2025 Legislative Session Wrap Up
The legislative session is finally wrapping up. This year, thanks to the tireless work of our many volunteer gun safety advocates, we were able to pass a law regulating ghost guns and stopped a number of dangerous bills advanced by the gun lobby.
PASSED: Ghost Gun Serialization
We are awaiting news of the Governor’s next steps on this bill.
An Act Requiring Serial Numbers on Firearms and Prohibiting Undetectable Firearms; LD 1126
This law will require anyone in possession of a ghost gun to have it serialized by a Federal Firearms License holder, which will allow these weapons to be traced to a recent owner by law enforcement if used in a crime.
‘Ghost guns’ are unserialized and untraceable firearms that are either purchased as a kit or separate pieces by customers and assembled into fully functioning firearms at home, or guns printed at home by a 3D printer. Manufacturers of ghost guns knowingly sell these unserialized components, allowing purchasers to assemble a firearm at home without going through a background check or following any other state or federal laws around gun purchases. A ghost gun was used to murder the UnitedHealthcare executive in December 2024. There’s no good reason anyone should be able to purchase parts and assemble a gun that’s marketed as unserialized and untraceable.
In March 2025, the US Supreme Court upheld Biden Administration regulations restricting the use of ghost guns, Bondi v. VanDerStok. A state law is still needed as it remains to be seen if the current administration will continue to enforce this initiative.
PROTECTED: Expanded Background Checks & the 72 Hr. Waiting Period
An effort by the gun lobby to repeal the expanded background checks law, passed in 2024, failed when it was voted down by the legislature.
Gun lobby-backed legislators also put forward 5 bills to repeal the 72 hour waiting period law that we put in place last year. Of those, 3 were withdrawn and 2 - LDs 208 and 1230 - have had further work postponed until the legislature reconvenes next year (2026).
On February 13, 2025, Chief US District Judge Lance Walker granted a preliminary injunction pausing the implementation of the 72 hour waiting period law while the Beckwith v. Frey case makes its way through the court system. This decision is being appealed. MGSC has joined other Maine-based public safety nonprofits as Amici Curiae to argue against the preliminary injunction.
Learn MORE about why the 72 hour waiting period is critical.
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Despite overwhelming public support, the legislature failed to pass other life-saving priorities this year:
DID NOT PASS: Secure Storage Requirement
Less than four weeks after a 4-year-old boy in Lewiston was shot in the head and killed by his stepfather’s unsecured handgun, the legislature failed to pass a bill that would have protected Maine children and teens by requiring safe storage of firearms for homes with children under the age of 18.
Polling shows a staggering 79% of Maine voters approve of secure storage laws, including a super-majority of Democrats (88%), Republicans (70%), and Independents (79%). Three-in-four gun owners who responded that they keep firearms in the home also support new secure storage laws.
Learn MORE about how secure storage can save lives.
DID NOT PASS: Bump Stock Ban
Although bump stocks and other rapid fire modification devices - especially devices that can be affixed to handguns like switches and auto sears - are being used in violent crime now more than ever, the legislature refused to implement a law that would stem the tide of these dangerous devices in Maine.
Bump stocks and other rapid fire modification devices are aftermarket components that can be affixed to a regular semiautomatic firearm - some in a matter of seconds - to increase the rate of fire to rival or exceed that of military-issue machine guns. Rapid fire modification devices were used in the horrific mass shootings in Las Vegas, NV in 2017 and Uvalde, TX in 2022.
Learn MORE about why we need a bump stock ban.
We also held the line against a number of bad policies, by preventing dangerous gun lobby-backed bills from becoming law:
DEFEATED: Package of Dangerous Gun Lobby-backed Bills
DEFEATED: a law which would have allowed a person who is 18, rather than 21 Years of age or older who is not otherwise prohibited from carrying a firearm to carry a concealed handgun.
DEFEATED: a dangerous Stand Your Ground law that would have encouraged a Shoot First, Ask Questions Later mentality in Maine.
DEFEATED: a law which would have allowed people to discharge firearms within 500 feet of a school.
DEFEATED: a law which would have permitted a person to possess a concealed firearm in state parks, Baxter State Park, the Allagash Wilderness Waterway and Acadia National Park without a valid permit.
DEFEATED: a law which would have allowed certain individuals to carry concealed firearms in schools.
DEFEATED: a law which would have redefined "machine guns" under Maine law in a way that is not in alignment with (and actually narrower than) federal firearm regulations.
DEFEATED: a law which would have removed the regulation that employees must have a valid permit to keep a concealed firearm in a car parked on the employer’s premises.
DEFEATED: a law which would have abolished the duty to inform law enforcement about concealed weapons and endangered police officers all over Maine.
Signatures for Extreme Risk Protection Orders Validated; Measure Will Appear on the November 2025 Ballot
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows has announced that the Safe Schools, Safe Communities campaign filed enough valid signatures to appear on the 2025 ballot. Read MORE.
In just over two months, over 600 volunteers gathered more than 80,000 signatures to place an Extreme Risk Protection Order on the November 2025 ballot. The signatures were filed with the Secretary of State on January 23rd. The Maine Gun Safety Coalition and our allies launched the Safe Schools, Safe Communities citizen initiative to protect our communities from another tragedy like the 2023 mass shooting in Lewiston. Families need all available tools if a loved one is in crisis; the yellow flag law falls short of providing what an ERPO would provide. Read WHY. Safe Schools, Safe Communities is a campaign of MGSC, a 501.c.4 organization. Donations are not tax deductible.
Thank You for Your Support.
Request a Community Speaker for your interest group to learn about the referendum, upcoming legislative priorities and gun laws in Maine.
News and Features
Latest News Feed
May 15, 2025
Ghost Gun Serialization Bill Passes Committee
Legislators on the Judiciary Committee have advanced a bill (LD 1126) to address ‘ghost guns’ by requiring the serialization of all completed firearms, tackling a growing issue that’s putting Maine communities and law enforcement at risk.
Historic Progress on Gun Safety Measures in 2024 Legislative Session
December 2024: Maine Most Improved in Gun Safety Legislation on Giffords Scorecard
What’s New at the Federal Level:
US Supreme Court Upholds Biden Administration Regulations Restricting Ghost Guns
In Bondi v. VanDerStok the Court upheld an ATF rule, effective August 2022, expanding the legal definition of “firearm” to include weapons kits and partially completed firearm parts that “can readily be converted” into working firearms. Consequently, those kits became subject to the same regulations as standard guns, including requirements for serial numbers and background checks for purchasers.