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A bill that would have required Maine law enforcement agencies to destroy weapons that are forfeited to them was vetoed by Gov. Janet Mills in April.
After it had been introduced, the bill was amended to also ban bump stocks. We were concerned that combining the two issues could doom the common-sense measure to stop the sale of firearms by law enforcement agencies. Our fears were realized with the governor’s veto.
The governor signed a bill, which she had initially crafted, to expand background checks for advertised firearms sales, change the state’s yellow flag law and make additional investment in mental health services. She allowed a bill that will impose a 72-hour waiting period on most gun purchases to become law without her signature.
She vetoed the gun destruction and bump stock ban legislation because, she said, the language around what would be banned was too broad and, because it was different from federal law and definitions used in other states, it may not have withstood legal scrutiny.
“Despite the well-meaning nature of this bill, I am concerned that the novel language this bill contains, the manner in which it was developed, and the short time that was available during its review create the risk for unintended mistakes,” Mills wrote in her veto letter.
It is unfortunate that an otherwise straightforward ban on the sale of firearms forfeited to law enforcement agencies became mired in the more complex, but also worthy, effort to ban bump stocks. Although sales through police departments account for a small number of gun sales in the U.S. each year, stopping these sales may have kept some guns away from criminals.
In the absence of a state law barring the practice, law enforcement agencies can still destroy weapons forfeited to them. It doesn’t take a law change for more agencies to do this.
Maine law currently requires all forfeited firearms used in the commission of a murder or homicide to be destroyed, but police may sell guns used in other crimes. Reporting by the Bangor Daily News’ Maine Focus team found that the Oxford County sheriff had sold guns from evidence to a local gun shop without following the legally required steps or documenting the deal. This was the impetus for the bill to ban such sales, which was sponsored by Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth.
Many police departments, in Maine and across the country, already destroy weapons that are either forfeited to or turned in to them.
However, as the Maine Monitor reported earlier this year, there needs to be more accountability among the companies that are paid to destroy such weapons. Some guns are not fully destroyed with some components being sold as part of kits to make new weapons. This is counter to the whole point of law enforcement agencies sending in weapons to be destroyed.
A voluntary gun give back program, sponsored by the Maine Gun Safety Coalition, collected hundreds of weapons earlier this month. Portions of those guns were melted and recycled, with some portions used in art projects.
In addition to revisiting legislation to stop the sale of forfeited weapons, lawmakers should look for ways to ensure that when police do send weapons to be destroyed that is what actually happens.
When guns are properly seized or forfeited by their owner, law enforcement officials have an opportunity to take them out of circulation. They should do so, whether required by state law or not.