AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWSnet/AP) — Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Friday signed gun safety legislation that expands background checks for private sales of weapons, criminalizes the transfer of guns to prohibited people and expands mental health crisis care.

During the governor’s State of the State address, she said doing nothing is not an option after the Oct. 25, 2023, mass shooting in Lewiston.

The new law does not require universal background checks, but it does require background checks for people who advertise a gun for sale. Sellers would be required to conduct a background check utilizing commercially licensed businesses.

Revisions to the "yellow flag" law allows police to assess an individual, take the person into protective custody for a mental health evaluation and hold a hearing before a judge to remove guns from someone in a psychiatric crisis. It allows police to go directly to a judge for a warrant.

The measure also strengthens the legal standard for prosecution and penalties to deter other people from selling weapons to prohibited buyers, making it a felony.

Mills also proposed the creation of a new violence and injury prevention program requiring Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to serve as a clearinghouse for data from law enforcement, hospitals, schools and other sources to inform public policy decisions.

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