The Second Regular Session of the 131st Maine Legislative Session is in statutory adjournment and is expected to return soon for Veto Day and sine die.
The 2024 session had few to no bills related to hunting, fishing, and trapping, but it had firearm-related bills with heated debate that made it to the Governor’s desk. Here is a status update on those bills.
LD 2224, the Governor’s bill, was signed into law by the Governor on April 26th. LD 2224 will make administrative changes to Maine’s Yellow Flag law and require all advertised firearm sales to go through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
Yesterday, the Governor announced she would let LD 2238 become law without her signature. This bill requires a three-day waiting period before an individual may receive a firearm that they lawfully purchase, with limited exemptions.
Also, yesterday, Governor Mills vetoed LD 2086, originally addressing the disposition of firearms that had been forfeited to the State as part of a criminal sentence. During the committee process, LD 2086 was amended into something drastically different. As amended, the bill would have banned commonly owned firearms and firearm parts by adding to the definition of a “machine gun,” to include any device, part, or combination of parts designed to increase the rate of fire of a semi-automatic firearm. Even the Governor recognized this poorly written bill would cause unintended consequences for law-abiding sportsmen and gun owners.
The 2024 legislative session is not over until Sine Die is gaveled in and the Sportsmen’s Alliance will continue to monitor activities in the legislature and throughout in the Pine Tree State. You never know when issues that sportsmen need to be aware of may arise.
On our interactive map, you can view the bills the Sportsmen’s Alliance monitored during the legislative session. Please share this message with your family and friends, as sportsmen throughout the state must continue to stay actively involved in defending our hunting, fishing, and trapping heritage for present and future generations to enjoy.
About the Sportsmen’s Alliance: The Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense and research. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
