PORTLAND – Today the United States Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari asking it to review the First Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision upholding Maine’s 72-hour waiting period law. This denial signals the approaching end of a long legal battle supported by Maine’s gun lobby and watched by the national corporate gun lobby. Waiting period laws, also commonly called “cooling off periods,” are proven to help reduce impulsive acts of gun violence like suicide.

Today’s decision marks the end of the road for the appeal to the Supreme Court. The case will now be remanded to the United States District Court for the District of Maine to continue proceedings consistent with the First Circuit’s conclusion that the waiting period is constitutional.

The Maine Gun Safety Coalition released the following statement from Executive Director Nacole Palmer:

“Today the U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal funded by Maine’s gun lobby, thus leaving in place the First Circuit’s conclusion that waiting periods for firearm purchases, commonly called cooling off periods, are constitutional. We know from reporting from the Department of Public Safety that Maine’s 72-hour waiting period has already worked to save lives from preventable gun deaths in our state. Despite the gun lobby’s best efforts, our waiting period law will continue to save lives and we expect and hope that it will continue to be upheld.”