Policy

Maine Dems approve gun bills in final hours

This was the first legislative session since the deadliest shooting in state history.
A pedestrian walks by the Maine State House, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Maine’s legislature sent three gun safety bills to Gov. Janet Mills’s (D) desk late Wednesday and early Thursday in the waning hours of the first legislative session following the deadliest shooting in state history.

Lawmakers approved a bill to create a 72-hour waiting period between the time someone purchases a firearm and when they actually take possession. They approved legislation banning the possession, sale or transfer of items like bump stocks, a device that helps semiautomatic weapons fire more quickly.

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