AUGUSTA — Supporters of a fall ballot measure that would make it easier to temporarily take firearms from people in crisis told lawmakers Wednesday that the proposal would improve public safety and reduce gun deaths, while opponents said the measure is unnecessary and infringes on Second Amendment rights.

The arguments were made during a public hearing on the proposed red flag law, also known as an extreme risk protection order. If passed by voters in November, the citizen-initiated referendum would provide a pathway for family or household members, in addition to law enforcement, to petition a court to temporarily remove someone’s weapons.

Unlike Maine’s current yellow flag law, it would eliminate the need for a mental health evaluation before a judge can order the temporary confiscation of weapons.

Wednesday’s hearing was demanded by Republican lawmakers and gun rights supporters after Democrats, who control both chambers and committees in the Legislature, initially said they would not hold one before reversing course this week.

The hearing drew more than four hours of testimony from both supporters and opponents, foreshadowing the arguments both sides will be making this fall as the measure heads to voters.

MILLS’ OFFICE AGAINST RED FLAG

Opponents of the red flag law, which included the office of Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, argued that the existing yellow flag law is working and that changes are unnecessary. Opponents also argued that the red flag proposal would infringe on Second Amendment rights.

“The bottom line is that our law is working,” Mills’ chief counsel, Jerry Reid, said in written testimony submitted to lawmakers on behalf of the governor’s office. “In fact, it is working far more effectively than so-called red flag laws in some other states where such laws are very rarely used.”

Twenty-one states have red flag laws, though some can only be used by law enforcement and not family members, according to the gun safety organization Everytown for Gun Safety. Maine is the only state with a yellow flag law.

The yellow flag law, which took effect in 2020, has been used 881 times, according to Reid’s testimony. Most usage of the law came after the October 2023 Lewiston mass shooting raised awareness of it among law enforcement.

Reid also noted that lawmakers last year approved updates, including clarifying that law enforcement can seek a warrant signed by a judge, in unusual circumstances, to take a person into protective custody to do the required mental health evaluation.

He said the requirement for the mental health evaluation is reasonable, and also addressed the argument by supporters of the red flag law that family and household members should have an avenue to appeal directly to a judge, without going to law enforcement, for weapons’ removal.

“It is the responsibility of law enforcement, not that of a private citizen, to protect the public,” Reid wrote. “Further, we do not believe a private citizen should be expected to navigate what can be a complex and confusing court procedure by themselves, especially in the middle of already difficult circumstances.”

Gun safety advocates made a push for a red flag law last year following the Lewiston shooting, but lawmakers never voted on that proposal. The Maine Gun Safety Coalition then gathered signatures from Maine voters to qualify the question for the November ballot after a similar measure.

ANOTHER TOOL FOR FAMILIES

Nacole Palmer, executive director of the coalition, said during Wednesday’s hearing that the yellow flag law failed to prevent the Lewiston shooting. The independent commission that investigated the shooting said in its final report last year that the yellow flag law could have been used by police to take shooter Robert Card’s firearms, but wasn’t.

“Perhaps things could have been very different for Maine if a real extreme risk protection order had been in place for his family to use,” Palmer said. “Extreme risk protection orders empower families to go directly to the court if a loved one is in crisis and may pose a threat to themselves or others.”

Other supporters of the red flag law, including doctors, teachers and clergy members, echoed Palmer’s statements that such a law would provide an avenue for families to take action if a loved one poses a threat and said it would prevent gun deaths generally, including suicides.

David Moltz, representing the Maine Association of Psychiatric Physicians, said the yellow flag law has been effective but has “significant deficiencies,” including that it requires a mental health evaluation.

Moltz said a red flag law would avoid stigmatizing people with mental illness, and it would ensure that firearms could also be removed from people who are dangerous but are not found to have mental illness.

“If this act is enacted, it will not replace the yellow flag law but will expand the range of options and provide another avenue for emergency weapons removal when appropriate,” Moltz said.

Margaret Martin, a high school teacher in Lewiston, also urged support of the proposal, saying that while she grew up in a family that hunted and had guns, more must be done to prevent school shootings, and the red flag proposal would help.

“My students can’t wait around for another tragedy before we do the responsible thing,” Martin said.

OPPONENTS SAY YELLOW FLAG IS WORKING

David Trahan, executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, a group that advocates on behalf of gun owners and sportsmen, said the existing yellow flag law is “far superior” to the red flag proposal.

“It’s designed to help people who may be suffering from a mental health crisis at the lowest point in their lives, in a compassionate manner,” Trahan said. “It gets them help, addresses the underlying cause and directs them to further treatment and services, if needed.”

Lt. Michael Johnston of the Maine State Police also testified against the red flag law, saying that in addition to the yellow flag law already working well, the red flag law could be dangerous for law enforcement because they would be tasked with having to remove a person’s weapons without having had the prior contact of taking the person into custody and ensuring they undergo a mental health evaluation.

“Service of these orders will be extremely high risk,” Johnston said. “Under the yellow flag law, we have the opportunity to serve the person in the confines of a hospital and then work with family members on the relinquishment of firearms. Under this proposed bill, we would be going to that residence and serving the order and taking the weapons after a finding of dangerousness.”

Most qualified citizen initiatives in recent years have received public hearings by lawmakers before being voted on by the public, but the leaders of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee said this spring that they would not have one, saying it was not required by the Maine Constitution and was unnecessary as lawmakers planned to send the initiative to voters.

Republicans and gun rights supporters opposed to the measure pushed back on the decision from the Democratic committee leaders, pointing to a 2019 state law that says all valid citizens initiatives must receive a public hearing unless the requirement is formally waived by lawmakers.

Democrats reversed course and announced the hearing would be held earlier this week.