State lawmakers got into a procedural standoff Friday over whether the Legislature must hold a public hearing on a ballot initiative that seeks to enact a "red flag" gun law in the state.

Earlier this year, the Maine Gun Safety Coalition submitted enough signatures for a ballot initiative proposing a "extreme risk protection order" law. Also known as "red flag" laws, these allow family members to ask a court to order someone to temporarily relinquish their guns if they pose a danger to themselves or others. This would be an expansion of Maine's "yellow flag" law, which only allows police to initiate the gun confiscation process with the courts.

But Democrats and Republicans on the Legislature's Judiciary Committee sparred Friday over whether they had to hold a public hearing on the issue

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