It was painful to read Roy Mathew’s Maine Compass about how inconvenient and burdensome gun safety regulations are for gun owners. No hint of sorrow for those who lost loved ones in the Lewiston massacre. Never mind the never-ending pain or burden for the children who no longer have a parent or grandparent or close friend.
Since 90% of the gun deaths in Maine are suicides, which are often an impulsive act, can’t we at least agree that a 72-hour waiting period makes sense?
States that have enacted common sense gun regulations have fewer gun deaths. And there’s no evidence that outdoor sports or the economies of those locales are impacted at all, as Mathews contends.
Majorities of Americans and of gun owners support sensible gun safety regulations. If more guns made us safer, the U.S. would be the safest place on the planet!
The meaning of the Second Amendment has been warped beyond recognition. The NRA has made a deliberate effort to organize gun owners and convince them of threats to their rights. And here we are at what feels like a stalemate, hearing the same tired narrative again.
From the late Justice John Paul Stevens: “… liberty is on both sides of the equation … your interest in keeping and bearing a certain firearm may diminish my interest in being and feeling safe from armed violence.” It feels like we’re being held hostage by the extreme beliefs of a minority of gun owners.
Mary Ann Larson
Bangor
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