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I am a hunter and a gun owner who supports the right of people to bear arms. Like many Mainers, I enjoy shooting sports and my time spent in the outdoors. I am also a physician who has seen the horrific results of gun violence firsthand, and I believe we need to take action to prevent gun tragedies like the one that occurred in Lewiston.
Maine’s yellow flag law failed to prevent that shooting. A state investigation suggested that this tragedy might have been prevented if Maine had a more effective law.
That is why I am expressing my support of Question 2, which would empower families and law enforcement to ask a court to temporarily prevent someone from accessing their firearms when sworn evidence of serious risk is presented. This is still a high bar, with significant consequences for false accusations.
We often hear that mental illness, not the gun, is the cause of gun violence. Unfortunately, there is a worsening shortage of mental health care professionals, and access to treatment of mental health disorders continues to decline. When a family identifies a loved one having a mental health crisis, we need some way to counter the risk of extreme violence before it occurs, or we will remain powerless to prevent another tragedy.
No law can prevent every shooting from happening, nor will arming more citizens, but empowering people to identify those at risk may be enough to prevent at least some tragedies in the future.
Don Endrizzi
Scarborough
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