February 2011
By Beth Brogan, Times Record Staff
January 2011
Letter to the editor, 01/18/11 PPH
Could rampage happen without large magazines?
The news of the Tucson, Ariz., shootings is shocking. Understandably, we are asking ourselves how did the level of political discourse in our country deteriorate to the point where such violence is involved.
Since biblical times, humans have been committing despicable acts of violence against each other.
The shooting in Tucson by Jared Loughner is yet another instance. Much as we pray for improvement in human behavior, there will always be Jared Loughners out there.
What has not always been the case, however, is easy access to weapons. Under pressure from the gun lobby, guns have become too easily accessible to dangerous individuals. In hindsight, Loughner should never have been allowed to buy the gun that he used to kill six and injure 13 more.
Because Congress refused to renew the assault weapons ban, he was allowed to acquire a gun that was specially designed to kill large numbers of humans as quickly as possible.
As a society we need to ask ourselves some hard questions:
Should high-capacity pistol magazines be sold to private citizens?
Is it too easy for those who are mentally ill to buy a gun?
Unless we have a serious and thoughtful discussion about these issues, we have no one but ourselves to blame if a Maine political leader is the next to be attacked.
Here in Maine, the Legislature has refused to ban the sale of assault weapons and refused to add all those who have been adjudicated to be mentally ill to the government's official list of those prohibited from buying guns. How much longer will this continue?
There will always be disturbed, angry and dangerous people. But we can limit the amount of violence they commit by restricting their access to guns.
Bill Harwood
Yarmouth
December 2010
Portland Press Herald OpEd 12/08/10
Tom Franklin, Board President, Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence
Since before “Bert and I” Mainers have been proud of their common sense and common decency. But when the subject is guns this respect for community often gives way to more self-centered views. Making safer our food, water, air or job sites is fine, but making gun ownership safer for us all is widely perceived as an assault on inalienable and absolute personal rights.
The social cost of this somewhat paranoid attitude has been detailed graphically in several recent Press-Herald accounts of unregulated gun transfers, nationally and locally. In Maine and many other states thousands of guns are sold annually with no background checks and no written records of the transaction, at gun shows and through “private sales” such as through Uncle Henry’s. Many of these sales are made in violation of federal law (which prohibits sales to felons, domestic abusers, mentally ill, and other categories) and state law. And as the Press-Herald accounts made very clear, some of these illegal sales are made to undercover law enforcement officers with severe consequences for the seller.
The Maine legislature is no more willing to stand up to the lobbying power of the NRA than are most other legislatures, unfortunately, so the adoption of even common-sense improvements to Maine gun laws has been difficult. For example, despite a recent state-wide poll showing more than 88% support for requiring background checks of hand gun sales at gun shows the legislature in 2009 refused to even consider such a bill.
But equally disturbing is the attitude of some gun sellers that they should be immune from the common-sense and common decency that make Maine such a strong and valued community. Even if it were not in violation of federal law, who would want to sell a handgun or assault weapon to a stranger? Why would any seller not want to require a background check (that can be performed at any gun dealer at a nominal cost) before selling any gun?
Maine’s gun laws are far from perfect but what is most needed to make Maine safer for all of us – including gun owners and their families – is a more responsible attitude toward gun transfers by gun owners. Without question many, probably most, gun owners are responsible, and many do require background checks, as do some gun show operators.
But far too many guns are sold in Maine through unregulated channels, which makes it easy for felons and other criminals to buy any gun they like, immediately, no questions asked. Maine is the #1 supplier of crime guns to Massachusetts. Maine’s lax gun laws attract drug dealers to Maine where they can not only sell drugs but buy guns, often with drugs as the currency. Maine’s high rates of teenage suicide and domestic violence are made worse by easy access to guns. Maine has a gun problem.
Major improvement of Maine’s gun laws would be simple, common-sensical and economical. Indeed, it is exactly what the NRA has been yapping for for years: let’s enforce existing gun laws! Background checks for all gun transfers would do that, and only that – it would not deprive anyone of the right to buy or own a gun, it would only make sure that anyone buying a gun was not buying it in violation of existing law. Period.
