Maine Democrats Finally Agree to Hold ‘Red Flag’ Hearing, But There’s a Catch

After weeks of stonewalling, Democrats in Maine’s Senate have finally agreed to hold a public hearing on a “red flag” referendum scheduled for November, as they’re required to do under state law. But the timing of the hearing shows the utter contempt they have for voters, especially those opposed to the measure. 

As we’ve previously reported, 2A groups including the NRA were preparing to sue over the Democrats’ refusal to hold a hearing, and even some “red flag” supporters had blasted the Democrats for flouting state law. On Tuesday afternoon, the Senate Judiciary Committee announced it would be holding a hearing after all… today at 3 p.m. Eastern. 

“I’m relieved that my Democrat colleagues finally realized they could not get away with silencing the voices of Maine citizens to limit criticism of this radical gun-control proposal,” Senate Republican Leader Trey Stewart, R-Aroostook, said in a statement. “Even the most rabid gun-control activists realized that breaking the law to silence their opposition was not an acceptable way to move their agenda forward.”

Honestly, given the weeks of delay, I don’t think it’s acceptable that Democrats scheduled a hearing with a little more than 24 hours notice. I didn’t learn about the hearing until Tuesday evening, and I’ve been constantly monitoring my news feeds for any information about a potential hearing. How many “red flag” opponents will be silenced because they simply weren’t informed about the meeting in time to make it in person, or sign up to testify online (which can be done here)? 

Maine law not only requires that a public hearing be held on ballot initiatives, but that public notice of those meetings “shall be given in ample time to allow public attendance and shall be disseminated in a manner reasonably calculated to notify the general public in the jurisdiction served by the body or agency concerned.” 

Is one day’s notice “ample” time? Possibly, at least according to the letter of the law. But if the Democrats in Maine’s Senate were truly interested in hearing what residents and stakeholders have to say about the “red flag” proposal, they would have scheduled the meeting a couple of days from now to give folks time to rearrange their schedule so they could travel to Augusta or sit in front of their computer for several hours in order to testify. 

The last-minute hearing may head off the lawsuit from NRA, Sportsmans Alliance of Maine, and Gun Owners of Maine, but fans of open and honest government should be incensed by the decision to hold this hearing with such short notice. Senate Democrats are, at best, doing the bare minimum to comply with the law, and are arguably once again flouting state statute in an attempt to chill an honest debate and discussion over the gun control proposal. The campaign against the “red flag” ballot initiative should continue to focus on the proposed law itself, but voters should also be reminded of the Democrats’ disgusting behavior at every opportunity between now and November.  

I know that the National Rifle Association and the state-level groups have done their best to alert members of the meeting, and I hope that Second Amendment advocates and others who oppose the proposed law will be able to turn out in force, both in person and online. While they’re explaining why they don’t want to see the state’s current “yellow flag” law (which includes more due process, including a mental health evaluation, unlike the “red flag” proposal), I also hope they’ll also take a moment to chastise the Democrats for their abhorrent attempts to subvert state law in order to silence the opposition.