USA | Maine federal judge grants temporary injunction on ‘waiting period’ gun purchasing law

The vast majority of purchases are by people who already own multiple guns. This should be dialed in to a first-time purchase, maybe once each on a pistol and a long gun.

the Legislature has expressed as cause for the Act concern for persons who may purchase a firearm with the immediate purpose of doing harm to themselves or others.

A fundamental problem with this law is that, in most cases, it does not actually achieve its stated objective. A person can walk into a gun store with a Glock holstered on their hip, and be denied the immediate purchase of another Glock, under the theory that they need to "cool off" before purchasing an additional firearm. The law does not achieve its stated "cooling off" intention: The individual is armed for the duration of the "cooling off" period.

The law could be narrowly tailored to achieve its stated purpose without unduly impeding existing gun owners. It could apply only to first-time buyers, allowing stores to skip the waiting period if they have previously sold a gun to that buyer, or if the buyer has held a concealed carry permit or hunting license for >72 hours, or if the buyer is already armed at the time of purchase.

Because it was not narrowly tailored to its stated intention, we must assume that the actual intention is the impediment on existing gun owners. I've seen no arguments in support of waiting periods that would justify such an impediment.