Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.

“An Act to Protect Maine Communities by Enacting the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act,” a citizens initiative petition, has been found valid according to Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, it was announced yesterday.

In January 2025, the state received 5,581 petition forms containing 79,981 signatures of voters who support the initiative. Of the signatures submitted, 74,888 were found to be valid and 5,093 signatures were invalid.  The number of signatures required to determine the petition to be valid is 67,682.  Thus the petition has been deemed valid by Secretary Bellows.

The initiative will now go to the Legislature for consideration. Per the Maine Constiitution, the Legislature can choose to enact the bill as written or send it forward to a statewide vote in November 2025.

The Extreme Risk Protection Orders empower family members to directly petition a court when a loved one is in crisis and may pose a threat to themselves or others.  Through due process, a judge can temporarily limit someone’s access to deadly weapons.  Under an ERPO law, both family members and law enforcement have more tools to intervene quickly before a crisis becomes a tragedy.

“This was the final hurdle in a process that began in the aftermath of Lewiston, as people across Maine and family members of those lost asked how can we prevent this from ever happening again,” said Nacole Palmer, executive director of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition (MGSC).  “This past fall tens of thousands of Mainers decided                to step up where elected leaders didn’t and put a ERPO law on the ballot.  This is a proven, commonsense tool for famlilies that’s been effective in many other states in saving countless lives and preventing tragedies like Lewison.”