Responsible gun owners should never have to wait to exercise the right to defend themselves and their property, and the 72-Hour waiting period law is an affront to that right the likes of which has never been seen in our state.

As evidenced by the other gun rights legal proceedings that have transpired across the country, we felt it was important to make sure that the filing of this legal challenge is complete and without any room for error. We appreciate your patience in waiting and the trust you have conveyed to us by way of your support.

We would like to thank our partners at the National Shooting Sports Foundation, without which we would not have the financial means to see this legal challenge through to the end. Together we have enlisted the services of the law firm of Clement & Murphy, whose lawyers represented the challengers in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, a landmark Second Amendment case vindicating the rights of law-abiding New Yorkers to carry handguns for self-defense. They have extensive experience with Supreme Court cases, specifically as they relate to the Second Amendment, and we have every confidence that they will serve this cause well.

I reached out to Senator Collin’s office and requested she lead the national response. I asked for an Inspector General independent investigation to be conducted, she initiated it. I asked her to consider submitting legislation to create continuity between the military and states when dealing with soldiers in need of mental health services and care when deemed a danger to themselves or others. She announced that effort recently. I asked her to examine the perpetrators brain for damage caused in military service, when the military tried to downplay decades of grenade concussion, she did. I went to the Governor and Speaker of the House and helped craft an expansion of crisis intervention mental health service centers to underserved areas. It passed. 

We led, not for political purposes, but to save Maine lives in the future, respect our service members, when in the line of duty, they are injured and need help, before it is too late. We offered policy solutions, when others played political games. We understand national gun control groups are opportunists and would take advantage of the situation to pass laws restricting firearm rights, even though they had nothing to do with or would prevent such a tragedy in the future. They did not disappoint.

What was disappointing was our state leadership’s response. The Senate Judiciary Chair, Anne Carney, (seeking the Senate President seat in 2024) in her quest to clear a path for gun control measures dismissed even the most fundamental rules of respect for the public hearing and legislative process. She is the silent leader of the gun control activists and her desire for new gun control laws weighted the legislative process to benefit those who supported her positions and restricted those who opposed them. Even the most fundamental rules of a democracy were trashed. Speakers in public hearings were restricted to two minutes on all bills that day, supporters of gun control were bused in, while parking for the public was non-existent. A secret meeting, with only Democrats in attendance, was held with Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, ATF. Committee amendments and deals were made behind closed doors and with only one side in attendance. Ironically, even the basics of a democratic process were not followed. So much for threats to democracy! 

In the last newsletter, I highlighted how the Speaker of the House (Rachael Talbot Ross D-Portland) manipulated and arm-twisted votes to pass gun control and I also, in the past exposed how Senate President, Troy Jackson D-Allagash allowed an obscure “Pairing of Votes” by four Democrat Senators, to allow passage of the new 72-hour waiting period requirement when purchasing a firearm. 

That leads to the next dramatic change in Maine politics. Every Democrat and one Independent in leadership positions, state and national, changed their positions or now maintain a public record supporting gun control.

Senate President Troy Jackson, once endorsed by the NRA and the SAM-ILA announced his support for and voted for gun control.  Congressmen Jared Golden and Senator Angus King in dramatic fashion, changed their positions on either banning or registering certain semi-automatic firearms. Rep. Chellie Pingree, 1^st District Congresswoman and Speaker of the House, Rachel Talbot Ross were already a lost cause. The irony of this seismic shift by the Democrats in high places, is none of their gun control laws would have prevented another tragedy in the future. The only thing accomplished is that these leaders are now positioned to receive money and endorsements from the gun control lobby in future elections.

Do not despair if you are a law-abiding firearm owner. We have the courts, the citizen referendum and People’s veto. More importantly, we have elections. This publication is meant to educate you on the issues most important to gun owners and those who care about Maine’s natural resources and more importantly, liberty. We do not tell you how to vote, instead we tell you the truth. Unlike many groups and politicians in fear of political retaliation when calling out our elected officials, we have the courage to tell the truth. We don’t pick sides; we just tell the truth. If an elected official votes our way, we say so and thank them accordingly. Political affiliation is not a consideration. What just happened with Democrats is not our spin or interpretation, it is just the facts. The tragedy in Lewiston reset our political system and unfortunately, it made worse the urban vs. rural divide in Maine. This is divisive, not just on firearm issues, but urban legislators tend not to support trapping, hunting, fishing and access for traditional outdoor uses.

The reality is, every Republican, mostly representing rural areas voted last session against gun control and nearly every urban Democrat voted for it. Sadly, Maine is going the way of the US Congress. The Blue Dog Democrat is going extinct, and the national gun control lobby are buying the laws they want. The truth is in front of you. 

I leave you with this final thought as you read this SAM-ILA election guide. SAM was founded by visionary outdoor leaders 49 years ago. We play fair and we seek to always lead with temperance, integrity and respect. This is our founding mission; we will not shy away from our role and we also understand that leading can sometimes be a lonely place.                   

