Advocates and opponents of a statewide referendum to establish a red flag law are stepping up their campaigns with a little over one month to go before Election Day.

Despite hundreds of thousands of dollars having been raised, both sides have been relatively quiet to date about the proposal that would make it easier to confiscate the weapons of a person in crisis. The election is not expected to draw especially high turnout, as there are no state or national races, though the two statewide referendums on the ballot could give numbers a boost.

Activity around the Question 2 campaign has ticked up in the last week. On Monday, supporters released their first television ad on the heels of opponents launching a new campaign against the referendum. The two sides also met Tuesday night in a town hall forum hosted by WGME.

More events and advertising are planned as the Nov. 4 election nears, including a second televised debate expected for the end of October.

Maine currently has a unique risk protection order in place, dubbed the yellow flag law. It can only be initiated by law enforcement and requires a mental health evaluation before a petition may be filed with the court — a step that states with red flag laws don’t require.

If Question 2 passes, family or household members would be allowed to directly petition a judge to temporarily restrict a person’s access to firearms if they are suspected of being a significant danger to themselves or others.

New ad released, opposition group launched

The citizen-initiated referendum was brought forward after lawmakers failed to take action on a red flag proposal in the legislative session immediately following the 2023 mass shooting in Lewiston that killed 18 people and injured 13 others.

On Monday, supporters of the red flag initiative released their first televised ad, featuring Arthur Barnard, whose son, Artie Strout, was killed in the shooting at Schemengees Bar & Grille.

Barnard, who has been a vocal advocate for gun control measures, recounts the night of the shooting in the ad and says that a red flag law could have given Lewiston shooter Robert Card’s family the ability to go directly to a court to have his guns taken away.

“Maine’s laws were too weak to save my son’s life,” he says. “Vote yes on 2 to change that.”

The ad came shortly after a group of opponents led by the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine kicked off a “No on 2” campaign last Thursday. David Trahan, executive director of the alliance, said the group will be hosting a series of discussions starting Oct. 8 in Bangor, followed by other locations around the state.

 “It’s one of the most complicated policies you’ll ever see on a ballot,” Trahan said. “The people who are enforcing these laws are high-level law enforcement, lawyers and judges. All of that is very complex and difficult to explain.”

Trahan and other opponents have acknowledged that they are facing a significant fundraising gap as the election approaches, but said they are undeterred.

Two ballot committees opposing the measure, Protect ME — No Red Flag and Keep Maine Safe, have raised less than $20,000 combined, including only $500 from out-of-state donors, as of the most recent campaign finance filings, which cover spending and donations through June 30.

The main supporting group — Safe Schools, Safe Communities — has received nearly $500,000 in contributions and loans.

“I don’t think we’re going to raise anywhere near what the other side raises, but that’s irrelevant to us,” Trahan said.

Two sides meet to make their case at forum

In the WGME forum Tuesday, Trahan and Rep. Jennifer Poirier, R-Skowhegan, advocated against the referendum. David Moltz, a retired psychiatrist and member of the Maine Association of Psychiatric Physicians, and Anne Jordan, Maine’s former commissioner of public safety and executive director of the commission that investigated the Lewiston shooting, advocated for Question 2.

Jordan and Moltz argued the shooting was a result of a flaw in the system and highlighted a need for a red flag law. Poirier and Trahan said the yellow flag law would have been sufficient had it been used properly by police – and pointed out that it has been used successfully many times since.

“(The family) did what they were supposed to, they reported. The officers are the ones that didn’t act,” Trahan said, emphasizing that the Army also failed to act to address the threat posed by Card, an Army reservist.

Due process regarding the Second Amendment was also a central issue in the debate.

Poirier said she believes it is important to keep the current process where police take the lead and conduct a mental health evaluation. Jordan argued, however, that allowing families to initiate the process is simply another tool for ensuring public safety.

“The passage of Question 2 would allow Mainers to have another tool in their toolbox to approach and correct and try to get help and to get an order in place,” she said.

Trahan pushed back, saying that the red flag proposal has a different due process standard than what is in the yellow flag law. He and other opponents of the measure have pointed to a difference in evidentiary standards between the two laws as a reason the red flag referendum should be rejected.

The red flag proposal would allow a court to grant a temporary order based on “good cause” that the person in question poses a significant risk to themselves or others. The court also could issue a final order — allowing for confiscation of weapons for up to one year — based on a “preponderance of the evidence,” which is a lower evidentiary standard than the bar of “clear and convincing evidence” in the existing yellow flag law.

Organizers of the referendum have said the standards in the red flag proposal are in line with what the state already requires for protection from abuse orders.

Evidentiary standards vary among states with red flag laws. New Jersey, for example, has the same standards as Maine’s proposal, with a “good cause” burden of proof required to remove weapons short term and a “preponderance of the evidence” burden for a longer confiscation, according to data from the Center for Gun Violence Solutions.