Estimated studying time: 1 minute
Voters in Maine have authorised Query 2, adopting a purple flag regulation that can substitute the state’s present “yellow flag” course of for quickly eradicating firearms from people deemed a hazard to themselves or others.
The Related Press referred to as the race Tuesday night time, with the measure passing by a cushty margin.
Supporters celebrated the outcome at an occasion in Portland led by the Maine Gun Security Coalition.
Talking to the group, board member Nacole Palmer referred to as the vote “a alternative for a safer future,” saying Mainers had rejected the concept that “gun rights and gun accountability” are mutually unique.
The brand new regulation will make it simpler for relations and regulation enforcement to petition a court docket to take away weapons from somebody thought of in danger.
Below Maine’s current yellow flag regulation, police should first take an individual into protecting custody and procure a medical analysis earlier than searching for a court docket order to grab weapons.
Purple flag legal guidelines, against this, enable petitions with out that medical step, streamlining the method however elevating issues about due course of protections for gun homeowners.
The controversy round Query 2 intensified within the aftermath of the 2023 Lewiston mass capturing, which left 18 individuals lifeless.
Proponents argued {that a} purple flag system might need prevented the tragedy by permitting earlier intervention, whereas opponents stated the yellow flag regulation, enacted in 2020 and used greater than 1,100 occasions since, was already working and included stronger safeguards for particular person rights.
In keeping with the Maine Division of Public Security, 1,154 yellow flag circumstances have been processed statewide, with most coming after the Lewiston assault.
Those that voted “no” on Query 2 warned that the brand new regulation might invite false claims and weaken protections for lawful gun homeowners.
Gov. Janet Mills, who supported the prevailing yellow flag system, has indicated it protects each security and constitutional rights.
With voters choosing a broader purple flag regulation, Maine joins about 20 different U.S. states that now enable courts to problem Excessive Danger Safety Orders (ERPOs).
The regulation is anticipated to take impact later this yr following certification by the Secretary of State.
*** Purchase and Promote on GunsAmerica! ***
