Gun safety advocates called on state lawmakers Saturday to take action following the Oct. 25 shooting that left 18 people dead and 13 injured in Lewiston.
About 300 people gathered on Capitol grounds, across from the State House, to make their priorities clear: a ban on assault weapons; a 72-hour waiting period after purchasing a firearm; universal background checks and a red flag law.
“The truth is the shooter lived in Maine and our laws do not prevent dangerous guns from getting into the hands of dangerous people,” said Cam Shannon, president of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition. “Our laws and systems are weak. Your presence here matters. This shows our legislators that you are heartbroken and outraged.
The rally comes just 10 days after Robert Card, 40, of Bowdoin, shot people at a bowling alley and bar just four miles away. After a two-day manhunt, he was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a recycling trailer.
Those gathered Saturday remembered the 18 lives he took, as well as Card, who had a history of mental illness, according to his family members.
“It’s shocking to think about,” Shannon said. “It’s sickening to think about. It’s tragic because it could have been prevented. There are 19 Mainers who could be alive and here with us today. They could talk and laugh and live right now. Instead, they are buried and their families mourn.”
The call for legislative action renews a decades-long debate in Augusta.
Earlier this year, lawmakers rejected bills that would have required universal background checks and a 72-hour waiting period.
A bill passed – a state-level restriction on knowingly selling a firearm to someone who is prohibited from possessing one – and was signed into law by Governor Janet Mills on June 26.
In addition to bipartisan support, this bill gained support from the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine.
SAM and the National Rifle Association opposed the other measures, saying they were not appropriate for Maine, a state with a long hunting tradition and low violent crime rates.
Neither the NRA nor the Sportsmen’s Alliance responded to requests for comment this week on the latest calls for gun legislation.
Rep. Margaret Craven (D-Lewiston) sponsored the 72-hour waiting period for a gun bill and addressed the crowd Saturday.
“As lawmakers, we can and must do more to make this happen,” she said as a handful of other Democratic lawmakers backed her. “Reduce the prevalence of these weapons of war and end the needless carnage that destroys families and communities. »
Earlier in the week, Mills said she thought “action was needed” but said she wanted to create a group that would include Democrats and Republicans, public safety and health officials , the justice system, psychiatrists and “advocates on all sides.” a thoughtful discussion about how to move forward.
One topic is certainly whether Maine’s “yellow flag” law — which requires more action before guns can be taken away from those considered a threat than the “red flag” laws in effect in 20 other States – is sufficient.
The Rev. Kharma Amos of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Brunswick said it’s time to end the “endless debates” about gun violence prevention.
“If we’re not convinced at that point that something needs to change, then we don’t pay attention to it,” she said.
Roy Hitchings of Camden, a self-described avid hunter, said he came to the rally because he thinks the state needs to have a deeper discussion about mental health care and gun safety fire.
“It’s not about mental health or gun safety, to me it’s both,” he said. “We need to make mental health care easier to access and stop people from getting guns.” »
