Maine bill would require military to use state emergency laws to remove guns

A bill introduced after a mass shooting in Maine would require the military to use the state’s crisis intervention laws to confiscate the weapons of a service member deemed a serious threat to themselves or others, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, the bill’s sponsor, said Monday.

The Armed Forces Crisis Intervention Notification Act is intended to address missed opportunities by military and civilian law enforcement to intervene before an Army reservist who had become psychotic opened fire at two locations in Lewiston, Maine, killing 18 people and wounding 13 others on Oct. 25, 2023.

“We have an opportunity to help service members in crisis. We have an opportunity to protect our neighbors and families. We have an opportunity to save lives,” Collins said in a statement. Maine’s other senator, independent Angus King, is a co-sponsor of the bill.

The law aims to ensure communication between state agencies and military branches after criticism that the military was not as forthcoming as it could have been with state law enforcement officials about the gunman, 40-year-old Robert Card, before the shooting. It requires the military to participate in state crisis responses, including so-called red flag or yellow flag laws aimed at confiscating guns from someone experiencing a psychiatric emergency.

Law enforcement officials were aware of Card’s growing paranoia, and Card had been hospitalized last summer while his reserve unit was training in upstate New York. Health care providers who examined him said he was psychotic and on a hit list, and advised him not to allow access to weapons.

Military officials restricted Card’s access to military weapons, but Card still had access to privately owned guns at his home in Bowdoin, Maine. The military had no immediate comment.

The Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office was called to Card’s home to check on him after he threatened to shoot up his unit’s home. However, an officer who wanted to meet with Card knew nothing about the events in New York State or the extent of his mental health crisis.

The bill, introduced Monday afternoon, would not affect the military’s existing authority to disarm service members in a wide range of situations, Collins said. Instead, it aims to close a communication gap between military and civilian law enforcement that could have prevented the tragedy in Maine.

“We can’t bring back the friends and family we lost last October, but we can take steps to repair the cracks in the system that led to the tragedy,” King added.

The mass shooting was investigated by an independent commission appointed by the governor, along with the Army Reserve and the Army Office of the Inspector General. Maine Gov. Janet Mills previously said the tragedy “was caused by a colossal failure of human judgment by multiple people on multiple occasions.”

Maine’s so-called yellow flag law has been invoked 425 times, including 344 times since the tragedy in Lewiston, officials said.

On Monday, she praised Collins and King for the bill. “Giving the military this authority will give them an additional tool to address potentially dangerous situations among military personnel and close communication gaps, which will help keep people safe, prevent violence, and save lives,” she said.

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