Maine is again considering Constitutional Carry. The proposed legislation is as follows:

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An Act To Authorize the Carrying of Concealed Handguns without a Permit

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §11212, sub-§1, ¶B, as amended by PL 2005, c. 477, §9, is further amended to read:
 
B. A person may not, while in or on a motor vehicle or in or on a trailer or other type of vehicle being hauled by a motor vehicle, have a cocked and armed crossbow or a firearm with a cartridge or shell in the chamber or in an attached magazine, clip or cylinder or a muzzle-loading firearm charged with powder, lead and a primed ignition device or mechanism, except that a person who is not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm may have in or on a motor vehicle or trailer or other type of vehicle a loaded pistol or revolver.

Sec. 2. 25 MRSA §2001-A, sub-§2, ¶A-1 is enacted to read:
 
A-1. A handgun carried by a person who is not otherwise prohibited from carrying a firearm;
 

SUMMARY

This bill authorizes a person who is not prohibited from possessing a firearm to carry a concealed handgun without a permit. This bill also authorizes a person to possess a loaded pistol or revolver while in a motor vehicle or a trailer or other vehicle being hauled by a motor vehicle.
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That's it. A couple paragraphs, in plain english. I love this state.

Maine has 151 legislators. This bill has 1 sponsor and 95 or 96 co-sponsors. No word from the Governor yet on his position. He's generally a stand up kind of guy and I could see him signing this.

The language is a bit awkward because it modifies the existing statute.

Current status and full texts can be found here:
LD 652, SP 245, Text and Status, 127th Legislature, First Regular Session

Very interesting will this be only for residents or people from other states.

We travel up to the Maine coast occasionally and they do not now accept any of the CCW permits I now have.

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14 S&W Revs none with locks!

You'd have to go read the relevant statutes. It does say "not otherwise prohibited" so if the statute doesn't say it applies only to residents ....

The public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, April 8, 2015 1:00 PM,State House, Room 436 but keep an eye on it, they are always changing rooms and dates around.

According to this Bangor Daily News article from last year:

LePage vetoes Medicaid expansion, concealed weapon permit reform ? Politics ? Bangor Daily News ? BDN Maine

The Governor supports constitutional carry. In this article he vetoed an effort to make the permitting process more restrictive.

So, if the legislature can get it to his desk clean, it looks like something he ought to sign.

Amazing stuff going on folks. WV just failed because of their Gov veto. KS, NH and now ME moving towards joining WY,AK,AR,VT,AZ.

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Sure you did

Maine does not recognize my CT permit, so I would have to try and get a non resident permit,chick is not easy to come by.

as a Mainah', no longer there... i hope they do go constitutional. i'd be damn proud of my home state for it.

I've noticed there's Maine legislation currently proposed to increase reciprocity of permits with other states:

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summary

Current law authorizes the Chief of the State Police to grant reciprocity to a permit to carry a concealed handgun issued from another state if the other state has substantially equivalent or stricter requirements for the issuance of a permit and the other state observes the same rules of reciprocity regarding a person issued a permit under Maine law.

This bill removes the authority of the Chief of the State Police to enter into reciprocity agreements and eliminates the required equivalency provisions and simply recognizes a concealed handgun permit issued to a person by that person's state of residence if that person's state of residence honors a permit to carry a concealed handgun issued under Maine law.
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You can find the run down here:

SP0313, LD 868, item 1, An Act To Remove Limitations on Reciprocity for Concealed Handguns Permits

Maine - striking blow after blow for Freedom and Liberty.

Updating the status of this legislation - The Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety heard public comment yesterday, 4/8/15. I listened to a little bit. There was the expected opposition, police associations, domestic violence advocates and the like, some citizens speaking against.

One committee member (Sen. Stan Gerzofsky) clearly has a problem with the bill and made his opposition quite apparent by the questions he asked the bill's sponsor (State Senator Eric brakey). Another member characterized Gerzofsky as "badgering" instead of questioning. Senator Brakey handled it well and left the door open to retun for any work sessions on this bill.

The big surprise, to me at least, the Maine State Police spoke in favor of constitutional carry! Major Chris Grotton made the case that the permit system is ineffective and said they would rather spend their time chasing bad guys than issuing permits to people who were always going to follow the law anyway.

