Five days after the deadly mass shooting in Lewiston, Gov. Janet Mills called for action to address gun violence in Maine without sharing specific ideas.
The Democratic governor said at a Monday news conference at the State House in Augusta that her administration is focused on getting the facts that led to Maine’s deadliest mass shooting in modern history last Wednesday, which killed 18 people and injured 13 others, she said during a Monday news conference in Lewiston.
As information has come out in the days since the violence, like police being notified about threats that suspect Robert R. Card II made last month, questions have swirled about whether changes to Maine’s loose gun laws are needed. Police found Card’s body Friday night in Lisbon.
People deserve a robust conversation about gun violence and public safety at the state and federal levels, Mills said, though she did not call for specific changes or policies. She wants to bring together legislative leaders on both sides of the aisle for a thoughtful and comprehensive discussion, she said.
“I’m not taking anything off the table,” she told a reporter at the news conference. “There are a lot of ideas out there. They may have names or acronyms. I’m willing to listen to all voices.”
Action is needed, and it should come from a diverse group of voices, including public safety officials, members of the judicial system, advocates, psychiatrists and others, Mills said.
The gun found in Card’s car was a Ruger SFAR, said Shannon Moss, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson. Forensic and ballistic testing is still pending, and it will show if the gun was used in the shooting, she said.
U.S. Rep. Jared Golden has called on Congress to pass a ban on assault-style weapons. The Democrat from Maine’s 2nd District is a Marine veteran who previously opposed such bans, but he changed his mind after the mass shooting in Maine’s second-largest city.
Mills supported certain gun control policies during her 2018 gubernatorial primary, but she has resisted them as governor. After taking office the following year, she dissuaded fellow Democrats from advancing a background check expansion similar to once rejected by voters in 2016, and lawmakers rejected a measure along those lines this year.
Several lawmakers said Friday they wanted to wait longer before discussing gun policies and instead focus on the victims. Rep. Michel Lajoie, a Lewiston Democrat and former fire chief who has leaned more conservative on issues including abortion, said he thinks banning assault-style weapons like AR-15-style rifles will be a priority for the Legislature.
During a Sunday night vigil in Bangor, state Sen. Joe Baldacci, D-Bangor, called upon Mills and leadership of both political parties to “embrace common-sense reforms” and to consider bringing the Maine Legislature back to accomplish this.
He also called on the governor and state’s attorney general to create a statewide registry of people prohibited from owning firearms, which should be regularly updated and publicly available.
Mills’ office has started offering resources to the families of victims and survivors, along with others affected by the tragedy. These range from mental health counseling to financial aid to Lewiston small businesses.
BDN reporter Billy Kobin contributed to this story.
