2016 Maine Question 3

Citizen-initiated referendum on gun background checks

Question 3: Citizen Initiative

An Act To Require Background Checks for Gun Sales

Results

Choice

| Votes  | %

|
|

Yes  | 366,770  | 48.20%
No  | 394,157 | 51.80%
Valid votes  | 760,927  | 98.60%
Invalid or blank votes  | 10,781  | 1.40%
Total votes | 771,708 | 100.00%

* * *

Results by county

70–80%

60–70%

50–60%

Yes

60–70%

50–60%

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Question 3

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Maine Question 3, formally An Act to Require Background Checks for Gun Sales,[1] was a citizen-initiated referendum question that appeared on the Maine November 8, 2016 statewide ballot. It sought to require a background check for virtually all gun transfers in Maine, with some exceptions. As the Maine Legislature and Governor Paul LePage declined to enact the proposal as written, it appeared on the ballot along with elections for President of the United States, Maine's two United States House seats, the Maine Legislature, other statewide ballot questions, and various local elections.

The question was defeated, with 51.8% of voters opposed.

## Background[edit]

Efforts to expand background checks of gun buyers have not succeeded at the Maine State House. In 2013, an effort to create a civil penalty of someone not conducting a background check on a buyer later found to not be allowed to possess a gun passed the Maine Legislature, but was vetoed by Governor Paul LePage, a strong gun rights supporter. An outright requirement to conduct background checks on gun buyers in private sales failed to pass the Legislature that same year.[2][3]

On August 24, 2015, the group Maine Moms Demand Action (MMDA) filed paperwork with the Maine Secretary of State's office to launch a petition drive to require virtually all gun sales to have a background check of the buyer conducted by a licensed gun dealer. The proposal includes exceptions for transfers between family members, temporary loans of firearms while hunting or sport shooting, an emergency need for self-defense, and other limited exceptions.[4][5]

MMDA submitted the 84,600 signatures they gathered on January 19, 2016.[4][6] The Secretary of State's office announced on February 18 that 65,821 signatures were validated, well over the 61,123 required to place a question on the ballot.[4] The question will appear on the ballot as "Do you want to require background checks prior to the sale or transfer of firearms between individuals not licensed as firearms dealers, with failure to do so punishable by law, and with some exceptions for family members, hunting, self-defense, lawful competitions, and shooting range activity?"[7]

## Campaign[edit]

Gun rights supporters criticized the proposal. The Sportsman's Alliance of Maine's executive director, David Trahan, stated that while background checks sound good in theory, they are difficult to implement and enforce, which is why there has been no national universal background check system. He also criticized the potential involvement of Michael Bloomberg and other out-of-state gun control groups spending large amounts of money in Maine.[5] State Senator Eric Brakey criticized the effort as a back-door attempt to establish a gun registry.[5]

Supporters officially launched their campaign on May 14, 2016, calling themselves Mainers for Responsible Gun Ownership. The group includes law enforcement officials, gun violence survivors, sportsmen, gun owners and gun violence prevention advocates. They state that background checks will close a loophole in existing gun laws which allow criminals, domestic abusers, and the mentally ill to obtain guns without a background check by not going to a licensed dealer. They also claim that states with expansive background checks experience lower rates of women being shot to death by their intimate partners, as well as lower rates of police officers being killed by handguns.[5][8]

Governor Paul LePage, in expressing opposition to the referendum, called it unconstitutional. Referendum supporters cite a 2007 decision written by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia stating that background checks are constitutional.[9]

The Maine Warden Service, while not officially opposing the referendum, expressed concern that its passage "could make criminals out of responsible firearm owners" and that it would be difficult to enforce.[10]

### Notable endorsements[edit]

#### Supporters[edit]

* Maine Moms Demand Action[4]
* Sean Geagan, chief, Bucksport Police Department [5]
* Bucky Owen, former commissioner, Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife[11]
* Bill Vail, former commissioner, Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife[11]
* Michael Gahagan, chief, Caribou Police Department[12]
* Bangor Daily News [13]
* Equality Maine[14]
* Maine Chiefs of Police Association[15]
* Ellsworth American[16]
* Maine Women's Lobby[17]
* MaineToday Media newspapers; Portland Press Herald, Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel[18]
* USA Today[19]
* The Times Record, newspaper of Brunswick[20]

#### Opponents[edit]

* Eric Brakey, Republican State Senator[5]
* Darrell Crandall, Aroostook County Sheriff[15]
* Barry Curtis, Washington County Sheriff[15]
* Donna Dennison, Knox County Sheriff[15]
* Wayne Gallant, Oxford County Sheriff[15]
* John Goggin, Piscataquis County Sheriff[15]
* Scott Kane, Hancock County Sheriff[15]
* William King, York County Sheriff[15]
* Dale Lancaster, Somerset County Sheriff[15]
* Paul LePage, Governor of Maine[9]
* Jeff McCabe, Majority Leader of the Maine House of Representatives[21]
* Troy Morton, Penobscot County Sheriff[15]
* Scott Nichols, Franklin County Sheriff[15]
* Eric Samson, Androscoggin County Sheriff[15]
* Jeffery Trafton, Waldo County Sheriff[15]
* Gun Owners of Maine[22]
* Sportsmen's Alliance of Maine[5]
* National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action[23]

