AUGUSTA, Maine — A proposal to expand background checks on gun purchases cleared the Maine House of Representatives by just one vote on Monday.
Still, it’s unlikely to find enough support to ultimately advance as part of the broader gun control push in Augusta following April’s mass shooting in which a man allegedly killed his parents and their two friends in Bowdoin before wounding a father and his two adult children on Interstate 295 near Yarmouth.
Maine voters rejected a similar proposal in a 2016 referendum, which Gov. Janet Mills has cited in pushing fellow Democrats away from embracing gun control. The Senate has also killed other gun control measures this year. Mills’ office has not responded to a request for comment on her latest stance on the bill.
Numerous Democrats opposed the bill from House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, but the House had just enough support to pass it Monday in a 69-68 vote, sending it to the Senate.
Rep. Vicki Doudera, D-Camden, argued the bill will close “a dangerous loophole” in Maine, which she said has grappled with domestic violence and a “guns-for-drugs trade.” But Republicans said criminals will still find ways around the bill’s requirements while pointing to the outcome of the referendum.
“This bill is really an unnecessary burden,” said Rep. James White, R-Guilford, who is a gunsmith. “It doesn’t fix any problems.”
The bill would expand background checks to private firearm sales, transfers and gun show deals. Sellers who violate the background check requirements would face a fine of up to $1,000. Unlike the 2016 referendum, it would not restrict loaning guns to family members.
Mills had been working with the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine on a compromise package that could include a “straw” purchase ban, though lawmakers already passed a standalone state ban this month mirroring an existing federal ban on sales or transfers of firearms to people prohibited from possessing them.
That package was also expected to possibly include more resources for the state’s “yellow flag” law that allows police and prosecutors to seek a court order restricting the ability of people who have threatened to harm themselves or others to access weapons.
David Trahan, executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, also has said a bill more directly related to the April mass shooting suspect, Joseph Eaton, will likely come next year and require probation-style checks on homes in which violent felons are staying after their release from prison.
Various gun control bills have failed this session in the Democratic-controlled Legislature, including a 72-hour waiting period measure and a ban on various rapid-fire modification devices, while several Republican attempts to loosen gun laws were defeated.
