While the balance of Maine’s recent legislative activity falls on the side of expanding gun rights, a new bill is cause for some concern. State Sen. Linda Baker has introduced a measure that would allow municipalities to ban guns in their public buildings without being thwarted by state pre-emption. “This is a local control issue,” explained Baker. “At the request of local officials, I agreed to bring this bill forward.
Baker, who is a Republican, is facing opposition from other members of her party in the state Senate. Sen. Eric Brakey, a leader in the recent fight to deregulate concealed carry, stated his opposition: “I do think it is very important that we maintain the tradition we have on Second Amendment issues being determined on the state level and not letting that devolve so we have a mishmash of policies.”
