This directly from a gome email earlier…
We met with our attorneys this morning, in conjunction with the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine and other gun rights organizations. We are 100% pursuing legal action. We will keep you apprised of the developments as they occur.
What we need now from you: inform your contacts of what is going on, and if able, donate to either Gun Owners of Maine or SAM with a dedication donation to our "
legal fund". We will need hundreds of thousands of dollars to see this through to the end and every bit helps.
We have seen an outpouring of support over the last few days since Governor Mills allowed this to go into law without her signature. Without action from us and our allies, in 90 days from the time the legislature adjourns, this WILL be law in Maine.
Go to our website gunownersofmaine.org to donate online, or send by mail to:
Gun Owners of Maine
PO Box 5011
Augusta, ME 04330
memo: legal fund
Thank you for your support, and please be on the lookout for upcoming fundraising events.
Also, a note about a strategy they chose not to try……
Many people have asked why we aren't pursuing a People's Veto. We feel strongly that overturning this legislation in court will be more effective in the long run, however here are a few of the reasons we aren't going to be mounting an effort for signature gathering:
- A people's veto campaign can cost between $5 and $8 Million dollars
- It will not stop this legislation from going into law until all the signatures have been gathered and verified. We would need 70,000 signatures, split evenly between the congressional districts. This is a huge undertaking and even more so with less than 3 months to accomplish it.
- Once signatures have been gathered, we would be relying on Shenna Bellows to certify them.
- Once certified, we would have to undergo a massive ad campaign to get it passed at the ballot box. We all know out-of-state monies would be pouring in to defeat us.
- If successful, a people's veto is only good until the legislature decides to overturn it- whereas a court finding would carry long-term weight.
- If unsuccessful, we have spent millions of dollars with nothing to show for it.