Legal/Law/Criminal Justice and Reform

Supreme Court Mulling Whether To Hear Case Against Maine’s Waiting-Period Law

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The Supreme Court is considering whether to take up a case challenging a three-day waiting period imposed by Maine on firearms purchases.

Maine’s waiting period took effect in 2024 when Democratic Gov. Janet Mills refused to veto the legislation, instead allowing it to become law without her signature. After United States District Judge Lance E. Walker of the District of New Mexico, a Trump appointee, ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit overturned the decision, prompting the petition to the Supreme Court.

“When it comes to defending oneself and one’s loved ones, time is often of the essence.  Take, for instance, the victims of domestic violence served by petitioner Andrea Beckwith, a survivor herself who has dedicated her life to empowering women in crisis and helping them obtain the tools and training they need to feel comfortable defending themselves,” the petition says. “Or the couple who sought to purchase a firearm from petitioner A&G Shooting after they suffered a home invasion. Or the young woman harassed by a stalker who came into the store after local police advised her to buy a firearm since police are an hour’s drive away from her home.”

“Yet owing to a recent Maine law, individuals facing such dire straits are left defenseless for at least three days,” the petition continued, while noting that the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit had struck down a waiting period on firearms purchases while overruling a decision in favor of New Mexico by Senior United States District Judge James O. Browning, a George W. Bush appointee, creating a “circuit split.” When appellate courts differ on how to approach similar cases, the Supreme Court is more likely to take the case.

Maine’s state Legislature enacted the waiting period following an October 2023 mass shooting in Lewiston by an Army reservist with a history of mental health issues. Second Amendment Foundation Senior Director of Legal Operations William Sack told the Daily Caller News Foundation he hoped the Supreme Court would grant the petition.

“SAF is thrilled to see the issue of cooling off periods presented to the Supreme Court,” Sack said. “Consistent with the 10th Circuit’s ruling in Ortega, we agree that these waiting periods – which serve no purpose but to delay the exercise of someone’s rights upon a generalized suspicion that anyone buying a gun is a threat to themselves or others – violate the Second Amendment. We would welcome a national ruling striking down these laws.”

Maine faces a Sept. 28 deadline to respond to the petition.