National gun control group upgrades Maine’s rating after response to mass shooting

A national gun control advocacy group upgraded Maine in its annual scorecard Tuesday after crediting lawmakers with passing various measures following the October 2023 mass shooting in Lewiston.

The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence gave Maine a C+ in the 2024 version of its Annual Gun Law Scorecard that ranks every state and also looks at gun death rates. That came after Giffords, the nonprofit led by former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Arizona, who survived getting shot in the head during a 2011 assassination attempt, gave Maine an F in 2022 and a D- last year, reflecting what had been lax gun laws in a rural state with a strong hunting culture.

But things changed dramatically after a 40-year-old Army reservist from Bowdoin used a semi-automatic rifle to kill 18 people and injure 13 others at a Lewiston bowling alley and bar on Oct. 25, 2023, the state’s deadliest-ever shooting and the country’s worst that year. The Democratic-controlled Legislature responded by expanding background checks, investing in violence prevention and mental health initiatives and requiring 72-hour waiting periods.

Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat who opposed past gun control efforts, vetoed a bump stock ban and let the bill requiring 72-hour waiting periods for gun purchases become law without her signature. The Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine and Gun Owners of Maine filed a lawsuit in November that seeks to strike down the waiting period law.

Giffords cited the waiting period law, expanded background checks and a $1 million investment in community violence prevention programs in upgrading Maine to a C+ this year. Lindsay Nichols, the organization’s policy director, said Maine “stood out” nationally for passing various laws and for jumping up more than one grade.

“Maine’s jump is significant,” Nichols said.

The Giffords scorecard said Maine ranks 21st nationally for its “gun law strength” and 27th for having a gun death rate of 14.1 fatalities per 100,000 people. It called on legislators to ban bump stocks, ban ghost guns, repeal Maine’s permitless carry law and pass “gun industry accountability legislation” that could allow lawsuits against firearm manufacturers.

Opponents of gun control said they were not surprised with the higher grade. Gun Owners of Maine Vice President Joshua Raines said that since Giffords ranks states highly if they “restrict law-abiding citizens from exercising their Second Amendment rights, we look forward to them needing to downgrade our ranking as soon as possible.”

While Democrats saw their State House majorities narrow after Republicans picked up several seats last month, more gun control proposals could come before Maine voters in the next year. After the Legislature did not take up a late effort in the spring to pass a “red flag” law, advocates launched a campaign to put a red flag or “extreme risk protection order” measure before Maine voters via a referendum.

Red flag laws, which 21 states have adopted, allow both family members and police to ask judges to confiscate weapons from people deemed dangerous, while the existing “yellow flag” law does not allow family members to directly petition a court.

Mills worked with gun-rights advocates to craft the 2019 yellow flag law and has not thrown her support behind a red flag law. A commission she formed to review the Lewiston mass shooting found the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office had probable cause to use Maine’s yellow flag on Robert Card II about a month before the shooting after family and peers repeatedly shared concerns about his mental state, threats to “shoot up” places and access to guns.

Police instead conducted welfare checks at Card’s Bowdoin residence in September 2023 and left when he did not answer the door.

Mills proposed and signed into law earlier this year tweaks to the yellow flag law meant to make it easier for police to take a person into protective custody before the person receives a mental health evaluation and a court hearing. Mills also signed off on extending background checks to advertised gun sales and investing in mental health initiatives added to the state budget.

Nacole Palmer, executive director of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition, said supporters need to collect about 7,500 more signatures to reach their goal of 75,000 signatures before submitting the petition to the secretary of state. It could appear on the ballot either in November 2025 or November 2026, Palmer said Tuesday.

“This rating reflects the progress we have made so far in Maine by coming together to pass common-sense gun safety laws to save lives,” Palmer said. “But it also demonstrates how much work we have left to do.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story included an incorrect number of fatalities per 100,00 people in Maine.