Dear Editor:

State Senator Cameron Reny recently helped defeat two gun safety bills before the Maine Legislature. The first called for a 72-hour waiting period for gun purchases (LD 60, June 15). The second would have instituted background checks on private gun sales (LD 168, June 26). In both cases, Reny voted against the overwhelming will of her constituents.

A June 2023 poll by Pan Atlantic Research in Portland shows that 72% of Mainers support both a 72-hour waiting period and universal background checks. Even registered Republicans support such bills by 58% and 67%, respectively. And in Midcoast Maine, “support for 72-hour waiting periods is seven times greater than opposition for it.”[1]

Senator Reny has not publicly explained her rationale for voting down these two bills. She’s been silent on my inquiry into her vote on the waiting period. If she’s not answering or listening to her constituents, who does have her attention?

Other opponents of the bills have spoken, claiming that they place an undue burden on law-abiding gun owners. But not having such protections places an undue burden on us all. Case in point: the Westbrook couple murdered at gunpoint in front of their children on June 20. The suspect had a long history of mental illness and violent behavior. The Portland Press Herald noted that he had received extensive help through social services, had posted threats on Facebook, and that a friend had warned police about his behavior beforehand.[2] Still, he was able to possess a gun, murder two strangers, and forever alter the lives of their young children.

Imagine what might have happened had either of the bills mentioned above been part of Maine law. Imagine how many other lives they could save in the future. I anxiously await Senator Reny’s justification for her votes on the matter.

Carol Gardner

Alna

[1] Poll: Pan Atlantic Research, June 2023

2 “Accused Westbrook shooter made online threats hours before double homicide,” Portland Press Herald, June 22, 2023.