Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters to [email protected]
I want to applaud the Mills administration for their creative efforts to seemingly ignore the need for meaningful gun legislation in Maine. I think that deciding to put energy into trying to decide if the brain of Robert R. Card II predisposed him to these murders was a brilliant move. Then, of course, going through the lengthy task of subpoenaing people to testify about who dropped the ball in the lead up to Card’s killings could delay any action until we’ve all put it in the past and forgotten it. I think that would probably make the nearly 170 Maine lawmakers who didn’t respond to the Bangor Daily News survey awfully happy.
The avoidance of enacting more comprehensive gun laws in our country is shameful, coloring us as a violent nation gone out of control. Which, of course, we are. Our representatives in Washington have not been able to enact anything of substance. That our state government can apparently do no better is outrageous. Maine has been fortunate not to really have to deal with this messy issue because such violence “doesn’t happen” in Maine. That meaningless logic can no longer act as an excuse. We have now joined the many other states who have experienced mass shootings.
Maine could come out of this tragic event as a leader in creating legislation that eliminates the most egregious weapons, and imposes accountability for gun owners and buyers. Or, we could become just another state that sidesteps that responsibility. Every day that goes by makes it appear that we are of the latter group. Is that how we want to see ourselves? If not, each of us must let our state politicians know that enough is enough. Without all of our voices, absolutely nothing will change.
Dana Williams
Belfast
