An Act To Amend Certain Provisions Relating to a Permit To Carry Concealed Firearms To Be Consistent with Changes to the Statute Relating to Possession of Firearms by Prohibited Persons
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1546
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: CARR, SNOWE-MELLO
Amends: 25 MRSA §2002, 25 MRSA §2003

Legislative Document 
No. 1546 
H.P.I132 
House of Representatives, April 10, 2003 
An Act To Amend Certain Provisions Relating to a Permit To Carry 
Concealed Firearms To Be Consistent with Changes to the Statute 
Relating to Possession of Firearms by Prohibited Persons 
Submitted by the Department of Public Safety pursuant to Joint Rule 204. 
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Representative CARR of Lincoln. 
'!r/~ /J7.1lJu~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Representative: SNOWE-MELLO of Poland. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 25 MRSA §2002, sub-§I-A is enacted to read: 
1-A. 
Conviction. 
"Conviction" means the acceptance of a 
plea of guilty or nolo contendere or a verdict or finding of 
guilty, or the equivalent in a 
juvenile case, 
by a 
court of 
competent jurisdiction. 
Sec. 2. 25 MRSA §2002, sub-§§10-A, 13 and 14 are enacted to 
read: 
10-A. 
Hot 
criminally 
responsible 
by 
reason of mental 
disease or defect. 
"Not criminally responsible by reason of 
mental disease or defect" has the same meaning as used in Title 
-A, section 39 and includes the former finding in this State 
under former provisions of Title 15, section 103 of "not guilty 
by reason of mental disease or defect excluding responsibility" 
as well as any comparable finding under the laws of the United 
States or any other state. 
13. 
State and state. 
"State" means the State of Maine and 
"state" means any other state of the United States and includes 
the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the 
possessions of the United States. 
14. 
Use of a dangerous weapon. 
"Use of a dangerous weapon" 
has the same meaning as in Title 17 -A, section 2, subsection 9, 
paragraph A. 
Sec. 3. 25 MRSA §2003, sub-§I, tB, as enacted by PL 1985, c. 
478, §2, is repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
B. 
Is not disqualified to possess a firearm pursuant to 
Title 15, section 393 and is not disqualified as a permit 
holder under that Same section. 
Sec. 4. 25 MRSA §2003, sub-§I, tn, as amended by PL 1993, c. 
524, §§6 and 7, is further amended by repealing and replacing 
subparagraph (5) to read: 
(5) 
Answers to the following questions: 
(a) 
Are you less than 18 years of age? 
(b) 
Is there a 
formal charging instrument now 
pending against you in this State for 
a 
crime 
under the laws of this State that is punishable by 
imprisonment for a term of one year or more? 
(c) 
Is there a 
formal charging instrument now 
pending against you in any federal court for a 
crime under the laws of the United States that is 
punishable by imprisonment for a 
term exceeding 
one year? 
(d) 
Is there a 
formal charging instrument now 
pending against you in another state for a crime 
that, under the laws of that state, is punishable 
by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year? 
(e) 
If your answer to the question in division 
(d) is "yes," is that charged crime classified 
under the laws of that state as 
a 
misdemeanor 
punishable by a term of imprisonment of 2 years or 
~ 
(f) 
Is there a formal charging instrument pending 
against 
you 
in 
another 
state 
for 
a 
crime 
punishable in that state by a term of imprisonment 
of 2 years or less and classified by that state as 
a misdemeanor, but that is substantially similar 
to a crime that under the laws of this State is 
punishable by imprisonment for a term of one year 
or more? 
(g) 
Is there a 
formal charging instrument now 
pending against you under the laws of the United 
States, 
this State or 
any other state or the 
Passamaquoddy 
Tribe 
or 
Penobscot 
Nation 
in 
a 
proceeding in which the prosecuting authori ty has 
pleaded that you committed the crime with the use 
of a firearm against a person or with the use of a 
dangerous weapon as defined in Title l7-A, section 
2, subsection 9, paragraph A? 
