At a vigil in Brunswick, Maine, focusing on the Brown University shooting, current and former Pine Tree State lawmakers took to the podium to brag about laws that they’ve managed to pass in their home state. And since the statements were made at a vigil for the Brown University attack, they must believe those laws could have stopped the murderer.
However, a closer look revealed that not a single one of the laws would have had any effect on the shooter getting his guns or attacking people in a classroom during a study session.
According to a report at Maine Public Radio, Maine lawmakers at the vigil touted the recent passage of their so-called “red-flag” law, which allows law enforcement to confiscate guns from Maine citizens without due process. However, there’s no indication that such a law would have made any difference in the Brown University murders. In fact, no media outlet has reported that the guy seemed suspicious to any family, friends or neighbors.
Lawmakers also touted the state’s new “ghost gun” law, which bans firearms that don’t have a serial number. Gov. Janet Mills recently let that new law take effect without her signature, hardly a rousing endorsement.
Again, however, there is no indication that the murderer at Brown University used a handgun without a serial number. Again, gun-ban advocates at the vigil were simply spouting off about laws that could have made no difference at all.
Finally, Hannah Pingree, a former speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, brought up an old standby scheme that’s always addressed after a mass murder.
“We know there is so much more that we need to do in this country, that we need to commit to,” Pingree said, according to Maine Public Radio. “We need to make sure we don’t have military-style weapons in our society, that we don’t have guns in the hands of criminals, that we protect kids from guns in their own home.”
Ah, those pesky “assault weapons.” Of course, a ban on such would not have changed things, as the murderer used a 9mm pistol—one of the most commonly owned firearms in the United States. Of course, there are plenty of anti-gun politicians that would love to ban 9mm pistols. But they know to propose that is so far out of the mainstream that they’d likely lose their next reelection effort.
According to a report at wpri.com, evidence found at the storage locker where the Brown University murder suspect killed himself included two 9mm pistols, more than 200 rounds of ammunition, multiple high-capacity magazines, body armor, various IDs, multiple phones and thumb drives. He seemed to have planned extensively and prepared his supplies well in advance.
Ultimately, it’s folly to think that any of the laws touted by the Maine lawmakers at the vigil would have made any difference, especially considering the extensive planning that obviously went into the attack. What could have stopped the attack, however, would have been a good guy with a gun nearby.
Fact is, according to the Crime Prevention Research Center (CRPC), armed citizens stopped 51.5% of active shooters between 2014 and 2023. But that’s something gun-ban advocates would prefer not to discuss, as it doesn’t fit their “guns are the problem” narrative.
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