Maine Democrats drop opposition to 'red flag' hearing
Republicans announced the public hearing shortly before 11:30 p.m. Monday — only moments after Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, told state senators to expect an additional public hearing to soon be announced, though she didn't provide details.
The hearing, scheduled for 3 p.m. Wednesday, will focus on a citizen initiative for extreme risk protection order, also known as a 'red flag law," which would allow a family member to petition a court to temporarily remove access to firearms of someone deemed a danger to themselves or others.
Maine currently has a "yellow flag" law, which can only be initiative by police, who can only seek a court order after taking that individual into protective custody and provided them with a mental health evaluation.
Republicans have been pushing for a public hearing ever since Democrats, who control both chambers, decided not to hold a hearing, citing a hearing on a similar bill last session that did not get a floor vote and the fact that it would ultimately be decided by voters.
Republicans accused Democrats of violating a state law, enacted in 2019, requiring a hearing on any citizen initiative that is received when lawmakers are in session.
"I'm relieved that my Democrat colleagues finally realized they could not get away with silencing the voices of Maine citizens to limit criticism of this radical gun-control proposal," Senate Republican Leader Trey Stewart, R-Presque Isle, said in a written statement Monday night. "Even the most rabid gun-control activists realized that breaking the law to silence their opposition was not an acceptable way to move their agenda forward."
The citizens initiative came forward in the wake of the mass shooting in Lewiston in October 2023 and is certain to generate intense debate over gun rights and restrictions ahead of the November vote.
Tensions over the call for a public hearing escalated during a late-night session in the Senate last week in which Republicans tried to force the issue through a series of floor votes. The votes fell along party lines with Republicans voting to move forward with a series of motions aimed at forcing action on a public hearing while Democrats voted against them.
Democrats resisted holding a hearing, saying it's not required in the Maine Constitution. And last week, Daughtry said that a law enacted by a prior legislature could not bind the current group of lawmakers, which Republicans decried as "a dangerous ruling."
The National Rifle Association announced last week that it was joining a planned lawsuit with the Sportsmen's Alliance of Maine and the Gun Owners of Maine.
In a fundraising appeal, SAM speculated that Democrats don't want to hold a hearing because it will highlight opposition, including from Gov. Janet Mills, law enforcement and other Democratic lawmakers.
Mills, a former attorney general, help negotiate the state's current "yellow flag" law and has opposed previous attempts to enact a "red flag" law, which exist in 21 other states.
Copy the Story Link
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
6 minutes ago
- New York Post
Freshman Dem admits ‘voters feel like Democrats have sort of been a–holes to them'
Voters think Democrats are 'a–holes,' prominent freshman Rep. Sarah McBride said, blaming that perception for her party's electoral setbacks. 'I think voters feel like Democrats have sort of been a–holes to them,' McBride (D-Del.) told Politico's 'The Conversation' in an interview set to drop Sunday. Democrats, whose party symbol is a donkey, aka a jacka–, have been deep in soul-searching about how they were trounced across the board in the November election. McBride, the first openly transgender member of Congress, argued voters want 'respect,' and Democrats don't give it. 'I do think that a voter asks two questions when they're considering who to vote for. The first question is: Does this candidate, does this party like me? And by extension, do they respect me?' the Delaware Democrat told host Dasha Burns. 3 Rep. Sarah McBride wants her party to be less off putting to voters. Bloomberg via Getty Images 3 The November election marked the first time Democrats lost the popular vote in a presidential election in 20 years. TNS 'If you can't answer that first question to a voter's satisfaction, they won't even get to the second question, which is: What does this party think? What does this candidate think? And I think we lost that first question.' Other prominent Dems have raised similar concerns their party has become too elitist and engaged in excessive culture war battles which have repelled the working class. Following President Trump's win in November, for example, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) contended many Dems came across as 'condescending' and had an attitude that working-class voters should be 'smart enough to realize they're voting against their interests.' Others have raised concerns that Democrats had been too hostile towards men, and some, such as Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), dinged the party for being too dismissive towards voters who had concerns about transgender competitors in women's sports. 'I do think that we have to basically create a tent that is united on three fundamental principles,' McBride continued. 'One is working people need more support and help. Two, democracy and freedom are good. And three, we're not going to be a‑‑holes to voters.' Much of the off-putting attitudes voters are reacting to aren't necessarily from elected Democrats, but rather from influencers and big-name commentators, she cautioned. 3 Democrats are scrambling to course correct ahead of the 2026 and 2028 elections. Getty Images 'The reality in today's environment is that your party ecosystem is defined not just by politicians or the party, but also some of the loudest voices online that in voters' minds reflect and represent that broader coalition,' the Delaware Democrat stressed. 'When we have an environment where we've got some very loud people who are shaming and calling people who disagree with them — even in rhetoric — bigots, when we have those folks saying that to a wide swath of voters, including voters we could win, and we aren't explicitly stating something to the contrary, then a voter will then just paint us all with one broad brush.' McBride also posited that Trump's rise to political power has been 'fueled by a frustration that government no longer works or delivers for people' — something she blamed on gridlock in Congress.