We'll need to be vigilant. The anti- crowd will certainly get up to some kind of shenanigans while this works it's way through committee. Bloomberg's "Everytown" gang are gearing up to solve some problems Maine doesn't have, too.

Effort to relax Maine?s concealed carry law draws heated responses ? Politics ? Bangor Daily News ? BDN Maine

Gotta love it when the State Police are on our side.

It seems to me the secret word here and as mentioned in other states considering similar statutes is "Constitutional". Since its clearly mentioned in our constitution that's the law of the land and as such should be recognized by every state and possession.
"Keep" means own and "Bear" means carry without any method mentioned. Any state that prohibits the right to keep and bear should have serious legal action taken against it. There has to be a reason since the NRA hasn't done this.
But then, our federal (and many states) have been ignoring the Law of the Land for decades__regardless of political party.

The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government. 
Thomas Jefferson

That is good news. Everyone should be allowed to carry a Constitution if they desire.

Well, LD 652 has finally reported out of committee and should be headed back to the Senate for a vote shortly.

If you are a Mainer, please contact your State Senator and ask them to SUPPORT passage of LD 652. Find her or him here: Find Your Senator | Maine Senate

If I'm reading this PDF correctly, it should come up for a vote tomorrow, 5/26/15, in the Senate http://legisweb1.mainelegislature.or...S_20150526.pdf

After that, the House could be problematic because the opposition party is in control and Maine politicians will play party politics to the exclusion of all else.

Good grief ...

Looking here:
SP0245, LD 652, item 2, Document Text

Passing LD 652 will SAVE the State of Maine nearly a half million dollars in 2 years!

What in the world are they waiting for? We'll be safer AND have more money!

Well, LD 652 hit the floor of the Senate today and was tabled. It was tabled by Senator Rosen, who is a cosponsor and made a concurrent motion for it to pass. So, I'm not too worried about why it was tabled.

I would still urge Mainers to contact their Senators and Representatives and urge them to SUPPORT passage of LD 652.

The Senate directory is in a post above. Here's the House Directory to find your Rep (it's not in the House yet, but nagging them still can't hurt):
Maine House of Representatives: Find Your Representative by Town

And, if you're interested, you can watch live video of the Senate and House at these addresses:
Senate Live Video - Local Stream
Maine House Video - Maine House of Representatives

Right now, 12:45PM, 5/28/2015, the Maine Senate is debating LD 652.

You can watch live @ Senate Live Video - Local Stream

UPDATE: The Senate passed LD 652 by a vote of 21 to 14.

They are currently debating an amendment to require purchasers of firearms get an extra brochure on Maine laws.

On to the House, where I think the challenge will be much greater.

UPDATE 2: The Amendment failed by a margin of 28 to 7.

Fingers crossed in the House.

Today LD 652 passed the Maine House of Representatives, by a vote of 83 to 62.

This means it has now cleared both chambers and faces one final vote in both chambers (if I'm understanding it correctly). Then it's on to the Governor, where he's highly likely to sign off on it.

Fingers still crossed - Maine has a pretty clear track record of letting partisan politics get in the way of anything and everything.

They added an amendment to make the law "Shall Inform" if officially stopped by law enforcement and another amendment raising the minimum age for permitless carry to 21.

I oppose this bill. It's a bad idea.

When and if "constitutional carry" becomes the law of the land this will be a fine idea. Maybe my grandchildren will be able to enjoy that right.

In the mean time, back on Planet Earth, Mainers like myself who frequently travel out of state on extended business will lose the ability to carry in all of the states that currently honor our Maine permits on a reciprocity basis. There are quite a few.

In order to save money permits will no longer be issued. No permit, no reciprocity.

Our concealed carry provisions in Maine are already weak, and require NO basic education on the use of lethal force in Maine. All you have to do now is be a veteran and show a DD-214, or take the NRA basic pistol safety course.

We need to be spending our efforts in gaining national concealed carry, by meeting minimum, reasonable standards of education and training.

As a conservative, my opinion is that this bill is feel good, knee-jerk conservatism that is as willfully ignorant of unintended consequences as screwy liberal gun control measures.

