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Vote “yes” on Question 2 on the ballot in November to give back your family and household rights to protect yourselves from gun violence. The gun lobby has encouraged that guns essentially be everywhere all the time with anybody, regardless of their safety to their families and themselves, making guns the leading cause of death for American children and teens, as well as the leading method of suicide in Maine, particularly for men.
Families and household members typically are more aware of the crises that family or household members face. They know when weapons are likely to be a deadly hazard.
Twenty one states and Washington, D.C. have “extreme risk protection orders” also known as “red flag” laws, which can help families remove weapons from members who have threatened mass shootings, including school shootings. They also aid in reducing suicides.
If passed, Question 2 would enable your family members to petition a court when a loved one is in crisis and poses a threat to themselves or others. By reviewing the family’s evidence, a judge can temporarily limit access to deadly weapons for the loved one in crisis.
With Question 2 passed, both family members and law enforcement could have more options to intervene quickly before a crisis like the Lewiston mass shooting. There is no substitute for preventing gun violence than gun safety.
David Souers
Friendship
