Maine passed a law to try to prevent mass shootings. Some say more is needed after Lewiston killings

Maine passed a law to try to prevent mass shootings. Some say more is needed after Lewiston killings

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Barely four years before a gunman’s deadly rampage in Maine, a state that is staunchly protective of gun rights, the governor signed a law aimed at preventing a mass shooting like the one Wednesday night that claimed at least 18 lives.

It was called a “yellow flag” law, different from the “red flag” laws cropping up in other states to seize weapons from gun owners viewed as a threat. In a sign of the pro-Second Amendment mindset in Maine, a gun-rights group helped write the law, and critics said that, while it was a first step toward stronger gun safety measures, the state could save more lives by doing more — like passing a red flag law.

The yellow flag law and permissive gun measures in Maine are coming under greater scrutiny in the aftermath of a massacre that authorities say was carried out by a man who was committed to a mental health facility for two weeks this past summer and had reported “hearing voices and threats to shoot up” a military base.

It was not clear whether anyone had used the yellow flag law in the suspect’s case, but gun-control advocates on Thursday blamed the killings on what one called Maine’s “weak gun laws.”

Vice President Kamala Harris said gun violence is the leading cause of death for children in the U.S. and called on Congress to pass stronger laws, including making background checks universal, passing a red flag law and banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

“It is a false choice to suggest we must choose between either upholding the Second Amendment or passing reasonable gun safety laws to save lives,” Harris said in a statement.

In recent years, anti-gun violence groups in Maine have repeatedly failed in pushing for stronger laws, even with Democratic control of the Legislature and governor’s office.

Law enforcement officers, right, stand near armored and tactical vehicles, center, near a property on Meadow Road, in Bowdoin, Maine, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A member of law enforcement walks with a police dog outside a property on Meadow Road, in Bowdoin, Maine, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Law enforcement officers depart a scene in an armored vehicle after investigating a location, in Bowdoin, Maine, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. Residents have been ordered to shelter in place as police continue to search for the suspect of Wednesday’s mass shootings. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Law enforcement officers hold rifles while investigating a scene, in Bowdoin, Maine, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. Residents have been ordered to shelter in place as police continue to search for the suspect of Wednesday’s mass shootings. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Law enforcement officers hold rifles while investigating a scene, in Bowdoin, Maine, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. Residents have been ordered to shelter in place as police continue to search for the suspect of Wednesday’s mass shootings. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Law enforcement officers hold rifles while investigating a scene, in Bowdoin, Maine, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. Residents have been ordered to shelter in place as police continue to search for the suspect of Wednesday’s mass shootings. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Law enforcement officers hold rifles while investigating a scene, in Bowdoin, Maine, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. Residents have been ordered to shelter in place as police continue to search for the suspect of Wednesday’s mass shootings. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Police officers stop to question a driver at a roadblock, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lisbon, Maine, during a manhunt for the suspect of Wednesday’s mass shootings. The shootings took place at a restaurant and bowling alley in nearby Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

A law enforcement officer blocks a road in Bowdoin, Maine, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, during a manhunt for the suspect of a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

A law enforcement officer blocks a road in Bowdoin, Maine, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023 during a manhunt for the suspect of Lewiston, Maine mass shootings. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Law enforcement officials remain on scene Thursday morning, Oct. 26, 2023, at Just-In-Time Recreation bowling center and restaurant in Lewiston, Maine, after a mass shooting Wednesday night. Authorities have launched a multistate search on land and water for a U.S. Army reservist who they say fatally shot multiple people at the bowling alley and a bar in Maine. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP)

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, speaks with members of the media in the aftermath of a mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Maine Gov. Janet Mills faces reporters Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, during a news conference at Lewiston City Hall, in Lewiston, Maine. Residents have been ordered to shelter in place as police continue to search for the suspect of Wednesday’s mass shootings. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Maine State Police Col. William Ross faces reporters, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, during a news conference at Lewiston City Hall, in Lewiston, Maine. Residents have been ordered to shelter in place as police continue to search for the suspect of Wednesday’s mass shootings. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Jess Paquette expresses her support for her city in the wake of Wednesday’s mass shootings at a restaurant and bowling alley, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. Police continue their manhunt for the suspect. Authorities urged residents to lock themselves in their homes and schools announced closures on Thursday. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

A helicopter searches near Lisbon Street on Wednesday night, Oct. 25, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine, as a manhunt continues for a mass shooter. Officials say multiple people have died and others were injured, after a man opened fire at a restaurant and a bowling alley in Lewiston. (Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald via AP)

