Maine’s 72-hour waiting period for gun purchases will remain in place, after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of an April ruling by the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
Maine enacted the waiting period for certain gun sales after the October 2023 mass shooting in Lewiston, in which 18 people were killed and 13 injured.
The goal of the “cooling off” period was “to decrease suicides and homicides carried out after impulsive firearm purchases,” according to court records.
The law took effect in August 2024 but was quickly challenged.
Andrea Beckwith, who owns an organization that offers gun training to victims of domestic violence, along with a coalition of individuals and businesses, sued Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey to stop the law, which they argued violated their 2nd Amendment rights.
A federal granted a preliminary injunction in the case, Beckwith, et al v. Frey, but the decision was overturned in the First Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court decision not to hear the case upholds the appellate court’s ruling.
