Speaker Series

Last November, Maine voters passed a referendum to enact an Extreme Risk Protection Order law - commonly known as the Red Flag Law - by more than 60%. The harder work now begins: ensuring this new civil court process is accessible to those who need it, through education, training, and proactive community engagement. A functioning Red Flag law is part of the toolbox to help prevent gun violence, including domestic violence and suicide.

Maine is unique in having three distinct civil court processes that can prohibit someone from possessing firearms: the Protection from Abuse process, the Yellow Flag process, and now the Red Flag process. This presentation will focus specifically on the Red Flag and Yellow Flag processes - identifying points of overlap and key differences. It will also walk through the court forms developed for Red Flag petitions, and open the floor for feedback - an important part of refining implementation whenever a new law takes effect, so the process works as intended.