A California study recently concluded that every murder costs the state at least $1 million – to prosecute the defendant, usually to pay for his as well as the prosecution’s legal costs, then to care for the defendant for many years if not for life, and to compensate the family of the victim and, too often, of police officers injured or killed. And enforcement of a mandatory background check law would be practically free – law enforcement already monitors compliance with background check laws and illegal sales.
Very soon we will have the opportunity to see more of the “gun rights” advocates’ views of common-sense and concern for our Maine community – just watch the print and blog response to this op-ed! But seriously, Maine deserves better – better laws, better attitudes, better safety. We don’t need to wait for a school shooting in Maine, we can do it now and easily. This is not (contrary to the NRA’s claims) a case where gun owners lose and the public wins, or vice versa. It is a much more simple and common-sensical case where we all can win. We can protect the rights of gun owners, improve public safety, save lives and save money. Makes sense to me.
November 2010
Posted: November 16
They will ask lawmakers to prohibit guns in publicly owned facilities where large gatherings are held.
PORTLAND - The City Council endorsed a resolution Monday night calling on the Legislature to prohibit firearms in publicly owned facilities where large gatherings are held.
The 6-1 vote came after a long public hearing in which gun advocates -- several wearing handguns in hip holsters -- and people who supported the resolution spoke.
Cheryl Leeman was the only councilor to vote against the resolution, arguing that the issue of prohibiting firearms in public places is not within the purview of the City Council.
"I think this is a noble and a good thing to do," said Councilor Dory Richards Waxman. "It's not about taking away your rights. If this goes to Augusta and it just goes away, then that's OK. At least we had our voice."
The resolution was brought forward by Councilor Dan Skolnik, who chairs the council's Public Safety Committee. The committee held two hearings, at which gun advocates and those who oppose weapons in public places were given opportunities to express their opinions.
Skolnik argued that the resolution, which would be introduced to the Legislature by the city's legislative delegation, is an issue of public safety.
The resolution asks the Legislature to enact a law prohibiting firearms in any publicly owned facility where mass gatherings are held, or to pass legislation allowing municipalities to impose their own restrictions.
Under current law, guns are prohibited in courthouses and jails, on school grounds and in the state Capitol area of Augusta.
Skolnik said during Monday's hearing that no gun owner has a good reason for carrying a loaded weapon into an event at the Merrill Auditorium, the Portland Expo or the Cumberland County Civic Center.
He said people who display weapons in public places create fear and anxiety.
"People who don't know who you are don't know if you are a constitutionalist or a killer," he said.
Gun owners disagreed. They argued that an armed public makes for a safer community because armed citizens can prevent criminals from harming anyone.
"Simply carrying a firearm is not dangerous," said Norman Hamann, a gun owner from Lyman. "You can't stop a criminal with a silly ordinance like this."
Addressing the councilors, Tom Franklin, president of Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence, said, "I'd ask you to ask them why are they carrying guns at this hearing. It's not necessary."
He said it's inappropriate for someone to carry a gun into a public performance center such as Merrill Auditorium. "I don't want an amateur vigilante carrying weapons into those places," he said.
Shane Belanger, who founded the Maine Open Carry Association, wore a weapon at Monday's hearing. "More gun laws do not save lives because they do not deter the criminals," he said.
Steven Scharf, a Portland resident, asked the council to table the resolution indefinitely. "It's a Republican-controlled Legislature with a Republican governor, who won't do anything but put this in the trash," he said.
But Mayor Nicholas Mavodones Jr. rebutted such thinking, saying the City Council has the right to express its opinion regardless of which political party is in power.
"I don't mind people knowing where I stand," he said. "Guns are an issue that have their own constituencies. I'm not sure it can be broken down by party lines."
Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:
Posted: November 11
PORTLAND - When Colin Goddard got up on the morning of April 16, 2007, and walked to his intermediate French class at Norris Hall on the campus of Virginia Tech, he was just another college student.
Today, the 25-year-old resident of Washington, D.C., travels around the country advocating for stricter gun sale laws. His goal is to prevent another massacre like the one at Virginia Tech that day, when 32 faculty members and students were killed.
