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Justin Davis is the Maine NRA State Director and Laura Whitcomb is the President of Gun Owners of Maine.
In the wake of the tragedy in Lewiston, Mainers are seeking answers and meaningful solutions. Knee-jerk demands for gun control were the loudest and most persistent calls in the initial moments; however, as time moves on, we’re seeing the root causes of the senseless violence come to light. One thing remains clear in this situation, and others like it, there are chronic system failures and a lack of resources. Maine needs to prioritize mental health treatment and our law enforcement community, who are both on the frontlines of protecting our communities.
To most Mainers, it is clear these issues need to be addressed. There is a critical need for a holistic approach to public safety. This can be accomplished through common sense solutions such as investing in comprehensive mental health care reform and providing the resources that our law enforcement community desperately needs. These are not new concepts but the same policy solutions the gun-rights advocates have already been advocating for in Maine. These policy solutions address real pitfalls in the state that led us to the tragedy in October.
This approach differs greatly from progressive anti-gun groups that are running a slate of cookie-cutter gun control legislation that appears to be more focused on serving their national agenda than the people of Maine. Even while the scene in Lewiston was still active, national political figures used Maine’s tragedy without knowing, or caring about, the facts. From blaming Republicans for voting down waiting periods (despite it being an overwhelming bipartisan vote), to calling for universal background checks, these politicians wasted no time to push their agenda.
As more facts have come out, and Maine’s independent commission continues its investigation, gun owners have hoped that these calls for failed out-of-state gun control would subside. However, gun control groups and lawmakers are doubling down on a slate of gun control proposals, including attempts to redefine commonly owned firearms, confiscating firearms without due process, implementing universal background checks, requiring waiting periods on all purchases and transfers of firearms, creating gun registries, banning magazines that hold more than five rounds, and calling on private businesses to stop selling semi-automatic firearms.
Gun owners have every right to question how these proposals fit the fact pattern of the Lewiston shooter and if they are only steppingstones to even larger gun control efforts. In a press conference late last month, leading gun control lawmakers admitted these bills are not solely focused on what would have prevented the tragedy in Lewiston, but rather focused on passing further restrictive gun policies. In hearings last week, Maine Gun Safety Coalition activists said that this is “only the beginning” of the gun control they want to see implemented and demanded even further action.
Mainers from Kittery to Madawaska have voiced their concerns that the extreme policies being proposed do not address the underlying issues in Maine, would disarm law-abiding citizens, and are out-of-step with our proud gun-owning heritage. Why are we focused on turning otherwise law-abiding Mainers into criminals for the simple act of owning a legally purchased firearm? Universal background checks, which were recently rejected by Maine voters at the ballot box, restrict the ability for law-abiding Mainers to lend a firearm to a family member. Waiting periods would require victims of abuse in need of urgent self-dense to wait days before receiving their lawfully purchased firearm.
But these political figures aren’t just pushing for restrictive policies that, as crime statistics indicate, do not reduce violent crime. They are touting polls, without key details about who they surveyed, or cherry-picking statistics from studies. These tactics are not unique to Maine and have been utilized throughout the country to deliver extreme gun control measures regardless of their effectiveness.
As Michael Bloomberg and other billionaire gun control advocates once again send in their political operatives and pump large streams of money into Maine to tip the scales, it is critical for gun owners to get involved and make their voices heard. Contact your lawmakers. Get involved with your local sportsman’s club. Together we can find a bipartisan solution that addresses Maine’s problems without infringing on the rights of law-abiding citizens.
