Many thanks to Rep. Margaret Craven, D-Lewiston, for sponsoring L.D. 60, which would have instituted a 72-hour waiting period on all firearm purchases.

As Rep. Amy Kuhn, D-Falmouth, pointed out, this bill – voted down earlier this week – would have gone a long way to address the state’s overall gun safety measures, whether related to mental health crises or the ease of acquiring a gun specifically to harm others.

Seventy-two percent of Mainers support reforms such as waiting periods and universal background checks; it’s time that those in the Legislature, and the governor, start listening to the majority of their constituents across the state by supporting bipartisan legislation with sensible, proven, gun-safety measures.

Sarah Maloney
Portland