Maine election officials have confirmed a sufficient number of signatures to get a California-style gun control referendum on the ballot this November.
If passed, the referendum would outlaw personal gun sales by requiring a background check for every sale in the state–private and retail. California has the same system in place. It was in place when Elliot Rodger went on his Santa Barbara shooting spree in May 2014 and, more recently, when Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik shot and killed 14 in San Bernardino. In both attacks, the impotency of expanded background checks was demonstrable.
In addition to this impotency, expanded background checks have led to firearm registration through the state of California and confiscation laws enforced with a knock at the door.
Nonetheless, WMTW reports that “referendum supporters” obtained “65,821 signatures” in a situation where they only needed 4,500. If the referendum passes, every gun sale in the state must be conducted via a background check–even sales between immediate family members, relatives, and lifelong friends.
Maine has been moving in a strong pro-gun direction under Governor Paul LePage (R) heretofore. For example, on July 8, 2015, he signed legislation eliminating the need to have a concealed carry permit to carry a gun in the state. The current referendum would circumvent LePage.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.