A law enforcement officer, left, carries a rifle near a passer-by, right, outside Central Maine Medical Center during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Miia Zellner, an art teacher from Turner, Maine, attaches a heart cut-out with a message of positivity to a tree in downtown Lewiston, Maine, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. Zellner wanted to show her love and support for the community in the wake of Wednesday’s mass shootings. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Police officers speak with a motorist at a roadblock, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lisbon, Maine, during a manhunt for the suspect of Wednesday’s mass shootings. The shootings took place at a restaurant and bowling alley in nearby Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

LEWISTON, MAINE – OCTOBER 26: A police officer blocks access to the road to Sparetime Recreation on October 26, 2023 in Lewiston, Maine. Police are still searching for the suspect in the mass shooting, Robert Card, who killed over 15 people in two separate shootings. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

LEWISTON, MAINE – OCTOBER 26: The side of Sparetime Recreation on October 26, 2023 in Lewiston, Maine. Police are still searching for the suspect in the mass shooting, Robert Card, who killed over 15 people in two separate shootings. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

LEWISTON, MAINE – OCTOBER 26: Jodie Cohen, Special Agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston branch, gives an update during a press conference about the mass shooting on October 26, 2023 in Lewiston, Maine. Police are still searching for the suspect in the shooting, Robert Card, who allegedly killed 18 people in two separate locations on Wednesday night. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

LEWISTON, MAINE – OCTOBER 26: A police officer blocks access to the road to Sparetime Recreation on October 26, 2023 in Lewiston, Maine. Police are still searching for the suspect in the mass shooting, Robert Card, who killed over 15 people in two separate shootings. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

LEWISTON, MAINE – OCTOBER 26: Law enforcement officials investigate outside the Schemengees Bar and Grille on October 26, 2023 in Lewiston, Maine. Police are still searching for the suspect in the mass shooting, Robert Card, who killed over 15 people in two separate shootings. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

Three vehicles transport bodies from Schemengees Bar and Grille, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. The restaurant was the site of one of the two mass shootings in Lewiston on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

A police officer stands at a road closure near a bowling alley, seen in background, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. The site is one of Wednesday’s two mass shootings in the city. Residents have been ordered to shelter in place as police continue to search for the suspect. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

A police officer walks along a rural road during a manhunt for the suspect of Wednesday’s mass shootings, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lisbon, Maine. The shootings took place at a restaurant and bowling alley in nearby Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Police respond to an active shooter situation in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Law enforcement gather outside Schemengee’s Bar and Grille, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. Residents have been ordered to shelter in place as police continue to search for the suspect of Wednesday’s mass shooting at the bar. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Law enforcement officers carry rifles outside Central Maine Medical Center during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Three vehicles transport bodies from Schemengees Bar and Grille, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. The restaurant was the site of one of the two mass shootings in Lewiston on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

A body is wheeled out on a stretcher at Schemengees Bar and Grille, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. The restaurant was the site of one of the two mass shootings in Lewiston on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

A sign advises residents to stay home, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, following a mass shooting at a restaurant and a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine. Police continue to search for the suspect. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

LEWISTON, MAINE – OCTOBER 26: Law enforcement officials investigate outside the Schemengees Bar and Grille on October 26, 2023 in Lewiston, Maine. Police are still searching for the suspect in the mass shooting, Robert Card.

Law enforcement officers carry rifles outside Central Maine Medical Center during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Law enforcement gather outside Schemengee’s Bar and Grille, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. Residents have been ordered to shelter in place as police continue to search for the suspect of Wednesday’s mass shooting at the bar. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

A sign signals the public to shelter in place during an active shooter situation on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. (Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald via AP)

A man with a gun walks on the street after shoot civil in Maine, United States on October 26, 2023. At least 16 people were killed in shootings at multiple locations in the US state of Maine late Wednesday, according to a report. Maine State Police had issued a warning about an ‘active shooter’ incident in the city of Lewiston.

People depart a reunification center early Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, at Auburn Middle School, in Auburn, Maine, after shootings in Lewiston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Stretchers are lined up outside the emergency room at Central Maine Medical Center following shootings in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald via AP)

A woman is hugged by a man at a reunification center at Auburn Middle School, in Auburn, Maine, after shootings in Lewiston on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald via AP)

People depart a reunification center early Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, at Auburn Middle School, in Auburn, Maine, after shootings in Lewiston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

People stand outside a reunification center early Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, at Auburn Middle School in Auburn, Maine, after shootings Wednesday at a bar and a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A law enforcement officer carries a rifle outside Central Maine Medical Center during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A passer-by walks past law enforcement officers carring rifles outside Central Maine Medical Center during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Law enforcement officers carry rifles outside Central Maine Medical Center during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A member of security, center right, stands at an emergency department entrance at Central Maine Medical Center during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

This photo released by the Lewiston Maine Police Department shows Robert Card, who police have identified as a person of interest in connection to mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. ( Lewiston Maine Police Department via AP)

People depart an emergency department entrance at Central Maine Medical Center, past a member of security, behind right, during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

