Sweeping gun legislation approved by Maine lawmakers after deadliest shooting in state history | KLRT [Video]

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The Maine Legislature approved sweeping gun safety legislation including background checks on private gun sales, waiting periods for gun purchases and criminalizing gun sales to prohibited people before adjourning Thursday morning, nearly six months after the deadliest shooting in state history.

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and the Democratic-led Legislature pressed for a number of gun and mental health proposals after the shooting that claimed 18 lives and injured 13 others, and most were adopted despite the state’s strong hunting tradition and gun ownership.

“We heard loud and clear from Mainers across our state that they wanted meaningful action to make our communities safer from violence, and I’m so proud that we had the courage take meaningful steps that will get us closer to making that a reality,” the House assistant majority leader, Rep. Kristen Cloutier, a Democrat from Lewiston, said Thursday in a statement.

The governor …