PORTLAND, Maine — Guidelines for the new Maine law that will require firearm dealers and buyers to wait 72 hours before the completion of a gun purchase were released on Wednesday.
Research from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) shows that enforcing waiting periods on gun purchases can reduce gun-related suicides by seven to 11 percent. Studies completed by Johns Hopkins show that enforcing waiting periods decreases homicides by 17 percent.
The new law goes into effect Friday, but after reviewing the guidelines, some people count the new regulations as a win, and others are looking for ways to push back.
"The truth is that there are very few regulations on guns in our country, and we can already see the effects of that," Executive Director of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition Nacole Palmer said.
According to Palmer, overwhelming research shows that enforcing waiting periods on gun purchases prevents more people from harming themselves and others, and she said she's happy to see the 72-hour waiting period law take effect.
"The impulse to hurt somebody is considerably more dangerous if you have immediate access to a deadly weapon," Palmer said. "So, if we take that deadly weapon out of the equation for 72 hours, then the person can have a chance to cool down."
There are exceptions to the bill that allow people to sell and purchase firearms from family members and that allow dealers to sell firearms to known law enforcement and corrections officers and contracted or licensed security guards. People who break the law can be fined various dollar amounts.
Executive Director of the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine David Trahan said that although the bill does not prevent private sales of guns, he doesn't believe the bill was well thought out. He explained that he does not understand how law enforcement will enforce the bill. He also explained the way the bill is written seems to only impact people who purchase guns for protection.
"If they're killed or harmed during that three-day waiting period, waiting during that 72-hour period, that's a tragedy—an unnecessary one," Trahan said.
While Trahan is open to gun regulations, he said he feels like the Maine Legislature should have taken more time to make the bill clear and free from ambiguities.
Others like Laura Whitcomb from Gun Owners of Maine said guns should not be regulated at all, arguing laws like this don't prevent people from committing crimes.
"Any type of gun control legislation that comes to the state of Maine, we will adamantly oppose it, because the only thing that that does is infringe on the rights of the law-abiding," Whitcomb said. "Criminals do not care what the law is. That is what makes them criminals."
Whitcomb said there is no way to prevent people from using guns to harm themselves or others. She said Legislature and law enforcement should enforce laws that are already on the books and hold people accountable when they commit violent crimes.
She also explained that for people who live in rural parts of the state, it may take police officers at least 20 minutes to respond to a safety emergency. She said for that reason, being armed is a necessary means of protection.
Palmer reminds that the United States has the highest rate of gun violence than any other developed country per capita. She said a world with no gun regulations is a world where everyone is unsafe.
"It means that 18 beloved Mainers can be shot and killed and 13 wounded in a bowling alley while they're having fun with their family and friends. It means that children can be shot in their schools," Palmer said. "It means that people can be shot and killed while they're doing the most benign things with their loving family members. To me, that's unacceptable, and I know for the majority of Mainers it is unacceptable... I remember when kids didn't get shot up in their schools. I grew up not having to worry about that. My child will not be living in that same world. To me, that's unacceptable, and I know that most Mainers don't believe that that's OK."
Whitcomb criticized creators of the bill for not welcoming organizations like Gun Owners of Maine to the conversation when the bill was being constructed. When asked whether she or others from the organization would be willing to compromise and support some regulations while simultaneously securing protections of their gun rights, she gave a hard no.
"Any type of gun control is an infringement on our inalienable rights, and we will never compromise," Whitcomb said.
Whitcomb said she will be meeting with lawyers and plans to repeal the 72-hour waiting period law that was passed as well as fight against recently passed laws that require background checks for gun purchases.