By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
The philosophical chasm between Democrats and Republicans on guns and the Second Amendment is no more evident than in Maine, where one side is looking at more regulations while the other side is proposing restoration of rights for people convicted of non-violent felonies.
News Center Maine is reporting on the situation in Augusta, where Democrat state Sen. Anne Carney’s LC 677 would redefine what constitutes a machine gun, while also adding more restrictions on possession of so-called “rapid-fire devices.”
Republican Rep. Jennifer Poirier, on the other hand, is the prime sponsor of LD 1602, a measure to eliminate the background check requirement for private firearm sales.
Meanwhile, Rep. Chad Perkins has introduced HP 656, which would restore firearms rights for people convicted of certain non-violent felonies. In the bill’s summary, it states, “This bill restores the right for some of these convicted persons to own, possess and have a firearm under their control, setting certain eligibility requirements a person must meet to have their civil rights relating to firearms restored, including a requirement that 10 years have passed since the completion of any sentence imposed on them.”
As noted by News Center Maine, “Under current laws in Maine, whether you’re convicted of a violent or non-violent crime, most of your civil rights are maintained or can be automatically restored upon release, with the exception of your right to own or carry a gun.”
But Second Amendment rights have been treated differently for decades, at least since the Gun Control Act of 1968, and some would argue clear back to the National Firearms Act of 1934.
Over the years, there have been various proposals regarding restoration of rights (aka “relief from disabilities”) for people convicted of certain felonies. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives used to conduct restoration of rights investigations, but funding for this process was eliminated from the budget in 1992, under pressure from anti-gunners.
The National Rifle Association published a history of this program earlier this year. At that time, the Donald Trump administration announced an interim final rule which would change this, and once again offer an avenue for rights restorations.
In its report, NRA observed, “Most of the federal prohibited person categories have no necessary relationship to violent tendencies. At the very least, people caught up in these categories should have an opportunity to make the case they have paid their debt to society, where applicable, and can be trusted to safely exercise their rights.”
