AUGUSTA, Maine – The Maine chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, today released the following statement praising the introduction of LD 1312, Red Flag legislation. Earlier in the day Moms Demand Action volunteers were joined by elected representatives, the Maine Gun Safety Coalition, law enforcement officials and medical professionals at a press conference urging Maine lawmakers to pass LD 1312 this session.
“The Red Flag legislation introduced today can prevent tragedies like the one that affected our family,” said Paula Reed, volunteer with the Maine chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America whose father died in 1991 as a result of injuries he sustained in a 1981 workplace shooting. “We are grateful to Senator Millett for championing this crucial gun safety legislation. We know this bill will save lives.”
LD 1312 is Red Flag legislation that would create a new kind of court order known as an Extreme Risk Protection Order, which temporarily restricts a person’s access to firearms when they pose a danger to themselves or others. Red Flag laws can help prevent warning signs from turning into tragedies such as mass shootings or gun suicides. This is especially vital in Maine, where one Maine resident dies by gun suicide every three days and suicide by gun accounts for nearly 90 percent of all firearm fatalities, killing over 600 Maine residents in the last five years.
More information about Red Flag laws is available here.
