Montana leads 25-state coalition challenging Maine firearm waiting period

A coalition of twenty-five states, led by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, has filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court urging the justices to hear Beckwith v. Frey. The case challenges Maine’s 72-hour waiting period for firearm purchases.

The states argue that the waiting period is unconstitutional, claiming it prevents citizens from exercising their right to ‘keep’ arms immediately upon passing a background check. The brief asserts that such laws are a historical anomaly and that Maine cannot justify the regulation based on the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. The coalition cites previous Supreme Court decisions, including Heller and Bruen, to argue that the Second Amendment protects the right to acquire firearms without such delays.

The legal challenge follows a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit that upheld the waiting period. Maine enacted the law in 2024 following a mass shooting in Lewiston in October 2023.