First Circuit Decision Deepens Split on Waiting Periods

April 6, 2026
8:10 am

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The First Circuit just dropped a bombshell, upholding Maine's 72-hour waiting period on gun sales in a ruling that not only greenlights the delay but widens the growing chasm among federal appeals courts on Second Amendment protections. In *Rockridge Realty v. Morrissey*, the court leaned hard on the Bruen framework—requiring gun laws to align with historical traditions—but decided Maine's three-day wait fits the bill as a modern analog to colonial-era cooling off practices or restrictions on impulsive sales. Critics in the pro-2A camp are fuming, arguing this stretches history beyond recognition; after all, the Founders didn't mandate bureaucratic timeouts before exercising a fundamental right. With the Third, Seventh, and now First Circuits backing similar delays (Maryland's 7-day and Illinois' 72-hour schemes survived too), while the Fifth Circuit struck down Texas's version as unconstitutional, we're staring at a textbook circuit split ripe for Supreme Court intervention. This isn't just legalese trivia—it's a direct assault on the speed and autonomy gun owners expect when buying from a licensed dealer. Imagine finally deciding on that defensive pistol after a home invasion scare, only to twiddle your thumbs for 72 hours while paperwork processes and NICS checks run their course anyway. Proponents claim it thwarts suicides and domestic violence, citing studies like one from the RAND Corporation showing mixed but suggestive evidence on wait times reducing gun deaths. But dig deeper: those same studies admit massive confounders (background checks already filter prohibited persons), and Bruen explicitly warned against interest balancing dressed up as history. For the 2A community, the implications are stark—Maine's law now stands as a blueprint for blue-state copycats, potentially delaying lawful purchases nationwide if SCOTUS doesn't step in soon. Petitions for cert are inevitable; keep an eye on Rockridge's next move. The silver lining? This deepening split screams for clarity from the nine justices, who could finally torch these anachronistic hurdles and affirm that the right to keep and bear arms doesn't come with a government-mandated procrastination penalty. 2A warriors, rally your reps, fund the fights, and stay vigilant—this is circuit court chaos, but it's also our cue to push for nationwide reciprocity and permitless carry wins. The battle for unencumbered self-defense rages on.

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The First Circuit just dropped a bombshell, upholding Maine’s 72-hour waiting period on gun sales in a ruling that not only greenlights the delay but widens the growing chasm among federal appeals courts on Second Amendment protections. In *Rockridge Realty v. Morrissey*, the court leaned hard on the Bruen framework—requiring gun laws to align with historical traditions—but decided Maine’s three-day wait fits the bill as a modern analog to colonial-era cooling off practices or restrictions on impulsive sales. Critics in the pro-2A camp are fuming, arguing this stretches history beyond recognition; after all, the Founders didn’t mandate bureaucratic timeouts before exercising a fundamental right. With the Third, Seventh, and now First Circuits backing similar delays (Maryland’s 7-day and Illinois’ 72-hour schemes survived too), while the Fifth Circuit struck down Texas’s version as unconstitutional, we’re staring at a textbook circuit split ripe for Supreme Court intervention.

This isn’t just legalese trivia—it’s a direct assault on the speed and autonomy gun owners expect when buying from a licensed dealer. Imagine finally deciding on that defensive pistol after a home invasion scare, only to twiddle your thumbs for 72 hours while paperwork processes and NICS checks run their course anyway. Proponents claim it thwarts suicides and domestic violence, citing studies like one from the RAND Corporation showing mixed but suggestive evidence on wait times reducing gun deaths. But dig deeper: those same studies admit massive confounders (background checks already filter prohibited persons), and Bruen explicitly warned against interest balancing dressed up as history. For the 2A community, the implications are stark—Maine’s law now stands as a blueprint for blue-state copycats, potentially delaying lawful purchases nationwide if SCOTUS doesn’t step in soon. Petitions for cert are inevitable; keep an eye on Rockridge’s next move.

The silver lining? This deepening split screams for clarity from the nine justices, who could finally torch these anachronistic hurdles and affirm that the right to keep and bear arms doesn’t come with a government-mandated procrastination penalty. 2A warriors, rally your reps, fund the fights, and stay vigilant—this is circuit court chaos, but it’s also our cue to push for nationwide reciprocity and permitless carry wins. The battle for unencumbered self-defense rages on.

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