LD 361 - An Act to Create a Waiting Period for Firearms.

            On February 26, the legislature’s Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety hosted a public hearing on LD 361, An Act to Create a Waiting Period for Firearms. 

            SAM opposed the bill.  An identical bill was defeated in the last legislative session.  The bill proposed to create a 10-day waiting period for the purchase of a rifle or a shotgun by a person under 21 years of age.  Here is SAM’s testimony, written and delivered by the executive director.

As a sportsman, gun owner, and parent, I share the concern about teen suicide.  Some committee members will remember the discussion on this bill last session, and the reasons it was defeated.  I will tell you this morning about the amendment that this committee discussed last session that would have won our support.  I regret that the amended version of this bill was not successful.  Perhaps we’ll do better this year.

            SAM has been working proactively to address this problem for several years.  We believe strongly that education – and parental involvement – is the answer.  Please let me tell you about some of the actions we have taken.

            SAM worked with the Bureau of Health – with Katharyn Zwicker specifically – and URSUS Productions of Waterville on an exceptional educational video directed at teens.  It’s called “Kids and Guns:  Making the Right Choice.”  This video was created for the Maine Youth Suicide Prevention Program of the Maine Children’s Cabinet, and is distributed by the Office of Substance Abuse, Information Resource Center.

            This video is an exceptionally powerful and effective educational tool, designed to educate children in grades 6 to 8, parents, and other concerned adults.  Performed by real students, three situations involving firearms are demonstrated in a school play format.  Also included are segments on youth suicide, with a shooting victim, and with parents who lost their 15-year-old son.  If you see this video, you will never forget those parents and what they had to say.

            The video is recommended for use by law enforcement, firearms safety instructors, health educators, after school programs, youth group leaders, and public safety and medical care staff.  A discussion guide is included.  I would encourage the committee to schedule a time for viewing the video.  We also participated in a statewide conference organized by Ms. Zwicker on this subject.

            In response to legislative discussion of firearms safety in 2000, including the need to encourage safe gun storage, SAM obtained a grant from the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund, in partnership with the Maine Police Chiefs Association, thanks to the leadership of then-Cape Elizabeth Police Chief David Pickering.  Before his untimely death at the age of 47 from cancer, Chief Pickering worked hard to bring SAM and the Chiefs together on this and other projects.

            This particular project created the Kids and Guns Safety Poster, which we dedicated to the memory of Chief Pickering.  One thousand posters were distributed by SAM and the Chiefs Association for display in gun shops, fish and game clubs, and other public places. We hope to continue printing and distributing this poster in the future.

            As you can see, the message is simple.  The poster says, “The Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine and the Maine Police Chiefs Association remind you that education is the key to gun safety.  Every Maine youngster should be taught firearms safety.  Parental Responsibility and Gun Safety go hand-in-hand.”

            “Safe storage of guns and ammunition is also critical – especially in homes with young children.  Please be aware that Maine law holds you responsible and liable for gun accidents in your home… be a responsible parent.  Or be a good teacher.  But most of all, be careful.  Safety is everyone’s business.  A reminder to teach your children well.”

            In 2004 we received a second Maine Outdoor Heritage Grant to expand this project.  This time SAM’s partners were the Maine Police Chiefs Association and the Maine Bureau of Health.  For this project, we continued distributing the posters, but we also turned this message into a very effective television advertisement. 

            This ad was seen at least twelve times per week over a 13 week period on all three of the URSUS Productions television shows at that time:  Northeast Journal, Wildfire, and the Maine Outdoorsman.  URSUS also added an unplanned feature when it reformatted the Kids and Guns video into a half-hour television show that aired twice each on Northeast Journal and the Maine Outdoorsman.

            The poster was also reformatted into black and white half-toned screened ads of several sizes and provided to outdoor publications including sportsmen’s clubs for their newsletters.

            The poster was also turned into a full-color advertisement that was placed in the Maine Sportsman, Northwoods Sporting Journal, Maine Fish and Wildlife magazine, and in the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s annual hunting/trapping law book that goes to every licensed hunter and trapper.

            I know a great deal of attention has been given to this serious problem, and I go into some detail about what SAM has done to demonstrate that we recognize the problem and are trying to contribute to a solution.

            This bill before you today is not the solution.  Waiting periods have generally been rejected as effective gun control measures, and the waiting period called for in this legislation was rejected by this committee last session for good reasons.  Nothing since that time has dictated a different decision today.

            Our real work continues to be to educate all gun owners about the importance of securing their firearms and ammunition safely and securely.  I am told that most teens who commit suicide with guns get those guns from the home, not a retail store.  Let’s continue to work together on that problem.

            I will make the same suggestion that I made last session.  I believe what many proponents of this legislation really want is parental participation in the decision to purchase a firearm.  They want to know if their child is trying to buy a firearm.  A waiting period won’t accomplish that.  We would support – as we did last session – an amended version of this bill that requires parental consent for the purchase of any firearm by those who are 18 or younger.  Such consent is already required for the purchase of handguns, so it would be relatively easy to step that requirement up to include long guns.