
Nacole Palmer, executive director of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition, speaks about petitions for a referendum on a proposed red flag law during a news conference at the Maine State House in Augusta on Thursday. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
AUGUSTA — Gun safety advocates turned in petitions Thursday to force a November referendum on a red flag law that would make it easier for police to remove weapons from people deemed a threat to themselves or others.
The Maine Gun Safety Coalition faced an end-of-the-day deadline to hand in to the state at least 67,682 signatures from Maine voters in order to get the issue on the ballot. The group said it collected more than 80,000 signatures.
“There is no single policy that will end all gun violence, but extreme risk protection orders provide a life-saving tool,” Nacole Palmer, executive director of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition, said during a news conference at the State House Thursday.
“They save lives by empowering family members to go directly to a court to petition when a loved one is in crisis and they pose a threat to themselves or others. Through due process, a judge can temporarily limit someone’s access to deadly weapons until they get the help they need.”
Leading gun rights advocates vowed to fight the referendum, arguing that Maine’s current risk protection law is working.
David Trahan, the executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, a powerful lobbying group for gun owners and sportsmen, was disappointed to learn the referendum would move forward pending certification of the signatures by the Department of the Secretary of State. He was a key architect of Maine’s current yellow flag law.
“We worked hard to build a good law with one goal in mind, which was to make Maine a safer place,” said Trahan. “That was our goal, and we did that.”
The referendum campaign is the latest step by Maine gun safety advocates to try and implement a red flag law, also known as an extreme risk protection order, in the wake of the mass shooting in Lewiston that killed 18 people in October 2023.
Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, sponsored red flag legislation last year while serving as House speaker, but the bill never made it to a floor vote in either the House or the Senate.
Twenty-one states have red flag laws that provide for quick intervention and the ability to temporarily remove weapons when a person is at serious risk of harming themselves or others, according to the gun violence prevention organization Everytown for Gun Safety.
Maine is the only state that has a so-called yellow flag law, which includes the additional requirement that people undergo a mental health evaluation to determine risk before a judge can order the temporary confiscation of weapons.
The strongest red flag laws, and what the referendum is proposing, also provide a pathway for family or household members, in addition to law enforcement, to petition a court to temporarily remove someone’s weapons. Maine’s yellow flag law can only be invoked by police.

Nacole Palmer, executive director of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition, speaks at a news conference Thursday about petitions for a referendum on a proposed red flag law. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
Critics of the yellow flag law have said that it’s too burdensome and time-consuming for law enforcement, although its use has spiked as awareness has spread and police training has increased in the wake of the Lewiston shooting.
Supporters of red flag laws say they provide an important path for families, and a more streamlined way for law enforcement, to restrict a person’s access to firearms. They also say red flags do not stigmatize mental illness by equating it with violence the way Maine’s yellow flag law does.
SECOND AMENDMENT CONCERNS
Opponents say red flag laws lack due process and infringe on Second Amendment rights by making it too easy to have someone’s weapons taken away.
The chair of the state committee that investigated the Lewiston shooting told lawmakers Wednesday that the yellow flag law has been used 661 times since 2020, with 580 of those instances occurring after the Lewiston shooting in October 2023.
The dramatic increase in the use of the yellow flag law indicates an additional tool is needed to help deescalate potentially threatening situations, Palmer said. The red flag law would be in addition to the existing yellow flag — not a replacement for it, she said.
“We need to have every tool in place in order to prevent these tragedies before they happen. We want to make sure there isn’t another gunman that falls through the cracks,” she said. “This would be another tool available to law enforcement, and the only tool available to families if they are worried their loved one is a danger to themselves or others.”
She said instances in which red flag laws are abused, such as a disgruntled relative or spouse going through a divorce trying to initiate a removal of weapons out of retaliation, are “exceedingly rare.” In such cases, a judge still has discretion about whether to grant a petition for removal of a weapon, Palmer said, and there would be legal ramifications for anyone who tried to misuse the law.
Trahan, the leader of the Sportsman’s Alliance, said Maine’s current law was carefully crafted to protect public safety, as well as the rights of gun owners. He said Maine’s yellow flag law has been used eight to 11 times a week compared to Massachusetts’ red flag law, which is only used eight to 11 times a year.
He said the yellow flag law was amended last year to be easier for police to use.
“Once the public learns what has been done with our (yellow flag) law and the fact that it’s now being utilized effectively, they’re going to reject this thing,” he said.
Laura Whitcomb, president of the Gun Owners of Maine, said her group would “absolutely” organize a campaign against the referendum. She also predicted the measure would be defeated once people realize the referendum would effectively end what she called due process protections for gun owners. A red flag law still requires a hearing and order from a judge, but it does not require a mental evaluation first.
“While the Maine Gun Safety Coalition continues to utilize emotional pleas in an attempt to manipulate the people of Maine, Gun Owners of Maine will stand ready with the facts, and will continue to defend the rights of responsible gun owners in the face of the anti-gun rights lobby’s attempt to turn Maine into states like New York, Illinois and California,” Whitcomb said in a written statement.
REDUCING SUICIDES ALSO A GOAL
Many of those who spoke at Thursday’s news conference emphasized that the law could prevent suicides in addition to reducing gun violence generally.
The majority of gun violence in Maine involves suicide, which is also the leading cause of firearm death in the state, particularly for men, said Tony Owens, an emergency medicine physician at Maine Medical Center. “It’s common sense that someone in crisis shouldn’t have access to deadly weapons until they get the help they need,” he said.
Owens, who said he is a gun owner, lost his brother-in-law to suicide by firearm.

Arthur Barnard, a citizen sponsor and the father of a Lewiston shooting victim, speaks about the referendum on a proposed red flag law during the news conference at the Maine State House in Augusta on Thursday. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
“In these instances, it’s often family who are the first to know or realize their loved one is in crisis,” Owens said. “That’s why, by empowering family members to get help when a loved one is in crisis, these extreme risk protection orders can help saves lives.”
Also speaking Thursday was Arthur Barnard, whose son Arthur Strout was killed in the Lewiston shooting. Barnard said he was furious that lawmakers failed to pass a red flag law last year, and it prompted him to join the campaign to get the issue on the ballot.
“I am confident Mainers will do the right thing,” Barnard said. “Gun rights and responsibility aren’t in opposition. Mainers know we can respect people’s rights to own guns and also do more to keep our kids and communities safe.”
The Maine Department of the Secretary of State has 30 days to certify the signatures submitted. The department is also working to certify signatures for a separate referendum that seeks to require voters to show a photo ID in order to cast a ballot. More than 170,000 signatures supporting that initiative were handed in this month.
Staff Writer Randy Billings contributed to this story.
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