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Phil Harriman, a former town councilor and state senator from Yarmouth, is the founding partner of Lebel & Harriman, a financial services firm. Ethan Strimling, a former mayor and state senator from Portland, is the president of Swing Hard. Turn Left, which promotes progressive policy at the local, state and national levels.
Phil: Enough! I’m done talking. What can we do to prevent terrorists with guns in America from destroying school children’s lives and their families ever again?
Ethan: Sadly, it’s not just Uvalde. There have been 18,063 gun deaths in America since Jan. 1 and 231 mass shootings.
Phil: It’s obvious some people should not possess a gun of any type. Tell me your top five solutions and let’s see if we find common ground.
Ethan: Number 1: Ban assault weapons. They have no use other than to massacre as many people as possible.
Phil: In my view all guns are capable of assault. Define “assault weapon.”
Ethan: U.S. Senate Bill 66 defines it very well.
Phil: If that bill permits current Maine firearms regulations, which enable Maine sportsmen and women to hunt, let’s proceed to a public hearing.
Ethan: It does. When we had a similar ban in place from 1994 to 2004, not a single hunter was deprived of their privilege to hunt. Since it expired, mass murders have tripled.
Phil: It’s time for politicians to stop quibbling about details. As a sportsman for decades I’m a yes.
Ethan: Number 2: Ban magazines with more than 10 bullets.
Phil: Hunters in Maine are already limited to the number they can have in their gun. If your demand to slow down a deranged mass-shooter as they reload the next 10 is the cure, I’ll cross that bridge too, proving law abiding gun owners want safety for our children too
Ethan: Number 3: A 10-day waiting period.
Phil: Why 10? Why not five, or 15? What’s the logic?
Ethan: Because if you need to buy a gun fast, it is likely for a very bad reason (including suicide). The Uvalde shooter bought his gun one week prior to entering the school.
Phil: But the Buffalo shooter bought his a few months prior, which is why I don’t think waiting periods will be effective. It seems to me the best path is to make sure the background check is truly universal and that it screens for all flags.
Ethan: That’s number 4. Universal — no exemptions, no loopholes — background checks on every gun transfer.
Phil: What about if I want to lend a gun to my daughter so we can go hunting for the day?
Ethan: Temporarily lending a family member a gun for hunting, who has had a background check and has a license, seems reasonable to me.
Phil: You don’t want to go so far that you create unintended consequences that land a parent in jail simply because she or he did what their parent before them did.
Ethan: Since the “consequences” of our current policy has left hundreds of school children dead in the past 20 years, I think we can all live with a few consequences in the other direction.
Phil: If you believe changing the “policy” will end the blame guns mantra, I will support universal background checks too so long as you support my minor exemption.
Ethan: Done.
Phil: What’s your fifth?
Ethan: Permits and registration for handgun ownership, just like you do with a car. We spend a lot of time on assault weapons, as we should, but handguns are used more than anything else in America to kill people.
Phil: Knowing how to use a gun and always acting safely is knowledge every gun owner must have. Maine is showing how safety is implemented — training before being issued a hunting license.
Ethan: Are you willing to extend that training and licensure to all gun purchases?
Phil: All new purchases, yes.
Ethan: I can live with that.
Phil: Although I know some in my party may not be happy, I now support four of your five proposals.
Ethan: I sure hope some of your compatriots follow suit. It’s time.
Phil: Likewise. Next week, let’s talk about the “why are these murderers acting out this way” and see if we can find some agreement there.