Goddard, who was shot four times and still has bullet fragments in his body, is now assistant director of federal legislation for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. He was the featured speaker Wednesday night at the 11th annual Buzz Fitzgerald Award dinner, named for the former head of Bath Iron Works who died in 2002.
The dinner at the Italian Heritage Center was hosted by Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence.
"I feel fortunate. I've stopped saying lucky," Goddard said in an interview before his presentation.
Goddard and six other students in his French class survived the attack by Sueng-Hui Cho. His teacher, Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, and nine other students were shot to death.
Cho, who had been diagnosed with a mental illness, should never have been allowed to buy a handgun, said Goddard, whose mission is to close the loopholes that in most states allow private gun sales at gun shows without background checks.
Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence invited Goddard to speak because he shares the group's goals.
"We do not advocate taking guns away from people. We just want the state to enforce existing laws," said Tom Franklin, president of the organization. "If you buy a gun from L.L. Bean or the Kittery Trading Post, you have to undergo a background check. But if you buy a gun from Uncle Henry's, you don't."
"We're not anti-gun, we're anti-gun in the hands of criminals," Franklin said.
Goddard hopes he can change public opinion by sharing his experience.
When Cho entered his classroom, Goddard said, "there really was nowhere to go. You had to play dead and act like you weren't there."
Goddard was shot above his left knee, in his left hip and his right hip, and in the chest.
Police arrived eventually, but had difficulty getting into the classroom because bodies blocked the door. Goddard learned later that Cho killed himself.
Goddard said states should implement a system that requires a background check that includes mental health records, domestic violence arrests and felony convictions.
Last year, with a hidden camera in his shirt, Goddard visited gun shows across the United States, including one in Bangor, to document how easy it can be to buy a weapon.
His video, which can be found on YouTube, shows Goddard buying an AK-47 assault rifle from a private seller in Ohio, who told him to have fun with it. No background check or identification was needed.
"We can do something about violence in this country," Goddard said. "I know we can do better."
Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:
dhoey@pressherald.com
October 2010
Posted: October 13
If the council adopts the proposal, Portland lawmakers will be asked to submit a legislative bill.
PORTLAND — The City Council will consider a proposal to ask the state Legislature to ban guns in public buildings statewide.
Dan Skolnik and John Coyne, members of the council's Public Safety Committee, voted Tuesday night to recommend adoption of the measure. The committee's other member, Kevin Donoghue, was absent.
Skolnik, the committee chairman, said the proposal will be forwarded to the City Council for consideration.
A final vote will likely be taken at a council meeting in November, Skolnik said. If a majority of the council approves, lawmakers from Portland will be asked to submit a bill to the Legislature in January.
"What we are doing here tonight is only the first step," Skolnik told the audience, which included several men wearing sidearms. "The City Council still has to bless what we are doing here."
Skolnik, who proposed the resolution, originally wanted the state to ban all firearms from public buildings where mass gatherings are held. At Tuesday's hearing, he said he would consider an exemption for people with concealed-weapons permits.
But the committee's final vote deleted that exemption.
Skolnik said the stricter measure would provide greater safety in public places where there are large gatherings, such as City Hall, the Merrill Auditorium and the Cumberland County Civic Center.
Coyne noted that legislators have a measure of security while conducting business at the State House, where guns are not permitted.
"What a great time for us to be proactive, to avoid (a shooting)," Coyne said. "I think the actions we are proposing here are very reasonable."
Gun advocates disagreed.
Shane Belanger, founder of the Maine Open Carry Association, said Maine's low crime rate is related to the presence of a large number of guns, because criminals know citizens are armed.
"This ban is simply irrational and silly. It's unnecessary," Belanger said.
"I carry because I have taken responsibility for my own safety," said Forrest Brown of Wiscasset, who described himself as a combat veteran. "This measure will do nothing to improve public safety. It will only degrade it."
Norman Hamann of Lyman questioned how such a ban could be enforced or funded. He suggested the city would have to hire an armed security force equipped with metal detectors.
"I'd like to know what the real agenda is behind this legislation," Hamann said. "The fact that I have a gun with me tonight is not making this room any more dangerous."
