By Sen. Joseph Martin

This past Wednesday, the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee heard testimony on eight bills that, if passed, will directly impact Second Amendment rights. Some of these bills were Republican proposals aimed at expanding Second Amendment protections for law-abiding, responsible gun owners. Others were the same anti–Second Amendment legislation by out of state gun control groups we see every legislative session.

Hello, this is Senator Joseph Martin. I have the honor of representing the citizens of Senate District 19, which includes Northern Oxford County and communities in Franklin County. I serve on the Legislature’s State and Local Government Committee and Environment and Natural Resources Committee.

“Every citizen has a right to keep and bear arms and this right shall never be questioned.” The Constitution of Maine is very clear about the individual right to keep and bear arms. Despite the Maine Constitution’s clear defense of firearms rights, radical gun control proponents continue to introduce bills that would directly impede our constitutional rights.

Particularly egregious amongst the litany of anti-gun bills is LD 1109, “An Act to Reduce Gun Violence Casualties in Maine by Prohibiting the Possession of Large-capacity Ammunition Feeding Devices.” This bill is so poorly thought out that it would prohibit the sale and manufacture of even the most popular rimfire firearms like the Henry Golden Boy lever action rifle. That would mean that a firearm design created and used since 1826 would be banned by this legislation.

Many proponents of radical gun control claim they only want to ban more modern firearms because of an incorrect belief that they are inherently more fatal. This bill goes beyond even that incorrect assumption and would ban some of the most popular .22 rimfire models.

Additionally, LD 1109 does not even contain a grandfather cause. When New York’s leftist politicians passed their anti-Second Amendment legislation, even they included a provision so law abiding citizens wouldn’t be punished as felons.

Bloomberg-influenced lawmakers also introduced LD 677, “An Act to Update the Statutory Definition of “Machine Gun” and Prohibit Possession of a Rapid-fire Device.” The definition of a rapid-fire device is so broad in this bill that common accessories could be deemed illegal under the bill’s language. Under LD 677 simple parts like foregrips and popular trigger modifications would be illegal.

Let me be very clear. The sponsors of these anti-gun bills know just how broadly their legislation would affect law-abiding Mainers. That is the purpose of their legislation. They want to turn law-abiding Mainers into felons just for owning the most common types of firearms and accessories.

Republican lawmakers introduced bills aimed at expanding protections for those who choose to carry a firearm lawfully without a permit. There are many sections of Maine statute that still require the use of carry permits. Since the Legislature passed constitutional carry in 2015, many law-abiding Mainers have chosen to carry constitutionally rather than spend money to obtain a concealed carry permit. These bills simply aim to protect the right of non-prohibited Mainers to legally carry a firearm.

While progressive out-of-state groups have influenced many Democrat lawmakers to introduce gun-grabbing legislation, Republicans remain committed to protecting the rights guaranteed to Mainers under the U.S. Constitution and the Maine Constitution.

Again, this is Senator Joe Martin from Oxford County. Thank you for listening and if you’d like to be kept up to speed on what’s happening under the State House Dome, be sure to follow Maine Senate Republicans on Facebook, Instagram and X.

Senator Joseph Martin represents the communities of District 19, which includes communities in Franklin and Oxford counties. He is the Senate Republican Lead for the Legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee and the State and Local Government Committee.