(h) 
Is there a 
formal charging instrument now 
pending 
against 
you 
in 
this 
or 
any 
other 
jurisdiction 
for 
a 
juvenile 
offense 
that, 
if 
committed by an adult, would be a crime described 
in division (b), 
(c), 
(d) or (0 and involves 
bodily injury or threatened bodily injury against 
another person? 
(i) 
Is there a 
formal charging instrument now 
pending 
against 
you 
in 
this 
or 
any 
other 
jurisdiction 
for 
a 
juvenile 
offense 
that, 
if 
committed by an adult. would be a crime described 
in division (g)? 
(j) 
Is there a 
formal charging instrument now 
pending 
against 
you 
in 
this 
or 
any 
other 
jurisdiction 
for 
a 
juvenile 
offense 
that, 
if 
committed by an adult, would be a crime described 
in division (b), (c), 
(d) or (f), but does not 
involve bodily injury or threatened bodily injury 
against another person? 
(k) 
Have you ever been convicted of committing or 
found 
not 
criminally responsible 
by 
reason of 
mental disease or defect of committing a 
crime 
described in division (b), (el, (f) or (g)? 
(l) 
Have you ever been convicted of committing or 
found 
not 
criminally responsible 
by 
reason 
of 
mental disease or defect of committing a 
crime 
described in division (d)? 
(m) 
If your answer to the question in division 
(1) is "yes," was that crime classified under the 
laws of that state as a misdemeanor punishable by 
a term of imprisonment of 2 years or less? 
(n) 
Have 
you ever been adjudicated as having 
committed a juvenile offense described in division 
(h) or (i)? 
(0) 
Have 
you ever been adjudicated as having 
committed a juvenile offense described in division 
till 
(p) 
Are you currently subject to an order of a 
Maine court or an order of a court of the United 
States or another state, territory, commonwealth 
or 
tribe 
that 
restrains 
you 
from 
harassing, 
stalking or threatening your intimate partner, as 
defined in 18 United States Code, Section 921(a), 
or 
a 
child of your 
intimate partner, 
or 
from 
engaging in other conduct that would place your 
intimate partner 
in 
reasonable 
fear 
of 
bodily 
injury to that intimate partner or the child? 
(q) 
Are you a fugitive from justice? 
(r) 
Are you a drug abuser, drug addict or drug 
dependent person? 
(s) 
Do you have a mental disQrder that causes you 
to be potentially dangerous to yourself or others? 
(t) 
Have 
you 
been 
adjudicated 
to 
be 
an 
incapacitated 
person 
pursuant 
to 
Title 
18-A, 
Article 
5, 
Parts 
and 
and 
not 
had 
that 
designation removed by an order under Title 18-A, 
section 5-307, subsection (b)? 
(u) 
Have you been dishonorably discharged from 
the military forces within the past 5 years? 
(v) 
Are you an illegal alien? 
(w) 
Have you been convicted in a Maine court of a 
violation of Title 17 -A, section 1057 within the 
past 5 years? 
(x) 
Have you been adjudicated in a Maine court 
within the past 5 years as having committed a 
juvenile 
offense 
involving 
conduct 
that, 
if 
committed by an adult, would be a violation of 
Title 17-A, section 1057? 
(y) 
To your knowledge, have you been the subject 
of an investigation by any law enforcement agency 
within the past 
years 
regarding the alleged 
abuse by you of family or household members? 
(z) 
Have you been convicted in any jurisdiction 
within the past 
years of 
or 
more 
crimes 
punishable by a term of imprisonment of less than 
one year or of crimes classified under the laws of 
a state as a misdemeanor and punishable by a term 
of imprisonment of 2 years or less? 
(aa) 
Have 
you 
been 
adjudicated 
in 
any 
jurisdiction within the past 
years 
to 
have 
committed 3 or more juvenile offenses described in 
division (o)? 