Cathie Whittenburg of Portland spoke Tuesday night in favor of the ban, and submitted a letter to the committee, in which she wrote, "Guns in City Hall detract from an atmosphere of Democracy. Guns introduce an element of intimidation that is contrary to the open exchange of debate on controversial topics."
Bill Harwood, an attorney for Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence, urged the committee not to exempt people with concealed-weapons permits from a statewide firearms ban.
Guns are prohibited in public schools and the State House, so why not other public buildings, Harwood asked.
He suggested that the ban be subject to local control, so communities could allow guns at public meeting places if they desired. "I think you'll find that would meet with a much better reception in Augusta."
Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at: dhoey@pressherald.com
September 2010
Posted: September 15
At City Hall, a dozen armed men oppose restrictions on firearms in public buildings.
PORTLAND — At least a dozen men carrying guns Tuesday attended a public hearing at City Hall on a proposal for state legislation that would ban firearms from public buildings.
The gun-rights advocates said they were the first wave of a larger armed contingent who will defend their constitutional right to carry guns in public buildings in Portland or any other municipality in Maine.
City Councilor Dan Skolnik, who chairs the council's Public Safety Committee, wants to build support for state legislation to ban firearms from public buildings where mass gatherings occur, or allow municipalities to do so.
With such legislation, Portland could ban guns from facilities such as City Hall, Fitzpatrick Stadium, Merrill Auditorium and the Portland Expo.
Skolnik has not identified a legislator to sponsor a bill, and it's uncertain whether there will be a bill in the coming session. Gun-rights advocates say they will work hard to stop the effort before it gets out of Skolnik's committee.
Police Chief James Craig will support legislation focused on public facilities and will ask Maine's police chiefs and sheriffs to support it, according to a memo by city attorney Gary Wood.
About 15 gun advocates showed up in the council chambers Tuesday night to voice their opposition to Skolnik's proposal. Two of them openly carried semiautomatic pistols, and nearly all of the others carried concealed weapons.
Many more gun advocates from all over Maine will attend the next public hearing on the issue, on Oct. 12, said Shane Belanger, founder of the Maine Open Carry Association. In addition, the National Rifle Association plans to send an attorney to the meeting from its headquarters in Fairfax, Va., he said.
An official from the NRA could not be reached for comment. On Friday, the national gun lobby sent an action alert to Maine members urging them to attend Tuesday's meeting and contact Portland city councilors.
"This legislation would be the first step in an outright attack on your concealed carry rights," the NRA said.
In Maine, guns are prohibited in schools, courthouses, jails and bars where the owners post notice. Guns are also banned in the Capital Area, which includes any state-controlled location in Augusta.
The Legislature passed a law in the 1980s preventing municipalities from prohibiting guns, even in municipal buildings, said William Harwood, a board member of Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence.
While the Legislature has killed many bills over the years that would have restricted guns in some way, it might support a measure framed around the issue of local control, he said.
Cathie Whittenburg of Portland said guns don't belong in public meetings, where controversial and emotional issues often are discussed.
"Guns in City Hall detract from an atmosphere of democracy," she said. "Guns introduce an element of intimidation that is contrary to the open exchange of debate on controversial topics."
Gun-rights advocates framed the issue around their constitutional right to carry firearms. One quoted Thomas Jefferson and Samuel Adams.
Some argued that violence has declined in jurisdictions that have passed laws allowing more people to carry weapons. Others argued that a law banning firearms in public buildings would affect only law-abiding citizens and would not deter anyone who intends to commit violence.
Belanger, a University of Southern Maine student who organized a gun-rights rally in Portland in April, said he didn't think that anyone at the meeting was afraid that he was carrying a Heckler & Koch HK45, a .45-caliber pistol designed for use as a sidearm in combat.
"I don't think the tone of this meeting is any different that I have a properly holstered handgun," he told the committee.
But Karen D'Andrea, a former Marine who is executive director of Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence, said in an interview after the meeting that the guns made her apprehensive about speaking to the committee.
She said the City Council should have the ability to ban guns from City Hall. "It defies logic that the city can't set the rules of conduct for citizens inside this building," she said.
Skolnik, who had planned to leave the council at the end of his term in December, now is running for re-election as a write-in candidate for an at-large seat. He said he hopes to develop a compromise on his gun proposal that will have broad support.