This photo released by the Lewiston, Maine, Police Department on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, shows a vehicle police are seeking information on in connection to an active shooter situation in Lewiston, Maine. (Lewiston Maine Police Department via AP)

This photo released by the Lewiston Maine Police Department shows Robert Card, who police have identified as a person of interest in connection to mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. ( Lewiston Maine Police Department via AP)

In this image taken from video released by the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office, an unidentified shooter points a gun while entering Sparetime Recreation in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. Maine State Police ordered residents in the state’s second-largest city to shelter in place Wednesday night as the suspect remains at large. (Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

In this image taken from video released by the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office, an unidentified shooter points a gun while entering Sparetime Recreation in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. Maine State Police ordered residents in the state’s second-largest city to shelter in place Wednesday night as the suspect remains at large. (Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

In this image taken from video released by the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office, an unidentified shooter points a gun while entering Sparetime Recreation in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. Maine State Police ordered residents in the state’s second-largest city to shelter in place Wednesday night as the suspect remains at large. (Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

Authorities released photos of the suspected shooter in Lewiston, Maine.

Police respond to an active shooter situation in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Police respond to an active shooter situation in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

On Thursday, they vowed to try again.

At a minimum, the Maine Gun Safety Coalition wants the state to ban assault weapons to prevent more mass shootings, said Cam Shannon, the group’s chair.

Elected officials must “stop bowing to the gun lobby and look squarely at the face of what has happened in Maine’s second largest city,” Shannon said.

Maine is one of about 20 states that allow permitless carry — having a concealed weapon in public without a permit — and the state has a longstanding culture of gun ownership that is tied to its traditions of hunting and sport shooting.

Gun rights advocates have for years held up Maine as an example of a place with unrestrictive gun laws and little violent crime.

Wednesday night’s mass shooting is especially difficult to stomach considering the recent failures to strengthen Maine’s gun laws, said Lynn Ellis of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition.

“It’s infuriating,” Ellis said.

Those failures include a statewide referendum in 2016 in which voters defeated a proposal to expand background checks on gun purchases. Earlier this year, lawmakers rejected proposals to require background checks for private gun sales and create a 72-hour waiting period for gun purchases.

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has also voiced skepticism of some gun control proposals in recent years.

A proposal for a red flag law that more than 20 states have adopted failed in 2019 in favor of the yellow flag law that backers said would stop suicides and protect both the public and the constitutional rights of gun owners.

The yellow flag law had the support of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, which was instrumental in writing it and viewed other states’ red flag laws as unconstitutional. Some also saw the suicide rate as a far bigger concern in Maine than mass shootings.

Under it, law enforcement can detain someone they suspect is mentally ill and poses a threat to themselves or others.

The law differs from red flag laws in that it requires police first to get a medical practitioner to evaluate the person and find them to be a threat before police can petition a judge to order the person’s firearms to be seized.

Gun-control advocates had criticized the law as ham-handed and unlikely to be used by families who don’t want to traumatize a loved one by having them taken into custody.

Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said she thinks a ban on high-capacity magazines is the best approach to stop this kind of gun violence. She also said at a news conference that from what she has heard, the yellow flag law should have been enforced.

“The fact, the suspect was hospitalized for two weeks for mental illness should have triggered the yellow flag law. He should have been separated from his weapons,” Collins said at a news conference Thursday in Lewiston. “I’m sure that after the fact, that it’s going to be looked at very closely.”

But the limited details released by police don’t make it clear whether the yellow flag law should have stopped the suspect in the Lewiston shootings or where he got any guns he used.

It’s also not clear whether the suspect’s commitment to a mental health facility triggered a federal restriction against possessing guns.

Since the 1960s, federal law and most states have prohibited people from possessing guns if they have been formally committed to a mental health facility, said Lindsay Nichols, policy director at the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Police respond to an active shooter situation in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

A sign advises residents to stay home, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, following a mass shooting at a restaurant and a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine. Police continue to search for the suspect. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

This photo released by the Lewiston Maine Police Department shows Robert Card, who police have identified as a person of interest in connection to mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. ( Lewiston Maine Police Department via AP)

In this image taken from video released by the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office, an unidentified gunman points a gun while entering Sparetime Recreation in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. Maine State Police ordered residents in the state’s second-largest city to shelter in place Wednesday night as the suspect remains at large. (Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

In this image taken from video released by the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office, an unidentified gunman points a gun while entering Sparetime Recreation in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. Maine State Police ordered residents in the state’s second-largest city to shelter in place Wednesday night as the suspect remains at large. (Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

In this image taken from video released by the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office, an unidentified gunman points a gun while entering Sparetime Recreation in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. Maine State Police ordered residents in the state’s second-largest city to shelter in place Wednesday night as the suspect remains at large. (Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