(bb) 
To your knowledge, have you engaged within 
the past 5 years in reckless or negligent conduct 
that has been the subject of an investigation by a 
governmental entity? 
(cc) 
Haye you been convicted in a Maine court 
within the past 5 years of any Title 17-A, chapter 
drug crime? 
(dd) 
Have you been adjudicated in a Maine court 
within the past 5 years as having committed a 
juvenile 
offense 
involving 
conduct 
that, 
if 
committed by an adult, would have been a violation 
of Title 17-A, chapter 45? 
(ee) 
Have you been adjudged in a Maine court to 
have committed the civil violation of possession 
of a useable amount of marijuana, butyl nitrite or 
isobutyl nitrite in violation of Title 22, section 
2383 within the past 5 years? 
(ff) 
Have you been adjudicated in a Maine court 
within the past 5 years as having committed the 
juvenile crime defined in Title 15, section 3103, 
subsection 1, 
paragraph 
B of possession of 
a 
useable amount of mar1Juana, as provided in Title 
22, section 2383?; and 
" 
Sec. 5. 25 MRS A §2003, sub-§2, ,A-I, as amended by PL 2001, c. 
549, §6, is further amended to read: 
A-I. 
That 
answer 
to 
subparagraph 
for refusal 
to possess a 
the applicant understands that an affirmative 
the 
question 
in 
subsection 
1, 
paragraph 
D, 
(5), division fe}-e~-~e-l} (1) or (0) is cause 
unless the applicant is nonetheless authorized 
firearm under Title 15, section 393; 
Sec. 6. 25 MRSA §2003, sub-§2, 'A-2 is enacted to read: 
A-2. 
That the applicant understands that an affirmative 
answer 
to 
subsection 1, 
paragraph 
D, 
subparagraph 
(5), 
division (p) is cause for refusal if the order of the court 
meets the preconditions contained in Title 15, section 393, 
subsection L 
paragraph D. 
If the order of the court does 
not meet the preconditions, the conduct underlying the order 
may be used by the issuing authority, 
along with other 
information, 
in 
judging 
good 
moral 
character 
under 
subsection 4; 
Sec. 7. 25 MRSA §2003, sub-§2, ,B, as amended by PL 2001, c. 
549, §7, is further amended to read: 
B. 
That 
the 
applicant 
understands 
that 
answer to one or more of the questions 
paragraph D, 
subparagraph (5), divisions 
(k), (n) or (~) to (x) is cause for refusal; 
an 
affirmative 
in subsection 1, 
fEl}--t.-{)--fk} 
.f.QL 
Sec. 8. 25 MRSA §2003, sub-§2, ,B-1, as amended by PL 1993, c. 
524, §9, is further amended to read: 
B-1. 
That the applicant understands that an affirmative 
answer to one or more of the questions in subsection 1, 
• 
• 
paragraph D, 
subparagraph (5), divisions {.a}r--{-b-}-,--{.B-l}r 
{.e-l:h-~-l-),.--{-m-}-,--{-R-}--aJla--<-o-}--t;G--{.s} (b) to (j), (m), 
(y) , 
(z) or (aa) to (ff) is used by the issuing authority, along 
with other information, 
in judging good moral 
character 
under subsection 4; and 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the requirements for the issuance of a 
permit to carry concealed firearms by the issuing authority to 
incorporate into the requirements the recent changes made to the 
Maine 
Revised 
Statutes, 
Title 
15, 
section 
relating 
to 
possession of firearms by prohibited persons pursuant to Public 
Law 2001, chapter 549. 
Additionally, this bill adds a permit to 
carry firearms provision in Title 25, section 2002 definitions 
for "conviction," "not criminally responsible by reason of mental 
disease or defect," 
"State," 
"state" 
and 
"use 
of 
dangerous 
weapon." 
Each definition is contained in Title 15, section 393.