Whether you agree or not, U.S. Senator Angus King has sought to portray himself as an independent. Yes, he caucuses with the Democrats and more times than not, votes with them on key issues. But on gun rights, he was moderate. The one thing he did in the past that won him points with us, was tell the truth about modern semi-automatic firearms. Eleven years ago, he wrote the best explanation we had seen to date explain- ing why AR-style rifles are no different than traditional semi-automatic firearms used for hunting and recreational shooting. He got it right for the last decade, but we do not understand why he has it so wrong today. Here is the 2013 OPED Angus King wrote in the Bangor Daily News. The italicized section is clear and more importantly, cuts through the political rhetoric and falsehoods promoted by gun control advocates.

In the coming days, the U.S. Senate will take up gun control. In my short tenure, no issue has generated as much interest, public engagement or passion as this one. As the debate in the Senate begins, I think it is appropriate that I lay out my position as clearly as possible to the peo- ple of Maine. In thinking this through, I have sat with gun owners, hunters, long- time gun control advocates and citizens from across Maine. After a great deal of thought, here is where I stand:

1. The problem of gun violence in our society simply cannot be ignored. Every year, more than 30,000 people die from gun-shots — either accidental, suicide or crime related. Gun murders now total more than 10,000 a year — which is the equivalent of a Newtown tragedy every single day. Put another way, it’s as if a town the size of Auburn was wiped out — every man, woman and child — every year, year in and year out. No society that calls itself civilized can accept self-inflicted tragedy on this scale.
2. The Second Amendment is a fun- damental and important part of our Constitution and must be respected and observed, and any legislation we pass must square with its terms and respect the rights of law-abiding citizens. I believe the steps outlined below meet that test.
3. Our experience here in Maine demonstrates that widespread gun own- ership does not equate to widespread gun crime; we have one of the highest percent- ages of gun ownership in the country and one of the lowest rates of gun violence. This suggests to me that the key questions are “who can obtain a gun?” and “what are reasonable ways that guns can be kept out of the wrong hands?”
4. I have therefore concluded that the single most effective step we can take is to expand the current system of criminal background checks to all firearm trans- actions, with common sense exceptions for transfers within families. Just as is the case under the current gun dealer-only system, this can be done without creating a national gun registry and without burdening law-abiding citizens. Keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and those few mentally ill persons who are prone to violence is the best defense we have against gun crime.
5. We should make it a federal crime to traffic guns between states for the purpose of providing them to people who could not purchase them legally and increase the penalties for straw purchasing — buying a gun for transfer to another who is legally prohibited from purchasing it themselves.
6. It is time to limit magazine size to no more than 10 rounds. Gun owners and sportsmen have told me that this limitation would not significantly inhibit their use of firearms and could save lives, particularly in a Newtown or Aurora-type situation.
7. After a great deal of thought, however, I am not prepared to support the proposed ban on so-called assault weapons — principally because I just don’t think it will work. It is important to emphasize that these weapons have exactly the same firing mechanism and functionality as the common semi-automatic hunting rifles owned by thousands of Maine residents. Although their looks may be more menacing, they do not shoot any faster, farther, or with more power than conventional hunting rifles; and contrary to popular belief, they are not fully automatic, with the ability to spray bullets with one pull of the trigger. In addition, the vast majority of gun crimes — well over 90 percent — involve handguns, not rifles, assault or otherwise.

In the past, when evaluating Senator Angus King’s support of gun control measures, his positions on issues like expanding background checks, limiting magazine capacity, strengthening the penalties for gun trafficking were well known. His thoughtful opposition to banning semi-automatic firearms was significant enough to earn him a decent grade from the SAM-ILA. In addition, his advocacy on conservation policy was exemplary. But that was then, and this is now. Unfortunately, many of King’s positions have changed, based upon his answers to the SAM-ILA 2024 pre-election questionnaire. He now supports a ban on certain semi-automatic firearms, raising the age from 18 to 21 to purchase the same, supports Red Flag laws with “due process protections” not sure what that means and, is now undecided on “Removing limitations on the civil liability of gun manufacturers” and, maintains the position in his words “wants to “better understand limitations on gun manufacturers and if there are similar limitations on manufacturers of other products.” Let me save him some time. Repealing civil protections for gun manufacturers is the end of firearm manufacturing in the United States. Absent these legal protections, lawyers for Michael Bloomberg and his ilk will sue manufacturers out of existence. Angus King is smart and experienced. He knows this and it is, by far, his most troubling recent change in position. Why Sen. King has changed on these critical positions is unknown to the SAM-ILA. Sen. King’s current positions outlined above clearly suggest his support of the Second Amendment is fading fast. Because of his new stance on ARs and gun control, Senator King deserves the SAM-ILA board’s lowest grade: “F”.

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