I am proud that the Maine Legislature has passed a law mandating a 72-hour waiting period for gun purchases. I was, therefore, disappointed to read in Jan. 16 Press Herald that House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham is sponsoring a bill to eliminate this law.
Why would he do this in the face of strong citizen and hunter support and established evidence that such a law lowers death rates from gun violence? Has he not found time to more carefully search for evidence supporting his decision? Is he fearing the loss of financial support from the gun lobby?
I encourage Faulkingham and other interested people to read an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (114, no. 46 (2017), pp. 12162-12165). Evidence strongly suggests a 17% decrease in gun-related deaths in a large, multi-state study. A separate study supports a 7-11% decrease in firearm-related suicide.
David Scotton
Cape Elizabeth
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