I’m sure it won’t be a surprise that I support passing an Extreme Risk Protection Order, a “red flag law,” here in Maine. Am I optimistic it will pass? I am not. But we aren’t attempting to reinvent the wheel, here. Twenty-one other states — that’s almost half the country! — have laws like this.

When Maine came up with its yellow flag law … now that was a bit of wheel reinvention. 

Opposition to the red flag law seems to be based in thinking that Maine is unlike all those other states; that we’re special, maybe even better. We don’t need a red flag law, our yellow one works fine.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve engaged in a lot of Maine exceptionalism. (And obviously I do think we’re special, and the best.)

But when it comes to gun violence, we should face that we aren’t that special. In addition to the constant trickle of suicides and murders that make up the bulk of boring, everyday gun violence, we’ve had the big, flashy mass shooting experience as well. 

There’s also been a lot of hollering about due process by opponents of the law. On the one hand, due process is super important. On the other hand, it’s 2025 and the Supreme Court said it’s fine for armed and masked agents of the state to detain American citizens based on race and ethnicity — oops, I mean, “reasonable suspicion” that they may be immigrants.

Among the 21 states that already have red flag laws, it’s not just the blue lefty states you’d think, unless you consider Florida and Indiana to be anti-gun socialist hellscapes. I haven’t been in awhile but I’m pretty sure Florida isn’t one giant gun-free zone.

Also, there is very much due process built into the — well, the process. Petitions to a district court judge to temporarily restrict access to firearms and the ability to purchase new ones would need to be supported by sworn statements. The subject of a petition would have to be notified and would be entitled to a hearing within 14 days before an order could be issued.

In emergencies, a court could issue an immediate order restricting firearm access for up to 14 days without first notifying the subject. A subsequent hearing would be needed to extend that order. Hearings give both sides of an issue the opportunity to present their evidence. 

I think the real difference a red flag law would end up making is not in the horrific but rare cases of mass shootings. It’s in the suicides. I’ve known people who have taken their own lives. Statistically, many of you reading this probably have too.

There are almost always signs beforehand; family and friends noticing changes in behavior, noticing things going wrong. But as most people don’t realize until they’re in the situation — or, as in the case of the Lewiston shooter, the facts and timelines are front page news for weeks — there are very few ways to intervene before it’s too late when a person is on a downward spiral. In terms of personal freedoms, temporarily removing firearms is a lot better than involuntary hospitalizations. 

What of our unique yellow flag law? Well, it’s true that it’s use after October 2023 has skyrocketed. Gov. Janet Mills recently said, “The [yellow flag] law is preventing suicide and other violent behavior; it puts the responsibility for protecting public safety squarely on public officials, without putting the responsibility on family members, neighbors, bystanders or other private citizens.”

That may be true. But we’re missing a big asterisk here, and that is the law was not widely utilized until a man who had pretty much every danger indicator in the book flashing above his head, whose family, friends, employer and even members of the U.S. Army had concerns about, murdered 18 people in Lewiston.

Also, in my opinion, the yellow flag law requirements that the person in question be taken into custody by police and receive a mental health evaluation are too burdensome on the current systems we have.

The mental health system in Maine — which is less a system and more like a box of multiple jigsaw puzzle pieces tossed together — is constantly strained and at capacity. You can’t just go order up a mental health evaluation like you’re going to a drive-through.

Then, of course, there’s the police aspect of the situation. What if they don’t respond? What if the department is at capacity and simply doesn’t have the manpower at a critical moment? In a perfect world, the yellow flag law would work well, and there have certainly been successful uses of it. But my dad always said that the biggest room in the world is room for improvement. We have a chance to improve the existing legal picture. I think we should.