Attorney General Bonta Defends Maine’s Three-Day Waiting Period for Firearms Purchases

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, as part of a coalition of 19 attorneys general, joined an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in support of Maine’s law requiring a three-day waiting period for firearm purchases. Attorney General Bonta filed the brief in Beckwith v. Frey, supporting Maine’s appeal to reverse the district court’s preliminary injunction halting enforcement of the law. States across the nation protect their citizens through the application of similar waiting period laws because such laws have been proven to promote public safety and curb gun violence. 

“Reasonable waiting period laws for firearm purchases allow states to implement background checks and create a buffer between gun purchases and gun acquisition, which have been proven to help prevent senseless and impulsive acts of gun violence in our communities,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Gun violence is an urgent public health issue we must continue defending upstream interventions that work; and waiting periods simply work. In California, we are committed to passing and defending commonsense, constitutional gun laws that save lives.”

In today’s brief, the states argue that Maine’s waiting period law is consistent with the long-standing practice of regulating gun safety and shielding communities from gun violence by ensuring that only law-abiding and responsible persons acquire guns. Maine’s waiting period resembles measures taken by other states that explicitly impose waiting periods or the laws of states that functionally impose waiting periods through their licensing and background check schemes. The immediate purchase and acquisition of a gun allows people to act on temporary emotions and impulses, which can increase the risk of both gun suicide and gun homicide. 

In filing the brief, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia. 

A copy of the brief can be found here.