Above is the Logo of This Non-profit.  Nacole Palmer is its Execudtive Director.

The Maine Gun Safety Coalition and allies launched the Safe Schools, Safe Communities citizen initiative yesterday to pass an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) law in Maine to help protect our kids, famlies and communities from another tragedy like Lewiston.  The campaign is a coalition effort by stakeholders from a wide variety of backgrounds.

Supporters are kicking off the campaign in the wake of the Lewiston Commission Report which made it clear that Maine’s current law is weak, ineffective and cumbersome.  In 2019, legslators failed to pass an ERPO proposal, instead passing a “yellow flag law.”  Maine is the only state in the nation with a yellow flag law, while 21 other states and Washington, DC have Extreme Risk Protection Orders.  As the Lewiston report detailed, the consequences of Maine’s weak law were dire.

“In the aftermath of last year’s tragedy in Lewiston, people in communities across Maine have asked what could have been done differently,” said Nacole Palmer, Executive Director of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition and one of the citizen petitioners.  “The Lewison report laid bare the inadequacies of the half-measure lawmakers passed in 2019.  The Commission did its part and now the rest is up to us.  It’s time to protect Maine’s schools and communities with an Extreme Risk Protection Order law.”

For more information, please visit safecommunitiesmaine.org.