On Tuesday, two organizations supporting Second Amendment rights petitioned the Supreme Court to take on a case regarding a waiting period for firearm purchases.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) are pushing for the court to review Beckwith v. Frey, which challenges Maine’s three-day waiting period for buying guns. In their brief, Konstadinos Moros, the SAF Director of Legal Research and Education, criticized the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit for what he described as “gamesmanship.”
Moros noted, “Some lower courts have rationalized this defiance by being overly strict in their interpretation of the Second Amendment’s plain text. To these courts, no behavior is protected unless it strictly means keeping or bearing arms. That’s what led to the First Circuit’s ruling that ‘laws regulating the purchase or acquisition of firearms do not target conduct covered by the Second Amendment’s plain text.’”
Joe and I have kind of like a Beatles thing going. And by that I mean, he’s like McCartney and Lennon, and I’m Ringo Starr.
I’ll do a thread on this one in a bit on the SAF page after I’m done crashing out on the Yukutake thread. pic.twitter.com/42OfTWS8mH
— Kostas Moros (@MorosKostas) September 22, 2026
Initially, United States District Judge Lance E. Walker, appointed by Trump, sided with the plaintiffs. However, the First Circuit Court reversed this decision, leading the plaintiffs to file a petition to the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari.
The waiting period was implemented by Maine’s Legislature after a mass shooting in Lewiston in October 2023, committed by an Army reservist with known mental health issues. The law came into effect in 2024 when Democratic Governor Janet Mills chose not to veto it, allowing it to be enacted without her signature.
In August 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit invalidated a similar waiting period for firearm purchases, overturning a previous ruling by Senior United States District Judge James O. Browning, who was appointed by George W. Bush. This created a “circuit split” regarding the constitutionality of such measures. When appellate courts have differing interpretations on related issues, the Supreme Court is more likely to step in and resolve the discrepancies.
Maine must respond to the petition by Monday, which coincides with the Supreme Court’s “long conference,” a lengthy review session where the justices consider around 2,000 cases, some of which involve Second Amendment discussions.
