A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has cleared the way for Maine's 72-hour waiting period on firearm purchases to take effect April 24, reversing the district court preliminary injunction in Beckwith v. Frey that had blocked enforcement since the law was passed.
The panel issued its ruling on April 3, finding the plaintiffs were unlikely to succeed on the merits of their Second Amendment claim. Rather than proceeding through the historical-tradition analysis the Supreme Court required in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the panel concluded that the plain text of the Second Amendment does not reach the commercial delivery timing of a firearm sale, short-circuiting the Bruen inquiry at step one.
That step-one reasoning is what has Second Amendment legal observers watching the case most closely. In its coverage of the ruling, the NRA Institute for Legislative Action confirmed it is an amicus party in the case and said it will continue to monitor the law's implementation. Bearing Arms noted that the panel's reading widens an existing circuit split on whether commercial-sale regulations fall inside or outside the Second Amendment's text — the kind of split that tends to draw Supreme Court attention.
The plaintiffs now have two procedural options: petition the full First Circuit for en banc rehearing, or file a certiorari petition directly with the Supreme Court. Either path leaves the waiting period in force during review unless a stay is granted, and the panel did not stay its own mandate.
Maine's law, passed in 2024 after the October 2023 Lewiston shooting, requires a 72-hour delay between the sale of a firearm and its delivery to the buyer. It does not apply to transfers between immediate family members, to antique firearms, or to sales to active-duty law enforcement. Retailers must hold the firearm in inventory during the waiting period; private transfers between Maine residents are not covered by the statute.
In coverage of the decision, Ammoland reported that the panel consisted of Obama and Biden appointees and that the ruling leaves open the possibility of Supreme Court review on a question the Court has not squarely addressed since Bruen — whether the commercial sale of firearms sits inside or outside the Second Amendment's plain-text guarantee.
For Maine retailers and buyers, the practical effect starts April 24. Sales completed before that date are not subject to the new delay. Transfers initiated on or after the 24th must sit with the FFL for at least 72 hours before the firearm can be released to the buyer, with the clock running from the time of sale as defined in the statute.
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