This photo released by the Lewiston, Maine, Police Department on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, shows a vehicle police are seeking information on in connection to an active shooter situation in Lewiston, Maine. (Lewiston Maine Police Department via AP)

A law enforcement officer carries a rifle outside Central Maine Medical Center during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Law enforcement officers carry rifles outside Central Maine Medical Center during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

People depart an emergency department entrance at Central Maine Medical Center, past a member of security, behind right, during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

People stand outside a reunification center early Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, at Auburn Middle School in Auburn, Maine, after shootings Wednesday at a bar and a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

People depart a reunification center early Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, at Auburn Middle School, in Auburn, Maine, after shootings in Lewiston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A woman is hugged by a man at a reunification center at Auburn Middle School, in Auburn, Maine, after shootings in Lewiston on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald via AP)

Law enforcement gather outside Schemengee’s Bar and Grille, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. Residents have been ordered to shelter in place as police continue to search for the suspect of Wednesday’s mass shooting at the bar. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Law enforcement officers carry rifles outside Central Maine Medical Center during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Police respond to an active shooter situation in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

A member of security, center right, stands at an emergency department entrance at Central Maine Medical Center during an active shooter situation, in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A sign signals the public to shelter in place during an active shooter situation on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. (Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald via AP)

A police officer walks along a rural road during a manhunt for the suspect of Wednesday’s mass shootings, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lisbon, Maine. The shootings took place at a restaurant and bowling alley in nearby Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

LEWISTON, MAINE – OCTOBER 26: A police officer blocks access to the road to Sparetime Recreation on October 26, 2023 in Lewiston, Maine. Police are still searching for the suspect in the mass shooting, Robert Card, who killed over 15 people in two separate shootings. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

LEWISTON, MAINE – OCTOBER 26: A police officer blocks access to the road to Sparetime Recreation on October 26, 2023 in Lewiston, Maine. Police are still searching for the suspect in the mass shooting, Robert Card, who killed over 15 people in two separate shootings. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

LEWISTON, MAINE – OCTOBER 26: The side of Sparetime Recreation on October 26, 2023 in Lewiston, Maine. Police are still searching for the suspect in the mass shooting, Robert Card, who killed over 15 people in two separate shootings. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

LEWISTON, MAINE – OCTOBER 26: Law enforcement officials investigate outside the Schemengees Bar and Grille on October 26, 2023 in Lewiston, Maine. Police are still searching for the suspect in the mass shooting, Robert Card, who killed over 15 people in two separate shootings. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

LEWISTON, MAINE – OCTOBER 26: A police officer blocks access to the road to Sparetime Recreation on October 26, 2023 in Lewiston, Maine. Police are still searching for the suspect in the mass shooting, Robert Card, who killed over 15 people in two separate shootings. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

Three vehicles transport the victims killed at Schemengees Bar and Grille, on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. The restaurant was the site of one of the two mass shootings in Lewiston on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

LEWISTON, MAINE – OCTOBER 26: Maine Governor Janet Mills speaks during a press conference about the mass shooting on October 26, 2023 in Lewiston, Maine. Police are still searching for the suspect in the shooting, Robert Card, who allegedly killed 18 people in two separate locations. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

LEWISTON, MAINE – OCTOBER 26: Jodie Cohen, Special Agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston branch, gives an update during a press conference about the mass shooting on October 26, 2023 in Lewiston, Maine. Police are still searching for the suspect in the shooting, Robert Card, who allegedly killed 18 people in two separate locations on Wednesday night. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

Not everyone who stays at a facility is considered formally committed, though. Formal commitment is a court process that’s usually required to keep someone at a facility longer than about 14 days, she said.

A judge typically must approve a formal commitment, which is then sent to the background-check system required for gun purchases at licensed firearm dealers. If someone tries to buy a gun after being committed to a facility, it appears on a background check and the gun store won’t sell the weapon.

But there have been errors in that system. For instance, authorities don’t always submit the correct information about a commitment quickly enough to the national background check system.

And even if a hold is in the system, background checks aren’t required at unlicensed or private sellers in many states.

“It is far too easy for people with dangerous histories to get guns,” Nichols said. “Policymakers need tighter restrictions so guns can be kept away from people who are dangerous.”

Overall, however, people with mental illnesses are not at a significantly higher risk of being violent towards others than those without a diagnosis, she said.

In fact, people with mental illnesses are far more likely to be victims of violent crime than perpetrators, and access to firearms is a big part of the problem, mental health experts say.

On Thursday morning, gun control advocates in the state began organizing and the Maine Legislature’s gun safety caucus met. Democratic state Rep. Kristen Cloutier, a former Lewiston mayor, called the shootings “surreal and heartbreaking” and called for stronger measures to prevent gun violence.

“This has only strengthened my own resolve to do whatever I can to help prevent similar tragedies like this from happening again in other communities,” Cloutier said.

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