Maine is a hunting state. Gun rights for sporting and self-defense are widely accepted. However, gun violence like the mass shootings in Lewiston on Oct. 25, killing 18 people, is an unacceptable problem that must be addressed.
Have leaders in Maine done all they can to keep people safe? The answer is no.
Surely a state like Maine with independent-minded voters can find a balanced approach on this issue. A good place to start would be to ban assault weapons.
When my great-grandparents retired in central Maine, they lived off the land, gardening in the summer and hunting in the fall. They preserved vegetables and game meat to last through the winter. My great-grandmother was a small woman, but you wouldn’t dare take her hunting rifle away from her. She did not need assault rifles to hunt deer, and we don’t need them on the streets today.
A 2021 study found that 46% of adults in Maine own a gun. Maine’s population is estimated at 1.3 million people, which means there are at least 650,000 guns in the state. Maine is also a permitless carry state, with no restrictions on the sale of assault weapons. Only 21,396 licensed firearms in Maine are registered with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
No one needs assault weapons for legitimate sport and self-defense. The gunman in Lewiston used an assault-style rifle to kill people in public. The Giffords Law Center for the Prevention of Gun Violence – founded by former Rep. Gabby Giffords of Arizona, who was shot during a constituent meeting in a shopping plaza – gives the state of Maine an “F” grade for not having sufficient gun safety measures in place. Everytown for Gun Safety says that Maine ranks 25th in the nation for not having enough gun policies to keep people safe.
The second place to start is recognizing that gun violence is a public health issue. Addressing mental illness and placing restrictions on gun ownership for those who are unfit to handle weapons is key to saving lives. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that most gun deaths in Maine are due to suicide, with veterans being at higher risk of self-harm.
The link between gun violence and mental health is clear. No one struggling with mental illness should possess a deadly weapon. The shooting in Lewiston has shown us that mental health is not an individual problem. When one person struggles, it is a public health problem.
A poll conducted by the Maine Gun Safety Coalition indicated that 67% of Republicans and 76% of Democrats in Maine want background checks for guns and a majority from both parties agree to a 72-hour waiting period. Yet, a legislative proposal requiring the 72-hour wait period was voted down in the Maine Senate this June. Having a waiting period or “cooling off” time frame before receiving a gun is a safety measure for people seeking to inflict harm on themselves or others.
However, the Legislature has enacted legislation requiring background checks on private gun sales. The bill excluded the transfer of guns between family members and antique firearms. Maine also has a “yellow flag” law that allows police to petition a judge for the right to remove guns from people deemed to be a threat to themselves and others. This law could be strengthened to a “red flag” law that allows family members to go directly to a judge to have guns taken away from people showing warning signs for inflicting violence.
The Sportsman Alliance of Maine says that it has worked cooperatively with gun control advocates to reduce the likelihood of domestic violence and veteran suicides. It’s time for the sporting community to come behind other legislative measures for addressing mental illness and dangerous assault weapons.
We cannot live in a place where one person can inflict mass casualties, not here in Maine, one of the safest states in the nation. We can and must do more to end gun violence.
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