AUGUSTA — Under intense pressure and the threat of a lawsuit from Republicans and gun rights groups, Democrats reversed course and agreed to hold a public hearing on a citizens initiative that would make it easier to temporarily remove access to firearms from people who are in a crisis.

The hearing, scheduled for 3 p.m. Wednesday, will focus on a citizen initiative that is headed toward a statewide referendum in November. The proposal calls for Maine voters to enact an extreme risk protection order, also known as a “red flag” law, which would allow a family member to petition a court to temporarily remove access to firearms for someone deemed a danger to themselves or others.

Maine currently has a “yellow flag” law, which can only be initiated by police, who can only seek a court order after taking that individual into protective custody and providing them with a mental health evaluation.

Republicans have been pushing for a public hearing since Democrats, who control both chambers, refused to schedule one in the last weeks of the session, citing the hearing that lawmakers held on a similar proposal last session and the fact that it will ultimately be decided by voters anyway.

Republicans accused Democrats of violating a state law enacted in 2019 that requires a public hearing on any citizen initiative that is received when lawmakers are in session.

Republicans announced shortly before 11:30 p.m. Monday that there would be public hearing. Moments before that announcement, Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, told state senators to expect an additional public hearing to soon be announced, though she didn’t provide details.

“I’m relieved that my Democrat colleagues finally realized they could not get away with silencing the voices of Maine citizens to limit criticism of this radical gun-control proposal,” Senate Republican Leader Trey Stewart, R-Presque Isle, said in a written statement Monday night. “Even the most rabid gun-control activists realized that breaking the law to silence their opposition was not an acceptable way to move their agenda forward.”

The citizens initiative emerged in the wake of the mass shooting in Lewiston in October 2023 and is certain to generate intense debate over gun rights and restrictions ahead of the November vote.

Tensions over the call for a public hearing escalated during a late-night session in the Senate last week in which Republicans tried to force the issue through a series of floor votes. The votes fell along party lines with Republicans voting to move forward with a series of motions aimed at forcing action on a public hearing while Democrats voted against them.

Democrats resisted holding a hearing, saying it’s not required in the Maine Constitution. And last week, Daughtry said that a law enacted by a prior legislature could not bind the current group of lawmakers, which Republicans decried as “a dangerous ruling.”

The National Rifle Association announced last week that it was joining a planned lawsuit with the Sportsmen’s Alliance of Maine and the Gun Owners of Maine.

In a fundraising appeal, SAM speculated that Democrats don’t want to hold a hearing because it will highlight opposition, including from Gov. Janet Mills, law enforcement and other Democratic lawmakers.

Mills, a former attorney general, helped negotiate the state’s current “yellow flag” law and has opposed previous attempts to enact a “red flag” law, which 21 states have.

‘WHAT’S BEST FOR MAINE PEOPLE’

In a written statement Tuesday, Daughtry defended members of the Judiciary Committee who had resisted the hearing, saying they were trying do “what’s best for Maine people” and that the referendum would ultimately be decided by voters.

“When it comes to LD 1378, Democratic members of the Judiciary Committee have been laser focused on ensuring Mainers have a clear voice on this issue,” she said. “Any citizen initiative, on any subject, requires hundreds and hundreds of hours of intense work to qualify for the referendum. These matters should always be decided by voters and not by politicians in Augusta.”

Daughtry did not mention the reasons Democrats had for not holding a hearing: that there is no explicit hearing requirement in the Maine Constitution, that a state law enacted by a previous Legislature cannot bind the current Legislature and that a similar bill received a public hearing in the previous Legislature.

She accused Republicans of playing politics and criticized their refusal to support a supplemental budget that would have immediately provided needed Medicaid funding for hospitals.

“While our Republican counterparts have repeatedly attempted to play games with the public process this session — including not listening to the outcry of rural hospitals, nursing homes and other health care providers during the supplemental budget process — we are committed to a different approach,” Daughtry said. “Ultimately, regardless of what happens in Augusta, the final decision, like all citizen initiatives, will be made by Maine voters on Election Day.”