Staff Writer Tom Bell can be contacted at 791-6369 or at: tbell@pressherald.com
May 2010
Without mandatory checks on private sales from ads and at gun shows, the problem will only get worse.
By SANDRA SCULLY
CUMBERLAND — In light of the recent “open carry rally” in Portland (where firearms were openly displayed), it might be of interest to review the gun situation in Maine.
Maine has one of the highest gun ownership rates in the country and a higher rate of death from firearms than Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire and six other states.
About 13 children and 100 adults die in Maine each year from firearms. The most recent data from the Maine Center for Disease Control show that the suicide rate for people ages 20 to 24 is 30 percent above the national average, and firearms account for more than 50 percent of these deaths.
It is legal for a 16-year-old (with parental permission) to buy a rifle and an 18-year-old, a handgun. Drinking is legal at 21 and a driver’s license at 16.
Maine is the No. 1 supplier of guns used in crimes in Massachusetts. The U.S. attorney in Portland, working with federal agencies in Maine and Massachusetts, has targeted two-way traffic (guns to Massachusetts and drugs to Maine) with extensive use of undercover agents, informants, specialized Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and FBI agents from outside the region and cooperative programs with local and state law enforcement.
They investigate and prosecute both the out-of-state dealers and their Maine resident accomplices, including students and young women enlisted as “straw buyers” (who buy guns legally and resell them to those who would not pass a background check), as well as local gun dealers who illegally sold to unqualified buyers, some of whom turned out to be law enforcement officers working undercover.
The investigation and prosecution of the gun and drug trafficking remain a high priority of all law enforcement agencies along the I-95 corridor. Maine requires no background checks or records of gun sales at gun shows (except from licensed dealers) or sales made through ads in Uncle Henry’s shopping guide and newspapers.
More than 885 Mainers failed background checks during the most recent three years for which data is available. To fail, one has to be a convicted felon or domestic abuser or to have been deemed mentally unfit.
Massachusetts has much stricter gun regulations, making it easier to buy guns in Maine. Many states (eight, in fact) require background checks at all gun shows. Only one gun show in Maine requires licensed dealers (in Bangor). Polls show that 88 percent of Mainers would like stricter gun laws.
The gun lobby (the National Rifle Association and the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine) work relentlessly to weaken Maine’s very weak gun laws. When a bill was proposed in February to ban guns in Acadia National Park, SAM argued that its members needed firearms to protect themselves from criminals – because hunting is banned and there are no bears in that park.
The group I work with – Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence – is very respectful of hunters and target shooters. These people, for the most part, are responsible citizens who do not abuse their right to have firearms.
SAM would have people believe we are against all guns. Not so. As the only group in Maine working to reduce gun violence, we have made progress enacting new legislation to further this cause.
Mayors Against Illegal Guns, founded by mayors Michael Bloomberg in New York and Thomas Menino in Boston, will invest funds in Maine to improve our gun laws in order to reduce the flow of illegal guns to their urban areas.
In the past, MCAHV has distributed thousands of free gun locks throughout communities in Maine and will continue to submit new legislation in hopes of protecting domestic violence victims and others threatened by firearms.
— Special to the Press Herald
Special to MCAHV
THE TALE OF THE TRAVELING GUN
In the way of an introduction, my name is Steven Edmondson and I currently serve as the Domestic Violence Investigator for the Sagadahoc County District Attorney’s Office in Bath, Maine. I have been a Law Enforcement Officer in Maine for over three decades and as you might expect, I gave witnessed my share of needless tragedies involving the use of firearms.
For the better part of the past 20 years, I have frequented the pages of a Midcoast newspaper either on the editorial page with an OP-ED piece on Domestic Violence, various columns on selected public safety issues or a ranting Letter to the Editor whenever my ire is stirred. This piece however, is taking on a subject that should alarm us all on the sheer negligence and potential for tragedy. This story involves the travels of a particular gun; one not unlike many of you own or possess in your homes. I want to state at the beginning there is no underlying theme supporting gun control or interfering with anyone’s Second Amendment Rights. What I am about to describe however, should make the hair on everyone’s neck stand up just a little and take stock in what should be common sense gun safety.
