Press Release

Acting Attorney General Cori Mills Joins Coalition of 23 States in Challenging 3 Day Waiting Periods for Firearms Purchases

September 28, 2026

(Anchorage, AK) – The State of Alaska has joined an amicus brief, led by the State of Montana, challenging the constitutionality of Maine’s 72-hour waiting periods for firearms purchases.

“The Constitution acknowledges the rights of citizens to firearms, and it is incredibly clear that nothing shall stop the free exercise of those rights,” said Acting Alaska Attorney General Cori Mills. “And yet, states like Maine have normalized making citizens wait to exercise the rights guaranteed to them by the Constitution.”

The brief targets a law in Maine that makes residents wait three days after purchasing a firearm before taking possession of it. The brief argues that when states, like Maine, enact laws mandating such delays they violate the Second Amendment of the Constitution. The Second Amendment asserts the right to keep and bear arms, which would include possession of those arms. The brief also states that “forcing a person to delay taking possession of a firearm is clearly ‘a restriction on possession’” and not compatible with the plain text of the Constitution.

The Alaska Attorney General joins such cases when further defining and clarifying Constitutional rights can help guarantee the rights of Alaskans, as well as American citizens.

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Department Media Contact: Information Officer Sam Curtis at sam.curtis@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6269.

Due to resource constraints, we no longer post links to referenced records. Records filed in a federal court are readily available at Docket Search or PACER, and records filed in a State of Alaska court are readily available from the Alaska Court System (Trial Courts - Alaska Court System and Search for an Appellate Case). Contact Sam Curtis to request a referenced record that is not readily available from a court or on the internet, or contact law.recordsrequest@alaska.gov to submit a formal Alaska Public Records Act request.