“Do you want to allow courts to temporarily prohibit a person from having dangerous weapons if law enforcement, family, or household members show that the person poses a significant danger of causing physical injury to themselves or others?”

This editorial board wants Maine courts — and Maine families — to have access to that alternative, to have that access to the courts. We’re endorsing a “Yes” vote on Question 2 on the November ballot.

By the time a petition is circulated to get a referendum question on a statewide ballot, the “normal” legislative process has usually been exhausted. Things can go wrong, and do. (Last week, we took stock of the jam-packed Question 1’s provisions and recommended a “No” vote — would that the question had confined itself to a photo ID requirement.)

In certain circumstances, however, the referendum is the only route, the only way to bring a measure into being — and, having endured failure after failure in Augusta, that has been the conclusion of proponents of a red flag law for Maine. It wound up being our conclusion, too.

In our conversations about the ins and outs of Question 2 — which would introduce a “red flag” law to Maine, a specific kind of Emergency Risk Protection Order allowing a specific group of people, under oath, to petition the courts directly for temporary removal of weapons — members of this editorial board were drawn in by a “why not” frame of thinking.

Why not add this to the gun safety “toolbox,” to the mix?

We acknowledged that the theoretical burden of proof for a referendum question needed to be high, that the “why” also needed to be robust in order to guide our support over the line. The specter of gun violence, by its nature, eases that reasoning.

In our meetings with campaigners for and against, we asked about the downsides of a red flag law for Maine. Among the answers given were that it could be called upon too much; that it might be used vexatiously or abused; that it would siphon valuable time and resources from law enforcement; that it could endanger police; that it could endanger petitioners.

The Maine Fraternal Order of Police, the Maine State Police and the Maine Department of Public Safety all oppose the measure, anticipating an increase in dangerous incidents and warning that neglecting to take potentially dangerous individuals into custody also carries risk.

Opponents of Question 2 also told us that they were concerned the introduction of a red flag law would effectively “wipe out” Maine’s yellow flag law. If that happens, however, it will be a practical outcome, not a legal outcome. It would happen only because the people of Maine favor its use.

Why might they favor it?

They might pursue a red flag order in circumstances where the desired outcome is intervention rather than conviction. They may take stock of an evolving set of circumstances with a family member or loved one — not yet a crisis — and decide that a temporary removal of weapons, within these parameters, is a sound route and in that person’s interest. There are a variety of reasons that 911 might not be the preferred first phone call.

Advocates for Question 2 owe it to Maine, should it pass, to embark on a significant campaign of public education; foremost, that our yellow flag law will still be in place just as before. The utility of any new option is only as good as the number of people who know about it and understand its specific, anticipatory role.

For better or worse, this proposal relies on trust; trust in individual people and families, trust in the legal system and, if they’re called on by a judge, trust in the police. Trust comes from working closely together and clear, open lines of communication. With that in mind, we’d certainly be happier were Maine law enforcement in formal support of Question 2.

Even then, we firmly believe in the value of additional avenues to people concerned about gun violence in Maine. We believe in the potential benefit, for Maine, of a new and less intrusive form of cooperative, communicative protection order.

A red flag law should be valuable to informed Mainers faced with certain threats — the threat of suicide, which for years has accounted for the vast majority of deaths by firearm in our state, chief among them. We hope you will join us in voting “Yes.”

The editorial board of the Maine Trust for Local News, which operates independently of its newsrooms, is composed of opinion editor Siobhán Brett, culture columnist Leslie Bridgers, political columnist Steve Collins, managing director Stefanie Manning, assistant opinion editor Scott Paida and sports columnist Travis Lazarczyk.

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