(The Center Square) — Maine’s Attorney General Aaron Frey is asking a federal appeals court judge to reinstate a court suspended three-day waiting period to purchase a firearm.
In a filing in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, Frey asks the panel of judges to overturn U.S. District Court Judge Lance Walker’s ruling blocking a state law requiring Mainers to wait 72 hours before getting a firearm they have purchased. Walker’s ruling suspended the rule while the lawsuit is being considered.
But Frey argues that the waiting period is aimed at preventing suicides and homicides and cited “undisputed evidence” that the waiting period saves lives.
“Any harm to plaintiffs is speculative at best and pales in comparison to the harm prevented when lives are saved,” Frey, a Democrat, wrote in the 11-page appeal.
In his ruling, Walker sided with the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine and several gun sellers who argued that the law violates the Second Amendment. Walker said the waiting period is “indiscriminate” because it applies to all firearm purchasers regardless of whether they pose a threat, and said the plaintiffs are “likely to succeed” on the merits of the case.
The 72-hour “cooling off” period was a provision of a broader gun-control bill Democratic lawmakers passed through the House and Senate in response to the Oct. 25, 2023, Lewiston massacre, when an Army reservist opened fire in a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston, killing 13 people and injuring 18 others.
Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, allowed the 72-hour waiting period to become law without her signature, saying she was “conflicted” over the measure after considering both sides of the gun control debate.
The restrictions prompted a lawsuit by a coalition of gun rights groups who argued that they violated the constitutional rights of lawful citizens and were inconsistent with the nation’s history of firearm regulation.
“Responsible gun owners should never have to wait to exercise the right to defend themselves and their property, and the 72-hour waiting period law is an affront to that right the likes of which has never been seen in our state,” the group said.
Gun control groups welcomed Frey’s decision to appeal the ruling, arguing that the waiting period is aimed at preventing suicides and gun violence in the state.
“Suicide is the leading cause of gun death in Maine, especially for men,” Nacole Palmer, executive director of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition, said in a statement criticizing the court’s decision. “This ruling is an exception to established law, and it’s an exception that will cost lives and cause Maine families heartbreak and loss.”
