Following a mass shooting in Maine in October 2023 where 18 people were killed, Governor Janet Mills is pushing legislation to expand the state’s red flag law to make it easier for law enforcement to confiscate guns.
Maine already has a yellow flag law allowing police to secure a judge’s order to take firearms from those deemed a threat.
The shooter’s family had alerted police months earlier due to concerns about his mental state and access to guns, but police did not act under the existing law.
Gov. Mills now wants changes to allow police to take gun owners into custody based on a third party report alone and then search their property to remove weapons.
Her efforts come amid questions about why police did not confiscate the shooter’s guns after the family report.
