Opinion
Gun Owners of Maine President Laura Whitcomb discusses closed-door meeting on GHRT: Listen Here
The hits keep coming for gun-grabbing politicians in Augusta, Maine. Last week, the independent commission studying the Lewiston tragedy unanimously found that the state did not utilize existing laws to stop the shooter from carrying out his attack in October. This served as another major blow to the anti-gun groups in Maine who previously stated they wanted to pass extreme gun control in response to the events in October.
As you likely recall, these gun grabbing groups utilized the Lewiston shooting as justification for one of the most extreme gun control packages in the country. These proposals included Red Flag laws, 72 hour waiting periods, Universal Background Checks, and a back door “assault weapons” ban. Now, as more facts have come out about the event showing that it resulted from a failure to use existing laws, anti-gun politicians are scrambling.
In the days following the commission’s report, New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg and his political apparatus in Maine have pledged to spend $235,000 over the next few weeks in an attempt to sway lawmakers and tip the scales in their favor. In a recent fundraising pitch, these groups claimed to, “have an incredible opportunity right now to pass the strongest package of gun safety legislation in decades – maybe ever,” and said, “if we don’t do this now, I am not sure we ever can.” This desperate plea to use massive amounts of money to sway the political process is not new to Michael Bloomberg or to the State of Maine. Just a few years ago, Michael Bloomberg (unsuccessfully) spent millions of dollars to pass Universal Background Checks in Maine, but was handily defeated by common sense Mainers.
But this gross attempt to tip the scales is not only happening through media campaigns, it is also happening right in the halls of the State House. Bloomberg politicians like Sen. Anne Carney (D-Cumberland), Augusta’s anti-gun ringleader, are pulling out all the stops to impose their agenda on the people of Maine. Carney, who Chairs both the Judiciary Committee and the “Maine Gun Safety Caucus,” is using her position of leadership to push the most extreme gun control package in the country.
As support for her bills fade, she is now resorting to new tactics, including holding a secret off-the-record committee meeting with the ATF as a last-ditch effort to tip the scales in Mike Bloomberg’s favors.
When Sen. Carney moved the public work session with the ATF to a secretive closed-door meeting, Republicans objected and demanded transparency. These calls for good governance were ignored by Carney, who refuses to give specifics about her meeting with the ATF.
The next few weeks will determine the future of gun rights in Maine. Please pay close attention for important legislative updates and action items to ensure the Second Amendment is preserved in the Pine Tree State.
Read More at Gun Owners of Maine.
About NRA-ILA:
Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the “lobbying” arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess, and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Visit: www.nra.org
