AUGUSTA — Convinced that people would be safer if more folks were packing heat most everywhere they go, some lawmakers are trying to make it tough for businesses to prohibit guns on their premises. A new proposal would mandate that property owners provide “for the safety and defense” of anyone they prohibit from carrying firearms […]
firearms
Lots of opposition to Sen. Eric Brakey's bill to allow concealed carry for those 18 to 21
AUGUSTA — Lawmakers are trying to decide whether to pull the trigger on a measure that would allow 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds to carry concealed handguns. The age limit is 21. Sponsor Sen. Eric Brakey, R-Auburn, told colleagues that “questions of age are beside the point” because every law-abiding Mainer has a legal right to […]
Sen. Eric Brakey seeks concealed carry for those 18 and older
AUGUSTA — Following up on his successful effort to get the Legislature to drop the requirement for a police permit to carry a concealed handgun in Maine, an Auburn lawmaker is seeking to extend the right to those 18 to 21. “We shouldn’t have to have training wheels,” Sen. Eric Brakey, R-Auburn, said. The existing […]
Society running amok with guns
Once again, V. Paul Reynolds sounded the alarm about threats to gun rights in his column: “Sportsmen lost a good friend when Justice Scalia died” (March 13). A long time hunter, the justice was instrumental in the District of Columbia v. Heller decision in 2008 which supported the right of an individual to own a […]
Second Bean brother indicted in Paris hunting incident
PARIS – Another hunter involved in a Nov. 21, 2015, incident on Stock Farm Road has been indicted by an Oxford County grand jury on charges of fraudulently obtaining a hunting license and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Stephen Bean, 55, of West Paris is the third hunter among a group of […]
Nine years after daughter’s death, father says no progress on hunting reform
PARIS — There is no bringing Troy Ripley’s daughter back. Ripley, whose 18-year-old daughter, Megan, was shot and killed by a hunter in the waning days of the 2006 hunting season lives with that hard fact every day. Ripley, 52, also lives with the reality that efforts to strengthen landowner rights and public safety laws […]
Sabattus town manager attends final meeting
SABATTUS — On Tuesday evening, Town Manager Andrew Gilmore facilitated his final meeting of the Board of Selectmen. Gilmore’s last day in office will be Thursday, July 23. The board members presented Gilmore with a desk clock containing an engraved message of thanks for his service to the town of Sabattus. Selectmen Chairman Mark Duquette […]
Maine House passes gun bill that allows concealed weapons
AUGUSTA — The Maine House of Representatives on Monday voted 83-62 to approve a bill lifting the state’s permit requirement for carrying a concealed handgun. Monday’s vote was the culmination of a decades-long effort by gun rights advocates to remove restrictions on lawful gun owners and follows a 21-14 vote in the state Senate last week […]
Brakey bill makes concealed carry without permit legal in Maine
AUGUSTA — A state senator from Auburn said Thursday he has nearly 100 co-sponsors for a bill that would make it legal to carry a concealed firearm without a permit in Maine. Republican Eric Brakey said a bipartisan coalition is backing the measure, which failed in the Legislature in 2013 and 2014. A total of […]
Rangeley man gets 46 months on firearm charge
BANGOR — A Rangeley man will spend 46 months behind bars after he was sentenced Wednesday on a firearm charge, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. Frank McConnell, 23, also will have to pay a $500 fine and serve three years of supervised release once he completes his prison term. McConnell was sentenced in U.S. […]