NRA Seeks SCOTUS to Overturn Firearm Waiting Period
NRA and SAF ask Supreme Court to review Maine’s three-day firearm waiting period, citing Second Amendment issues.
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Two pro-Second Amendment groups, the National Rifle Association (NRA) and Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), have asked the Supreme Court to review a case challenging Maine’s three-day waiting period for firearm purchases. The case, Beckwith v. Frey, is centered on the constitutionality of the state’s regulation, which was enacted following a 2023 mass shooting in Lewiston.
Legal Battle Over Second Amendment Rights
In the legal brief, SAF Director of Legal Research and Education Konstadinos Moros criticized the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, accusing it of engaging in ‘gamesmanship.’ Moros argued that some lower courts have misinterpreted the Second Amendment’s plain text, only protecting conduct that literally involves ‘keeping or bearing arms.’ This interpretation, he claimed, led the First Circuit to rule that laws regulating firearm purchases do not fall under the Second Amendment’s protections.
The case originated with a ruling by United States District Judge Lance E. Walker, a Trump appointee, who sided with the plaintiffs. However, the First Circuit overturned this decision, prompting the plaintiffs to seek Supreme Court review through a petition for a writ of certiorari.
State Legislation and Judicial Disputes
Maine’s waiting period was enacted following the October 2023 mass shooting in Lewiston, where an Army reservist with a history of mental health issues killed multiple people. The law took effect in 2024 after Democratic Governor Janet Mills allowed it to become law without her signature.
In August 2025, the Tenth Circuit struck down a similar waiting period in New Mexico, overruling a prior decision by Senior Judge James O. Browning, a George W. Bush appointee. This created a ‘circuit split,’ prompting the Supreme Court to consider the case as a means to resolve conflicting interpretations of the Second Amendment across different jurisdictions.
Maine now faces a Monday deadline to respond to the petition, which coincides with the Supreme Court’s ‘long conference,’ where justices will address up to 2,000 case requests, including several related to Second Amendment issues.
Source: Daily Caller
