Polling Comes Ahead of Hearing on LD 1312, also Known as Red Flag Legislation
Red Flag Legislation Empowers Family and Law Enforcement to Temporarily Remove Guns From Someone Who Poses a Risk of Harming Themselves or Others
AUGUSTA, Maine — Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and the Maine chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America today released polling conducted by SurveyUSA on behalf of Everytown. The results indicate that the wide majority of Mainers support Red Flag legislation, which would create a new type of court order that temporarily restricts a person’s access to firearms if the court finds that they pose a serious risk of causing injury to themselves or others.
“The proof is in the polling,” said Kathleen McFadden, a volunteer with the Maine chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “These results support what we already know to be true — Mainers want to keep their families and communities safe from gun violence. Our lawmakers should pay attention and advance this life-saving legislation that will empower law enforcement and families to intervene when they recognize a person is in crisis.”
The survey interviewed more than 1,000 Maine adults and found, among other results:
- 81 percent of voters support Red Flag legislation — including 94 percent of Democrats and 70 percent of Republicans
- Mainers across the state can get behind Red Flag legislation, with 79 percent of rural voters and 85 percent of urban voters showing support for the policy
- Regardless of the office, respondents across the political spectrum are more likely to support candidates who back Red Flag legislation
These results echo similar findings from Maine Gun Safety Coalition polling, which also shows strong support across the entire state for the passage of a Red Flag law. In addition to Everytown and Moms Demand Action, the legislation is supported by a diverse group of organizations, including the Maine Chiefs of Police Association, American Academy of Pediatrics – Maine, Giffords, Sandy Hook Promise, Veterans for Peace and Maine Gun Safety Coalition.
LD 1312, a Red Flag law, would create a new kind of court order known as an Extreme Risk Protection Order, which temporarily restricts a person’s access to firearms if a court finds that they pose a danger of harming 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.
