At Augusta gun show, dealers criticize waiting period law that goes into effect next month

Sheridan Doyle checks out a shotgun Saturday during a gun show in the Augusta Elks Club ballroom in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

AUGUSTA — Through his company Freedom Promotions, Ryan Appleby organizes dozens of gun shows across New England each year. The shows connect anywhere from 500 to 1,500 gun buyers to dealers, who sometimes travel from hours away to sell guns and other items.

But Maine’s new 72-hour waiting period for gun purchases, which takes effect next month, threatens the future of gun shows, as it creates a logistical headache for dealers and customers, Appleby said.

“If only 20% (of dealers) don’t (come), it might make it to the point that we can’t do it,” Appleby said.



That is why proceeds from admission fees and a raffle at a show organized by his company at the Augusta Elks Club this weekend — believed to be the last in the state before the law goes into effect Aug. 9 — were going toward an impending legal challenge of the law.

In April, Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, allowed the bill creating the three-day waiting period, LD 2238, to become law without her signature, saying that she was “deeply conflicted” after reviewing arguments on both sides.

Under Maine’s new rule, in most cases, someone who purchases a gun will have to wait 72 hours to obtain it. Twelve other states and the District of Columbia have enacted similar kinds of measures, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which supporters have said prevent impulsive firearms purchases and suicides.

Freedom Promotions co-owner Ryan Appleby talks to customers at his booth Saturday during a gun show in the Augusta Elks Club ballroom in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Opponents, however, say that the waiting period violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which gives citizens the right to keep and bear arms.

“The Constitution guarantees our rights to buy arms,” said Todd Lufkin of Bradford, who was at the Augusta show. “They shouldn’t have to make us wait.”

For dealers at gun shows like the one in Augusta this weekend, it also presents a new logistical hurdle: A customer either has to travel to the dealer three days after the purchase to pick it up, or the dealer has to arrange to have the gun shipped to another dealer closer to where they live.

Appleby, the show promoter, said that he and other organizers will continue holding shows while following the new rule, even as it may deter dealers.

Joshua Raines, vice president of Gun Owners of Maine, one of the groups backing the legal challenge, said that many dealers, who often travel from around the state to attend shows, are going to be scared out of the business by the new costs of doing business, like shipping.

“There’s a legitimate monetary aspect to this that’s not trivial,” said Raines, who was at the Augusta show on Saturday, helping with fundraising efforts.

Mark Adler, a dealer at the Augusta show, said he has attended gun shows for the last three or four years as his side business, mostly as a hobby with his son. But the waiting period law may force him to stop.

“Honestly, this is probably our last show if nothing changes,” said Adler, who lives in southern Maine. “It won’t be fun anymore. … I think shows will be possible. I think the logistics are going to make it extremely difficult.”

Sheridan Doyle, a shopper at the Augusta show, agreed that the waiting period will make buying a gun more inconvenient, but said that he believes people will continue buying guns.

“I don’t think it’s going to make a big difference,” said Doyle, of Winthrop.

Gun Owners of Maine Vice President Joshua Raines answers questions at the group’s booth Saturday during a gun show in the Augusta Elks Club ballroom in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

How the waiting period affects sales at gun shows in Maine remains to be seen. An advocate with the Maine Gun Safety Coalition told the Portland Press Herald earlier this week that in other states with waiting periods, gun show business “is booming,” despite fears from opponents of the restrictions.

Raines, of the gun owners group, said those states — like Florida — are much larger than Maine and already had many more gun shows to serve customers across a larger geographic area.

Raines said he expects his group’s lawsuit to be filed “very soon,” with the waiting period law going into effect in a few weeks. The nonprofit has hired attorneys and is looking at how similar challenges in other states are playing out, he said. Mills said in April that state officials will also be monitoring those challenges.

“We’re looking at what’s been going in Arizona, Colorado, Vermont, and learning from any minor mistakes that they may have made to ensure that our filing goes through correctly the first time,” Raines said.

Support has been strong since the group, along with the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, announced their intentions to challenge the waiting period requirement shortly after Mills allowed it to become law without her signature, Raines said.

“We’ve had an immense groundswell of support for our legal action,” Raines said. “Honestly, we’ve raised more money in the last three months, four months than we’ve raised in the same time period for virtually anything else. A lot of people are digging deep because they know how unconstitutional this actually is, and they want to make sure that we get back to keeping our rights the way they have been.”

A laser etches the Gun Owners of Maine logo onto a flask Saturday at the FalTac Unlimited booth during a gun show at the Augusta Elks Club ballroom in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

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