PROLOGUE
The tale I am about to share involves the travels of a high-end .40 caliber, semi-automatic handgun similar to the one I carry on my hip every day. What makes this particular gun unique is how many hands this gun touched and how many crimes were committed and how many lives have been impacted in the process of its travels.
CHAPTER 1
We start in the late summer of 2009 with the arrest of a young man for pointing a gun at a motorist in Kennebec County that has all indications of a road-rage incident. What made a bad situation worse for our angry motorist was the person he allegedly pointed the gun at was an off-duty police officer.
Police locate and arrest the perpetrator here in Sagadahoc County for the offense and seize the gun used in the crime along with a second gun he had in his possession. A check with police records show arrests for this individual dating back three years for drug trafficking and possession. Unfortunately none of these offenses rose to a level that prohibited owning or possessing weapons.
Later in the day of this man’s arrest, his wife remembers there was a third gun in the car at the time of his arrest and locates it in a backpack in the trunk. Recognizing his bail conditions prohibit the possession of weapons and not wanting to have the gun around her, the wife takes the gun to an uncle of her husband here in Sagadahoc County for safe keeping.
We have reached the end of Chapter 1 with this gun, but far from the end of the story.
CHAPTER 2
Within days of the young man’s release on bail from the County jail on the original weapon and terrorizing offense, he was again arrested, this time for domestic assault on his wife in a central Maine county not far from here. With this offense, bail conditions required him to relocate away from his wife. Things seemed fine for several weeks until the young man had the electricity discontinued at the apartment he previously shared with his wife, along with extracting funds from their joint bank account. This did not sit well with the wife and when she discovered where her husband was staying, she called police in our County in late October to report her husband was currently residing with the uncle she had previously given the gun to for safekeeping.
Upon her call, local police followed up on her complaint and investigated the circumstances of her husband and the gun being under the same roof. The uncle readily handed over the gun to the officers who inspected it. It was determined her husband was not staying there at the time but the officers advised the uncle it would be in his best interest if the gun found a new home elsewhere so as to avoid problems. The uncle was very accommodating and agreed to relocate the gun promptly. To his credit, the uncle had the gun hidden and locked away even if his nephew had been present in the home. The uncle indicated he had actually long forgotten the firearm was even there as a couple of months had passed since he originally took it in.
When the wife was informed of the officers’ findings, she apparently was not satisfied. She proceeded to inform the officers that she recently discovered the uncle she previously gave the gun to for safekeeping, was a convicted felon and was by law prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm. I’m only speculating here but since her husband successfully avoided further interaction with law enforcement, she would throw the uncle under the bus.
Once our office was made aware of this new revelation, I was instructed to investigate her allegations. Sure enough, the uncle tasked by the young woman with keeping the gun out of her husband’s hands, had been convicted of crimes in another state 34 years ago when he was an admitted wayward youth. Nonetheless, those crimes were considered felonies and that stain stays on you for life. I met with the uncle for an interview and he readily acknowledged being a felon and admitted to handling the weapon before and after the officers came to his house. To his credit, he did take steps to remove the weapon from his residence as directed by the officers. The uncle was frank and honest in speaking to me but unfortunately we could not overlook the offense and he has suffered the consequences accordingly.
I would like to say this was the end of the story for this handgun but sadly that is not the case. This firearm has now been handled by two people after its owner had been arrested for a weapon offense with the uncle charged with the crime for merely being in possession of it.
CHAPTER 3
If the story ended here it would still be a shame for those involved but it only gets worse. Within days of being advised to relocate the handgun by the officers, the kindly uncle gave the gun to yet another relative in the same community before I ever become involved.
When the gun changed hands from the uncle to the next relative, step-father to the original owner, his teenage daughter, half-sister of the original owner, was present at the time of the exchange and became aware of the guns existence in her home. For reasons known only to her, she took the gun from her house and carried it around with her throughout town for a period of time. We are not sure how long she had or carried the gun around but it was determined her father received it on or about November 1 and the first report she had it in public was two weeks later.