7 minutes ago
Office of Special Counsel says it's opened Hatch Act probe of Jack Smith
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel confirmed Saturday that it has opened an investigation into former Special Counsel Jack Smith and whether he violated the Hatch Act through his criminal investigations into President Donald Trump. The investigation follows a referral from Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas earlier this week that asked the OSC to investigate Smith for his investigative and prosecutorial activities prior to the 2024 election which Cotton argued were intended to harm Trump's political prospects. Both Smith and former Attorney General Merrick Garland repeatedly maintained prior to departing office that none of the actions taken in either the classified documents investigation or the probe of Trump's efforts to subvert his 2020 election loss were driven by politics. A spokesperson for Smith's attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday on the OSC probe. The OSC is an independent agency that is not empowered to investigate criminal matters - it is separate from the Special Counsel post that Smith formerly served in under the Justice Department. OSC primarily operates as an agency to assist government whistleblowers in reporting allegations of waste or wrongdoing, and also enforces the Hatch Act which places restrictions of government employees from engaging in partisan political activities. It's unclear what course of action the OSC would even have to take against Smith if its investigation did determine he violated the Hatch Act, given Smith is no longer a government employee. While it could refer its findings to DOJ, the department has already publicly said that it is investigating Smith and other prosecutors who pursued Trump through its so-called "Weaponization Working Group" that is being led by former interim DC U.S. attorney Ed Martin. The announcement of the investigation also comes as the administration has found itself under increased scrutiny over its handling of the release of filings relating to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — with top officials from across the administration appearing eager to change the subject.
Chicago Tribune
36 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
It's Trump's economy now. The latest financial numbers offer some warning signs.
WASHINGTON — For all of President Donald Trump's promises of an economic 'golden age,' a spate of weak indicators this week told a potentially worrisome story as the impacts of his policies are coming into focus. Job gains are dwindling. Inflation is ticking upward. Growth has slowed compared with last year. More than six months into his term, Trump's blitz of tariff hikes and his new tax and spending bill have remodeled America's trading, manufacturing, energy and tax systems to his own liking. He's eager to take credit for any wins that might occur and is hunting for someone else to blame if the financial situation starts to totter. But as of now, this is not the boom the Republican president promised, and his ability to blame his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, for any economic challenges has faded as the world economy hangs on his every word and social media post. When Friday's jobs report turned out to be decidedly bleak, Trump ignored the warnings in the data and fired the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures. 'Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes,' Trump said on Truth Social, without offering evidence for his claim. 'The Economy is BOOMING.' It's possible that the disappointing numbers are growing pains from the rapid transformation caused by Trump and that stronger growth will return — or they may be a preview of even more disruption to come. Trump's aggressive use of tariffs, executive actions, spending cuts and tax code changes carries significant political risk if he is unable to deliver middle-class prosperity. The effects of his new tariffs are still several months away from rippling through the economy, right as many Trump allies in Congress will be campaigning in the midterm elections. 'Considering how early we are in his term, Trump's had an unusually big impact on the economy already,' said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist at Firehouse Strategies. 'The full inflationary impact of the tariffs won't be felt until 2026. Unfortunately for Republicans, that's also an election year.' The White House portrayed the blitz of trade frameworks leading up to Thursday's tariff announcement as proof of his negotiating prowess. The European Union, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia and other nations that the White House declined to name agreed that the U.S. could increase its tariffs on their goods without doing the same to American products. Trump simply set rates on other countries that lacked settlements. The costs of those tariffs — taxes paid on imports to the U.S. — will be most felt by many Americans in the form of higher prices, but to what extent remains uncertain. 'For the White House and their allies, a key part of managing the expectations and politics of the Trump economy is maintaining vigilance when it comes to public perceptions,' said Kevin Madden, a Republican strategist. Just 38% of adults approve of Trump's handling of the economy, according to a July poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs. That's down from the end of Trump's first term when half of adults approved of his economic leadership. The White House paints a rosier image, seeing the economy emerging from a period of uncertainty after Trump's restructuring and repeating the economic gains seen in his first term before the pandemic struck. 'President Trump is implementing the very same policy mix of deregulation, fairer trade, and pro-growth tax cuts at an even bigger scale – as these policies take effect, the best is yet to come,' White House spokesman Kush Desai said. The economic numbers over the past week show the difficulties that Trump might face if the numbers continue on their current path: 'The economy's just kind of slogging forward,' said Guy Berger, senior fellow at the Burning Glass Institute, which studies employment trends. 'Yes, the unemployment rate's not going up, but we're adding very few jobs. The economy's been growing very slowly. It just looks like a 'meh' economy is continuing.' Trump has sought to pin the blame for any economic troubles on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, saying the Fed should cut its benchmark interest rates even though doing so could generate more inflation. Trump has publicly backed two Fed governors, Christoper Waller and Michelle Bowman, for voting for rate cuts at Wednesday's meeting. But their logic is not what the president wants to hear: They were worried, in part, about a slowing job market. But this is a major economic gamble being undertaken by Trump and those pushing for lower rates under the belief that mortgages will also become more affordable as a result and boost homebuying activity. His tariff policy has changed repeatedly over the last six months, with the latest import tax numbers serving as a substitute for what the president announced in April, which provoked a stock market sell-off. It might not be a simple one-time adjustment as some Fed board members and Trump administration officials argue. Of course, Trump can't say no one warned him about the possible consequences of his economic policies. Biden, then the outgoing president, did just that in a speech last December at the Brookings Institution, saying the cost of the tariffs would eventually hit American workers and businesses. 'He seems determined to impose steep, universal tariffs on all imported goods brought into this country on the mistaken belief that foreign countries will bear the cost of those tariffs rather than the American consumer,' Biden said. 'I believe this approach is a major mistake.'
