The newly appointed speaker of the US House of Representatives declared on Thursday that it is “not the time to be talking about legislation” in the wake of the terrible mass shooting that happened last week in Lewiston, Maine.
With all due respect for Speaker Mike Johnson, however, this is precisely the moment to discuss policy options in an attempt to prevent similar tragedies in the future. Both the federal and state levels can attest to this.
With millions of firearms currently in circulation and the fundamental and indisputable right for people to bear arms, no measure will be able to stop all gun violence in Maine or throughout the nation.
Even if he had to see a horrifying act of violence in his backyard to convert, Representative Jared Golden of Maine deserves to be accepted into the fold of the converted.
Following the deaths of eighteen people during two shootings that took place in Lewiston, Maine, this week, Democrat and Marine veteran Golden abruptly changed his mind on assault rifles, claiming that one had been misused in that horrific incident.
As fellow Democrat, friend, and Marine veteran Rep Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts, who favors a ban on assault weapons, expressed it: “He returned home, observed his district, and acted honorably.”
Arthur Barnard is going to grave his eldest child, 42-year-old Artie Strout, on Sunday. Strout was one of the 18 victims of the bloodiest mass shooting in American history to date.
Mr. Barnard, sixty-two, is stunned. However, he is also enraged. Why is there no longer a father for five of his grandchildren? Why was it legal for the gunman to buy a weapon with such a lethal military design?
He declared that they would not attempt to carry out a pistol-wielding mass shooting.
But since each right is finite, it must always be weighed against all others. Better striking a balance between the freedom to bear arms and the right of everyone to live their life without fear of terrible murder is both feasible and essential.
The rights to life, liberty, and the desire for happiness include the freedom from gun violence on bowling alleys or cornhole tournaments.
Gun rights and gun safety advocates were taken aback by Jared Golden’s sudden change of heart, which may put his reelection in jeopardy in a district that repeatedly supported Donald Trump. Concerns were also raised about why it required the deaths of citizens to make the change.
For instance, why did he not feel affected when 19 children and two instructors were killed in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022?
Following the October 25 shooting spree in Lewiston, Maine, the state’s lax firearms regulations are coming under heavy criticism. In Maine, for example, the majority of people are permitted to carry concealed weapons in public with no permit.
Legislation mandating waiting periods and background checks for all applicants has not been successful in recent years.
The current statute in Maine for removing firearms from those who pose a danger to others or themselves is also being examined.
Please understand that the party organizations and elected politicians who are advising you that politics is not appropriate at this time are also participating in politics.
Now is the moment to pray, grieve, and stand by those who died and their families. However, people in positions of authority shouldn’t use the necessary group response as a political ploy to prolong inactivity on this or any different issue.
Well done, Golden. No matter who gets hurt, gun rights proponents in Congress typically don’t learn from their mistakes. For instance, an assailant using an assault-style weapon shot and gravely injured Rep Steve Scalise, a Republican from Louisiana, during a congressional baseball game practice in Alexandria, Virginia, in 2017.
Later, Scalise remarked that having been on the incorrect side of that weapon had made him more determined to defend gun rights.
Maine Gun Ownership Records
Maine boasts a high percentage of gun ownership and a robust hunting heritage. It also boasts one of the smallest rates of homicide in the nation for a long time. Only one more firearm homicide occurred in the state last year than the number of fatal shootings in Lewiston in just one day, with 19 recorded. Out of the 183 fatal gunshots in the state last year, 159 of the suicides used guns.
Maine was supposed to be extremely safe, according to Robert Menges, 68, of Lisbon Falls, close to Lewiston, and they have now joined the family of places where this has occurred.
Also Read: A Man With A Lot of Weapons Was Discovered Dead At a Colorado Theme Park
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