, which claimed 18 lives at two different locations in October 2023.
Maine’s so-called “yellow flag” law was reportedly characterized as “too weak” to have prevented killer Robert Card from carrying out the mass killing. Card, an Army reservist, was found dead after a massive manhunt.
Question 2 was sponsored by the Maine Gun Safety Coalition. Executive Director Nicole Palmer stated, “Maine voters have taken the safety of our communities into our own hands by passing common-sense, responsible gun legislation that will save lives and help keep our kids and families safe, not just from the horrors of a tragedy like Lewiston, but from the devastating impacts of everyday gun violence.”
However, gun control advocates have made similar statements in the past, across the country, when their measures have passed or been adopted legislatively. It has not always worked out that way. In Washington state, after passing two restrictive gun control measures four years apart (2014 and 2018), crime data showed that homicides actually went up for several years, and have only recently begun to slow down, but still remain above pre-election levels.
According to Maine Public, “While Question 2 won convincingly in liberal strongholds in Greater Portland and along the coast, early returns on Tuesday showed it also garnered support in rural precincts in nearly every Maine county. And in Lewiston, voters approved the measure by a 36-percentage-point margin.”
The ”yellow flag” law remains in effect, though. Supporters say it is more effective. As noted by Maine Public and other news agencies, the “red flag” measure was opposed by Democrat Gov. Janet Mills, who had crafted the “yellow flag” law in cooperation with the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine six years ago.
The “No on 2” campaign issued the following statement, as quoted by the Associated Press story:
“Maine just passed the biggest, far-reaching piece of gun control in its history.
“A combination of hundreds of thousands of dollars of out of state funding being pumped into the Yes on 2 campaign, the proponents twisting the truth about the Lewiston shootings and current law, and the intentionally vague language presented to the Maine people by the Secretary of State would have taken a miracle to overcome.
“Add to that the millions of dollars spent by the No on One campaign, and many of those voters being exposed to the aforementioned ambiguous wording for the first time when they got their ballots was a recipe for disaster for gun rights and due process in Maine.
“Our state is less safe with the passage of Red Flag Gun Confiscation, and we will continue to work to defend and promote our inalienable right to keep and bear arms the same as we always have.”
Two years ago, the Second Amendment Foundation launched an effort called “Capture the Flag.” At the time, the effort focused on six states, California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Washington.
According to the SAF website, the Capture the Flag initiative “was envisioned to challenge Red Flag Laws that deprive individuals of their Right to Keep and Bear Arms based on evidentiary standards that offend constitutional notions. The Initiative’s inaugural case, Willey v. Brown, was filed in Maryland on August 22, 2023.”