You have some bad information. The permit system will stay in place for exactly the reasons you cite.

In Arizona, when they did the exact same thing, the number of permits issued nearly doubled. So more people are receiving firearms training than ever before there in AZ.

Personally, I'm not content waiting for my grandchildren to possibly have their Constitutional Rights restored.

As of 6/5/15, the bill has been approved by both chambers of the legislature and has gone to the Special Appropriations Committee for them to factor in the budget impact.

The next step is a final vote in both chambers and on to the Governor.

My fear is that the committee will try to kill it. Of 13 committee members, 7 were opposed to this highly charged bill. The legislature adjourns on the 16th or 17th and anything stuck in committee simply dies a quiet death.

OK, I am not a politician -- but I looked up the 13 members on the appropriations comity and this is how they originally voted on the bill

7 Dems.
6 repub.

total 13
votes 9 YES 3 no 1 X

9 to 3 in favor

Did I miss something ? if not it seems it still stands a good chance to pass.

Yeah, I think you read something wrong. But so did I and Senator Brakey corrected my information. Turns out all 6 republicans on the committee voted in favor and 1 democrat. So a slim majority (7 of 13) did vote in favor and I apologize for posting bad info.

The Update is - 1 source is now reporting that LD 652 has been funded as of yesterday. Looks like Appropriations did a non-partisan job in any event and I appreciate their professionalism.

Next step should be another vote in each chamber and then on to the governors desk.

Normally those final legislature votes are almost a formality and the Governor has widely been expected to sign it. Maine politics has devolved into a real bare knuckle slug-fest the last few weeks, so who knows what will happen. The sponsor (Senator Eric Brakey) isn't raising any red flags and has done a great job shepherding this thing through the legislature the last 5 or 6 months so I'm just going to follow his lead.

The legislature reconvenes on Tuesday, 6/30/15, and I'd think it would be on the agenda.

Hey !! No problem and no apologies needed.

I just spoke to the Sen. office and was told it's on the way to the Gov. for his quill and ink.

If he does not singe it--- it gets looked at again on July 16 for an override.

I think I can say we got it done. ( fingers crossed )

We are on the very edge. The problem is the unpredictable governor. He's been on an unprecedented veto spree lately. If for some unfathomable reason he vetoes it, the House will not over ride the veto.

Let's just hope LePage inks it.

Continuing the blow-by-blow account, WGME is reporting that the Governor says he'll sign LD 652. What that means is that 90 days after the legislature adjourns, the law goes into effect. Should be some time in October.

Gov. LePage says he?ll sign ?constitutional carry? bill - WGME - Portland ME Top Stories - News, Sports, Weather, Traffic

So there you have it, it's a done deal.

Congrats to the people of Maine!

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Sure you did

Ditto^^^^^^^^^ Congrats to Maine!!!!

yes, congrats.
would like constitutional carry in Okla.

Scuttlebutt is that they're planning some kind of public signing ceremony. Haven't heard anything yet.

I'll just be happy when he inks it. Kind of like making the last mortgage payment.

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The bill will be INKED tomorrow

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Couple of amendments to be aware of attached to that Bill. Duty to inform LEO, if you do not have a permit, and some crazy acknowledgement of receipt of a safety brochure upon purchase of a handgun.

LePage's spokesman said the governor will sign the bill at 2 p.m. Wednesday but that members of the media aren't allowed at the signing. He didn'trespond when asked why the media is barred from the event.

https://www.nraila.org/articles/2015...rmitless-carry

As noted above, Governor LePage signed off on LD 652 today, July 8th. It's 90 days after adjournment until it becomes effective, probably mid October.

I started this thread March 26th. Seems a lot longer than that.

The thing I'm seeing said is this new law applies to residents and non-residents alike! I leave it to anyone coming to Maine to confirm this for themselves.

So, over 21, not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm and you're good to go for concealed carry this fall. Service members, active or honorably discharged over 18 also qualify.

You have a duty to inform LEO upon official contact, too.

Nice work, Al...

None of the credit goes to me personally. I'm just your Action News Reporter on the scene.

Pretty cool stuff, though, isn't it? We are getting very mixed signals right now about where society is headed. This is one signal I like ...