Maine's three-day "cooling off" period for firearm purchases remains in effect after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider a challenge to the requirement, The Center Square reported on October 20. The case is Beckwith v. Frey.
The high court's rejection leaves intact an April decision by the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, which lifted a preliminary injunction blocking the 72-hour waiting period and ruled that the requirement is likely constitutional, according to The Center Square. A denial of review is not a ruling on the merits, and the underlying litigation continues, separate analysis of the order noted.
A law passed after Lewiston
The waiting period was part of a broader gun-control bill passed after the October 25, 2023, Lewiston shooting, in which an Army reservist opened fire in a bowling alley and a bar. Governor Janet Mills allowed the waiting-period measure to become law without her signature, saying she was conflicted over it, The Center Square reported.
Gun-rights groups challenged the law as unconstitutional. In February, U.S. District Judge Lance Walker issued a temporary injunction after siding with the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine and several gun sellers, saying the waiting period was indiscriminate and the plaintiffs were likely to succeed, according to The Center Square. Attorney General Aaron Frey appealed, and the First Circuit ruled in April against the block on enforcement.
The Supreme Court denied the petition in Beckwith v. Frey without comment or a noted dissent, according to Daily Letter's report of the October 19 order, leaving the First Circuit ruling in place while a conflicting Tenth Circuit position on a New Mexico waiting-period law remains.