The teenage apparently had shown the gun off to enough kids that word got to an adult who called the police on November 15. Local police responded to the report and located the young woman in a public place with some friends. The police told her what they were there for and searched her bag. Not finding the gun, the girl made up a story to the police on why she thought other kids would be saying such a thing. As it turned out, the gun was in a backpack of a young man sitting nearby to the teenage girl in question. Seeing officers drive by her earlier that day, the girl panicked and assumed they were looking for her. Fearing getting caught with the gun, she handed it off to the friend, a teenage boy, who now was carrying it around. It is worth noting the young man made no mention of the gun to the police when they questioned the girl sitting nearby. It is also worth mentioning that in the ensuing days when this case developed and the facts came out, it became known the young girl had posted pictures of herself with the gun on her MySpace page.
After the confrontation with police, the young man returned to his home in a neighboring town with the gun. Apparently guilt, fear or a conscious set in as he now had reservations about hanging on to this gun. After a few days of hiding the gun, he gave it to another young man he knew that had some experience with firearms. The second young man stashed the gun in a shed on his property for a couple of days before telling his father. For the first time in a long time involving this weapon, someone did the right thing at the right time. The father of the second boy took the gun to the local law enforcement agency to turn it in.
This of course is when the story started to unravel for the teenage girl. Both of the young men were truthful when questioned by police and eventually the trail lead back to the girl. She finally opened up and admitted her role with the gun and was also charged accordingly.
EPILOGUE
After all of this, the gun was finally in the authorities hands by the end of November. At some point in the near future it will be destroyed and what little metal it contains will contribute to the formation of a fire hydrant or manhole cover.
Let’s review the history presented here. In a matter of six weeks, this firearm was handled by at least eight people, two of which were charged with offenses for merely possessing it, not to mention the original owner who was charged with a weapons offense and can no longer own it. I can think of two savings graces in this story. First and foremost, no one was injured. I have heard differing information on whether the gun was ever loaded during its travels.
The second positive note from this tale is hopefully a lesson for all who read this story. I have carried a firearm on my side for over three decades and I own several others. It has been drilled to me throughout my career on the safe handling and storage of firearms. Unfortunately, most gun owners have not had the opportunity to receive such education and training nor is it mandated with gun ownership. I would like to think common sense would be enough but sadly, that is just not the case. Aside from gun violence, too many people are injured or killed by sheer misconduct, mishandling and negligence. I read a story some time ago that indicated more people are shot with their own guns than by a stranger.
There are lessons to be learned from these events from all perspectives. Perhaps if the Police had searched the entire car after the initial arrest, they may have located the third handgun and these events would not have occurred. Or if the Police had taken the time to check the history of the uncle, they may have discovered his criminal history and at least ended this story before the teenage girl got her hands on the gun. To the Officers’ defense, the uncle had lived in the community for over twenty years with minimal contact with law enforcement with the officers having no indication of his criminal past or suspicion of his history.
We also cannot ignore the young girl’s father and his poor choice of storage for this weapon and of course the actions of the two young men who were accomplices of the teenage girl by hiding it for several days.
Young people are determined and resourceful and holding on to assumptions everyone knows right from wrong when handling weapons is downright irresponsible. Any assumptions involving weapons should always lean towards the worst case scenario. That way if you act on those assumptions, you will be doing the right thing. To say this gun is jinxed is diverting blame from human misconduct. I recall seeing a bumper sticker that read: “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people”. Again, I am not using this piece to project a stance on gun control but if nothing else comes from this column, it is my hope people take notice of the neglect and human error involved in the handling of this particular firearm and take steps to prevent it from happening in your homes.
The Second Amendment provides the right for citizens to own and possess firearms. It does not however, relieve you from your responsibilities of safe possession and proper ownership of firearms. Laws exist to address illegal, careless and reckless acts with firearms. Thousands of people are killed and injured each year in this country from firearms with a vast majority the result of needless accidents from careless handling and storage of firearms.
Whether you own a single pistol for protection, an avid hunter with a display case full of rifles and shotguns or a casual collector like myself, each firearm is a potential tragedy in waiting. The only thing preventing tragedy is the human element; you, me and every gun owner in America.
April 2010
