Maine AG Wants Court to Allow 72-Hour Waiting Period to Go into Effect

Maine’s 72-hour waiting period probably seemed like a good idea at the time to them. After all, such laws exist elsewhere and anti-gunners really, really wanted it, so they got it.

Unfortunately for them, a federal court didn’t feel quite the same way. The judge figured that the law was unconstitutional and issued an injunction pending the case having its full day in court.

Now, the attorney general is asking the judge to reconsider the halt.

he Maine Attorney General’s Office has filed a motion to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court-ordered preliminary injunction to halt the state’s 72-hour waiting period for gun purchases.

The Attorney General’s Office also confirmed to Maine’s Total Coverage that it filed an appeal of a federal judge’s decision to suspend the gun law through the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston.

On Thursday, Judge Lance Walker put a hold on the three-day waiting period for gun purchases in Maine after reviewing a lawsuit filed against the rule by gun rights groups.

…

“The undisputed evidence in the record is that waiting periods save lives by meaningfully reducing both suicides and homicides. An expert witness estimated that in one year, a waiting period would have prevented twelve suicides,” the Attorney General’s Office said in its appeal. “This fact alone warrants maintaining the waiting period law until the First Circuit has had the opportunity to consider whether the law violates the Second Amendment.”

In other words, who cares about constitutionality, right?

First, let’s understand that the evidence the AG’s office is citing is, in fact, disputed. It’s heavily disputed. We’ve talked a lot about the pathetic state of gun research. Most of those studies, for example, did anything but look at “gun suicides” or “gun homicides,” electing not to look any deeper at the statistics, in general, to see if it really had that effect, or it just sort of looked like it.

If they’d looked deeper, they might have found what we’ve long said about these things, namely that those denied a gun will find another way.

Regardless, the Constitution doesn’t include an exception to the limits on government power. If there were, the government could just manufacture evidence that free speech or free exercise of religion leads to death and suicide and then step all over those rights as well. I mean, we’re seeing a lot of people claim free speech leads to death, so it’s not a stretch.

Maine’s waiting period puts people at risk, all without any evidence that the lives saved would be greater than the lives lost and without any constitutional argument beyond, “But we really, really, really want this gun control law.”

I’m sorry, but that’s not remotely good enough.

People have a right to keep and bear arms. That right shall not be infringed. Telling people they have to wait a set amount of time simply because the government doesn’t trust them is all kind so infringement, as is the fact that a right delayed is a right denied.

I’m pretty sure the judge will tell the attorney general to pound sand.