Conference Oct 16
Where it stands
Petition from the First Circuit on Maine's waiting period law, set for the Oct 16 conference.
The legal question
Can a state make a lawful buyer wait 72 hours after clearing a background check, and can a court skip Bruen's historical test by treating buying a gun as a step before "keeping and bearing" arms?
In legal terms
Maine's law generally bars a seller from delivering a firearm until 72 hours after the parties agree to the sale. The waiting period runs alongside the background check, but an instant approval does not end it. There are exemptions for law enforcement, corrections officers, some security personnel and dealers, certain family transfers and sales that require no background check, but no general exception for a buyer who has passed a check and faces an immediate threat. Sellers face civil fines for violating the rule.
A federal district judge blocked the law with a preliminary injunction, finding the challengers likely to win. In April 2026 the First Circuit vacated the injunction. It did not decide whether Maine could point to a historical tradition of mandatory delays. Instead it treated the wait as a "condition on the commercial sale of firearms," presumptively lawful unless the challengers show it is "abusive," reasoning that laws governing acquisition do not directly regulate conduct covered by the Second Amendment's plain text. The petition (No. 26-258) argues that this lets courts weigh how much infringement to tolerate, which Bruen rejected. It also points to a different approach in the Tenth Circuit, which in Ortega v. Grisham found that New Mexico's seven-day waiting period implicated the Second Amendment and rejected the state's historical defense.
The Second Amendment Foundation and the NRA filed an amicus brief on September 22, 2026. The case is set for the Court's October 16 conference.
What this means, in plain English
Maine makes you wait 72 hours, three full days, after you buy a gun before you can take it home, even if you pass the background check on the spot. One example from the challengers: a woman who passed her check right away still could not take her gun home until Tuesday, because the store was closed Sunday and Monday.
A federal judge blocked the law. Then the First Circuit said the law was probably fine because it only regulates the sale, not owning or carrying, and put the burden on gun owners to prove it was "abusive." The gun-rights side says that dodges the test the Supreme Court set in Bruen.
On October 16 the justices will vote on whether to take the case. About a dozen states have waiting periods, so the answer reaches well beyond Maine.
The Court has not yet taken a waiting-period case. A grant would put waiting periods nationwide in play. A denial leaves the First Circuit ruling in place, and creates a gap with the Tenth Circuit, which has treated a seven-day waiting period differently.
If the Court takes the case and sides with the challengers, waiting periods in states with them would face the history test and many could fall.
If the Court declines, Maine's law stands in the First Circuit, and states elsewhere may copy the First Circuit's approach.
What to watch: Oct 16, 2026: conference. An order list usually follows within days.
Timeline
Key terms
- Bruen (2022)
- The Supreme Court case that struck down New York's rule requiring a special reason to get a carry permit. It set the test courts use today: if the Second Amendment's text covers what you did, the government must show its law fits the country's historical tradition of firearm regulation.
- Certiorari ("cert")
- The Supreme Court chooses most of its cases. A losing party files a petition asking it to take the case. Four of the nine justices must vote to grant it. Most petitions are denied, and a denial is not a ruling on the merits.
- Conference
- The private meeting where the justices vote on which petitions to take. Orders usually come out the next business day, or the following Monday.
- Circuit split
- When two appeals courts reach opposite answers on the same legal question. A split is one of the strongest reasons for the Supreme Court to step in.
- Preliminary injunction
- A temporary court order that blocks a law while the case is decided, issued when challengers are likely to win.
States affected
Sources: court dockets, the Federal Register, DOJ releases and Congress.gov. Informational only, not legal advice. Items marked Unverified are awaiting review.