The Second Amendment Foundation criticizes proposals for a slew of new, stringent gun control measures, pointing out that new findings in the aftermath of the mass shooting, which lost 18 lives, give mounting proof authorities failed when they may have averted the horrific incident.
The killer was voluntarily committed to a mental institution in July, according to the Boston Globe, and a story in Reason stated that the man’s family had expressed worry to authorities about his mental health five months before the Lewiston rampage. Instead of learning from their mistakes, anti-gun activists like Vice President Joe Biden and their followers, according to the SAF, have dusted off the same old failed gun control policies.
“Biden and his fellow gun prohibitionists literally jumped at the opportunity to exploit another tragedy to push gun control schemes which would not have prevented the mayhem,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. “They want background checks…which the killer passed. They call for waiting periods…but the gun recovered by police was legally purchased months ago, weeks after his family contacted authorities and prior to his hospital confinement.
“Contrary to what Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown group is saying about so-called ‘weak gun laws’ in Maine,” he added, “this case, like so many in the past, is revealing a failure by local authorities to act on reliable information and utilize existing laws. As a result, some Maine Democrats are now hinting at a new spate of gun restrictions which will accomplish nothing except to penalize honest citizens and erode their Second Amendment rights.”
“Individuals who are involuntarily committed are already prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms and ammunition,” noted SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “The constant calls for additional laws after such a tragedy, particularly when the government abdicated its responsibility, are misguided and serve no purpose other than to exponentially increase the heft of the criminal code books for no material gain. The agenda of the gun prohibitionists demonstrates they only wish to pass laws for self-serving purposes.”