Maine has no assault weapons ban. State law does not define “assault weapon,” does not restrict semi-automatic rifles based on features like pistol grips, adjustable stocks, or threaded barrels, and does not require registration of any rifle or shotgun. Anyone who meets the standard eligibility rules and passes the applicable background check can legally buy and possess semi-automatic firearms, including the models commonly labeled assault weapons in other states.1
Maine also sets no cap on magazine capacity. Magazines of any size are legal to buy and own, which puts the state apart from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York, where limits of 10 or 15 rounds apply.
What Changed After Lewiston
The October 2023 mass shooting in Lewiston, which killed 18 people, drove an active 2024 legislative session on firearms. The results were mixed, and none of them amounted to a ban on any class of weapon. Two gun bills became law: one expanded background checks for publicly advertised private sales and strengthened the yellow flag process, and another created a 72-hour waiting period for firearm purchases. A third bill, which would have treated bump stocks and similar devices as machine guns, was vetoed by Governor Janet Mills, and the override attempt failed.
If you are trying to figure out what Maine actually regulates now, the rules below are the ones that matter.
The 72-Hour Waiting Period
Maine now requires 72 hours between the agreement to sell a firearm and the actual delivery, under Title 25, §2016. The clock starts at the agreement, not at payment, and the seller cannot knowingly deliver the firearm before the window closes. When a federal or state background check is also required, the waiting period runs concurrently rather than stacking on top.
Governor Mills allowed LD 2238 to become law without her signature in April 2024. The penalties fall on the seller:
- First violation: a civil violation with a fine between $200 and $500.
- Subsequent violation: a civil violation with a fine between $500 and $1,000.
Both are civil, not criminal. The ceiling for repeat offenders is $1,000.
Several categories of sale are exempt from the waiting period:
- Law enforcement and corrections officers as defined in the relevant statutes.
- Licensed private security personnel and employees of contract security companies.
- Sales to licensed firearm dealers.
- Transfers between spouses, domestic partners, parents, stepparents, foster parents, children, stepchildren, foster children, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews.
- Curio or relic firearms sold between licensed collectors.
- Antique firearms as defined under federal law.
- Any transaction where neither federal nor state law requires a background check.
There is no exception for someone facing an immediate safety threat. If you hold a protection-from-abuse order and want to buy a firearm for self-defense, the 72-hour wait still applies unless you fall into one of the listed categories. The Maine Department of Public Safety advisory on this law confirms no such carve-out exists.
Background Checks on Advertised Private Sales
Maine law now requires a background check on any private firearm sale that results from a public advertisement or happens at a gun show. The requirement was enacted through LD 2224 and sits at Title 15, §395. List a firearm for sale online, in a newspaper, on a poster, or through any broadcast medium, and the buyer must clear a background check through a federally licensed dealer before the transfer can go through.
The statute reads “advertisement” broadly: television, radio, internet, newspapers, magazines, handbills, posters, signs, and placards. A “gun show” means any gathering open to the public, not held on a permanent dealer’s premises, that is conducted principally for firearm transactions.
In practice, buyer and seller meet at a licensed dealer, who runs the buyer through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System just as they would for a retail sale. Dealers can charge a reasonable fee, typically $25 to $50. If the buyer is prohibited, the dealer notifies the seller and the transfer stops. A seller who completes a covered transaction without the check commits a Class C crime, punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
This is not a universal background check law. Private, unadvertised transfers between people who know each other personally are not covered. A broader bill, LD 810, was introduced in an earlier session and did not pass. The current rule targets the specific channel of publicly advertised sales and gun shows.
Bump Stocks Are Not Banned in Maine
This is where the record gets confusing. LD 2086 would have expanded Maine’s machine gun definition to cover bump stocks, binary triggers, and other devices that raise a semi-automatic firearm’s rate of fire. The bill passed the legislature, but Governor Mills vetoed it on April 29, 2024. The Senate override attempt failed on May 10, 2024, with a vote of 18-16; two-thirds of both chambers were needed.
Because LD 2086 did not become law, Maine’s machine gun statute is unchanged. Under Title 17-A, §1051, a machine gun is a weapon capable of discharging multiple projectiles by a single manual or mechanical action on the trigger. Unauthorized possession is a Class D crime, carrying up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000. Bump stocks, binary triggers, and competition triggers do not meet that definition because they still require a separate trigger action for each round, even when they allow faster cycling.
The federal bump stock ban that the ATF put in place in 2019 was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2024 in Garland v. Cargill. With no state ban in place either, bump stocks are currently legal to possess in Maine. A future session could change that, but as of now these devices are not restricted under state law.
How Maine Removes Firearms From Dangerous People Instead
Maine has no feature-based ban, but it does have two tools for taking firearms out of specific hands.
The yellow flag process, at Title 34-B, §3862-A, has been in effect since July 2020 and was strengthened by LD 2224 in 2024. A law enforcement officer takes the person into protective custody, a medical practitioner evaluates whether the person presents a “likelihood of foreseeable harm,” and a judge or justice of the peace endorses the assessment. The person then becomes a “restricted person” and must surrender any weapons. A hearing follows within 30 days, and the district attorney must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the risk continues; if proven, the restriction can extend up to one year. Roughly three-quarters of the orders completed under the law have involved a suicide attempt or threat.
In November 2025, Maine voters approved an extreme risk protection order law by ballot initiative. The ERPO process lets family members, household members, and domestic partners petition a court directly, without having to route the case through law enforcement protective custody or a medical evaluation first. Judicial approval is still required before any firearms are seized.
Neither tool restricts the type of firearm anyone can own in the general case. They operate person-by-person.
Cities and Towns Cannot Add Their Own Bans
Maine’s preemption statute at Title 25, §2011 bars any city, town, or county from passing its own firearm regulations. The legislature declared its intent to “occupy and preempt the entire field of legislation concerning the regulation of firearms, components, ammunition and supplies.” Existing or future local ordinances in this area are void. No municipality in Maine can enact its own assault weapons ban, magazine limit, or additional background check requirement, regardless of local preference. The rules are uniform statewide.