Among the gun legislation before the Maine Legislature this session are proposals to amend constitutional and concealed carry laws that drew concerns from the business and law enforcement communities. 

The Legislature’s Judiciary Committee held public hearings Wednesday for eight gun bills that were broken into two groups to make public input more efficient. While half of the bills related to various aspects of concealed carry law, the other four dealt with the definition of machine guns, magazine capacity and serial numbers on firearms.

Laura Whitcomb, president of Gun Owners of Maine, said the group supported the four that would help standardize the laws around carrying firearms in the state, including the differences between having a permit to carry a concealed weapon and not having one. 

“If you are not a person who generally carries a firearm, it might be difficult to understand that most people who carry a firearm do so on a regular basis,” she said to explain why consistency in statute is important for those individuals. 

Maine residents can carry a handgun without a permit if they are 21 years old and not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm — what’s colloquially referred to as constitutional carry. There are exceptions allowing people who are 18 to 20 years old to carry without a permit if they are active duty military or have been honorably discharged. 

Rep. Alicia Collins (R-Sidney) is seeking to lower the constitutional carry age to 18 with LD 424 on the grounds that someone is considered a legal adult at that age and entrusted with other decisions,such as voting or enlisting in the military. 

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Under current law, an employer can’t prohibit an employee from storing a firearm in their vehicle if the employee has a valid permit to carry a concealed firearm, so long as the vehicle is locked and the firearm is stored out of sight. However, Collins is looking to remove the requirement that an employee have a valid concealed carry permit with LD 998.

The Maine State Chamber of Commerce opposed this bill citing concerns over employer choice and workplace safety. 

Additionally, Rep. Jennifer Poirier (R-Skowhegan) introduced LD 1049, which would repeal a requirement that someone carrying a concealed handgun without a permit must inform a law enforcement officer immediately that they have a firearm during a traffic stop or other such encounters. 

Maine State Police and the Maine Department of Public Safety opposed this proposal over safety concerns for both the officers and other individuals involved in those encounters. 

The final carry-related proposal came from Sen. David Haggan (R-Penobscot). He said LD 829 would clean up confusion in existing law by making it clear that someone can carry a concealed firearm in a state park, so long as they are not otherwise prohibited from possessing one. It removes the ambiguity that someone must have a permit to carry in a state park or Acadia National Park, he said. 

The bill includes an emergency preamble so it could take effect immediately upon passage with a two-thirds vote. This means it could be in place for the summer recreation season. 

Justin Davis, state director for the National Rifle Association, argued LD 829 is important not only for protection against wildlife in the Maine woods, but a security measure for females hiking alone. 

However, Friends of Acadia, an organization dedicated to protecting and preserving the park, opposed the proposal for the sake of the millions of visitors who come to the park each year for tranquility. 

The Gun Safety Coalition of Maine opposed all four proposals, which they characterized as “very dangerous.”