The recent mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine has prompted a rethinking of a firearm law anomaly: the Maine “yellow flag” gun law. Passed in 2019, the law allows for the prohibition of allowing individuals who are deemed dangerous (by health practitioners) the ability of “possessing, controlling, acquiring or attempting to possess, control or acquire a dangerous weapon” (Maine Legislature). Other states, including Connecticut, have “red flag” gun laws, where the police or the public can petition to the courts for the removal of someone’s firearms. So why was Card, a U.S. Army Reservist, who was evaluated and hospitalized for two weeks in a mental health facility, not stripped of his firearms?

Even though Maine’s legislature has recently been dominated by Democrats, drastic gun control measures have not been able to be implemented. This can be largely attributed to the culture within the state, where hunting is largely imbedded within rural towns - around “45 percent of Maine households owned at least one gun” between the years 2006 and 2017, and Maine ranks “25th in the nation in (...) strictness of its gun laws” (Hassan). The bipartisan push and passing of this “yellow flag” gun law was wholly abnormal to the state. But recent events have led people to be skeptical of its effectiveness.

A current investigation under Maine’s Commissioner of Public Safety, Mike Sauschuck, is looking into whether the “yellow flag” laws should have led to the confiscation of Card’s firearms. In addition, longtime opposition to gun control seems to be dwindling within the state. Representative Jared Golden (D) who previously opposed his party’s stance on banning assault weapons has flipped his opinions, and Senator Susan Collins (R) is advocating for legislation looking to ban high-capacity magazines. Senator Collins also voiced her concerns at a recent press conference, stating that “if in fact the suspect was hospitalized for two weeks for mental illness that should have triggered the yellow flag law” (Elinson).