### Polling[edit]

Date of opinion poll  | Conducted by  | Sample size
(likely voters)  | Yes  | No  | Undecided  | Margin of Error

|
|
|
|
|
|

October 20–25, 2016[24] | University of New Hampshire  | 761  | 52% | 43%  | 5%  | ±3.6%
September 15–20, 2016[25] | University of New Hampshire  | 509  | 61% | 33%  | 6%  | ±4.3%

## Results[edit]

Question 3 Results[26] County  | Yes  | Votes  | No  | Votes

|
|
|
|

Androscoggin | 43.6% | 24726 | 56.3% | 31895
Aroostook | 34.8% | 12,386 | 65.1% | 23,117
Cumberland | 64.4% | 112,537 | 35.5% | 61,996
Franklin | 33.9% | 5,741 | 66.1% | 11,169
Hancock | 46.3% | 15,135 | 53.6% | 17,521
Kennebec | 41.4% | 27,859 | 58.5% | 39,389
Knox | 52.5% | 12,373 | 47.4% | 11,154
Lincoln | 44.8% | 9,851 | 55.1% | 12,097
Oxford | 33.8% | 10,835 | 66.1% | 21,165
Penobscot | 38.4% | 31,443 | 61.5% | 50,432
Piscataquis | 26.8% | 2,520 | 74.2% | 6,890
Sagadahoc | 49.7% | 11,002 | 50.2% | 11,109
Somerset | 27.2% | 7,233 | 72.7% | 19,282
Waldo | 39.8% | 9,193 | 60.2% | 13,915
Washington | 32.1% | 5,373 | 67.9% | 11,387
York | 56.2% | 65,385 | 43.8% | 51,019
UOCAVA | 83.7% | 3,178 | 16.3% | 620
Total | 48.2% | 366,770 | 51.8% | 394,157

## References[edit]

1. ^ Maine Citizen’s Guide to the Referendum Election
2. ^ "Maine Legislature passes bill that promotes background checks for private gun sales". The Bangor Daily News. 19 June 2013.
3. ^ "Maine Senate rejects gun show background check bill". The Bangor Daily News. 30 May 2013.
4. ^ a b c d "Gun purchase background check mandate question qualifies for Maine ballot". The Bangor Daily News. 18 February 2016.
5. ^ a b c d e f g "Group aims for 2016 Maine vote on gun sales background checks". The Bangor Daily News. 24 August 2015.
6. ^ "Maine gun background check referendum supporters to submit signatures today". Mike Tipping. Archived from the original on 2016-03-09. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
7. ^ "Maine secretary of state revises wording of all five November ballot questions". Bangor Daily News. June 23, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
8. ^ "Campaign to close gun background check loophole launched". The Bangor Daily News. 14 May 2016.
9. ^ a b "As Gun Control Battle Rages, LePage Aims to Shoot Down Maine Ballot Measure". MPBN. June 23, 2016.
10. ^ "Wardens express concern about gun background check measure". Portland Press Herald. October 11, 2016.
11. ^ a b "Sportsmen step up to support extending firearms background checks". George's Outdoor News. 19 January 2016.
12. ^ "Background checks not cure-all, but they'll make Maine safer". The Bangor Daily News. 22 October 2015.
13. ^ "Background checks can't work if 40 percent of gun sales don't require them". The Bangor Daily News. September 14, 2016.
14. ^ "Election 2016 | EqualityMaine". Archived from the original on 2016-10-04. Retrieved 2016-10-04.
15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Several Maine Sheriffs' oppose background checks for gun sales". WCSH-6. October 5, 2016.[permanent dead link]
16. ^ "Say "yes" to background checks". 9 September 2016.
17. ^ "Maine Women's Lobby endorses Question 3 to protect victims of domestic violence". Mainers for Responsible Gun Ownership. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
18. ^ "Our View: Vote 'yes' on Question 3 to close Maine gun sales loophole". Portland Press Herald. 9 October 2016. Archived from the original on October 10, 2016.
19. ^ "Vote 'yes' on gun safety measures: Our view". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 12, 2016.
20. ^ Times Record endorses Maine referandums [permanent dead link]
21. ^ "I have a problem with a New York billionaire intent on restricting our Second Amendment rights". 31 July 2016.
22. ^ "Gun Owners of Maine - Home". gunownersofmaine.org. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
23. ^ "NRA official urges Mainers to reject background checks on gun sales". 24 August 2016. Archived from the original on August 26, 2016.(subscription required)
24. ^ "Leads shrink for 4 of the 6 Maine ballot issues, poll indicates". 31 October 2016.
25. ^ "Most Mainers favor background checks on gun sales, poll shows". 27 September 2016.
26. ^ "Tabulations for Elections held in 2016". Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commissions. Maine Department of the Secretary of State. Retrieved 20 March 2018.

## External links[edit]

* Mainers for Responsible Gun Ownership, supporters of the referendum
* Sportsman's Alliance of Maine, a group opposed to the referendum

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