More Mainers Favor Keeping Concealed Weapons Permits Public, According to Poll

AUGUSTA - More Mainers favor keeping concealed weapons permits publicly available than favor withholding them, according to a Pan Atlantic SMS Group poll publicized today by the Bangor Daily News.

In answer to the question “Do you agree with the decision to make concealed weapons permits private or do you believe concealed weapons permits should be publicly available?” 48.6 percent answered that the records should be publicly available. 46.4 percent answered that they should be kept private, while 4.9 percent answered other or unsure.

Today, a majority of the Judiciary Committee voted “ought to pass” on LD 345, as amended, which would remove concealed weapon permit information from the public record. The ACLU of Maine supports the minority report, backed by three members of the Judiciary Committee, which would allow individual members of the public to keep their permit information confidential if they feared that its publication would harm their personal safety.

The following can be attributed to Shenna Bellows, executive director of the ACLU of Maine:

“This poll shows that the people of Maine don’t want the government withholding information about important matters. Mainers recognize that a true democracy depends on the public knowing what the government is up to. We support keeping these permits publicly available with narrower exceptions for personal safety. It's wrong to shield the issuance of concealed weapons permits from public view."

The poll is available online here.