NEWS SUMMARY ____________
A new study suggests that stricter state-level gun regulations can save lives. The study examined state gun regulations and their impact on firearm fatalities from 1991 to 2016. The researchers found strong evidence that restrictive gun policies reduce overall gun deaths, gun homicides, and gun suicides. Stricter gun laws passed in 40 states between 1991 and 2016 are estimated to have prevented around 4,300 firearm-related deaths in 2016 alone. The study ranked Maine in the middle in terms of the permissiveness of its gun laws. Maine’s existing firearm laws were estimated to have averted 13 deaths in 2016. The focus in Maine following a recent mass shooting has been on the state’s “yellow flag” law, which authorizes firearm confiscation under certain conditions. Maine policymakers are discussing potential ideas to strengthen gun laws, such as an assault weapons ban and a red-flag law. – Earlier gun safety reform bills, including background checks and waiting periods, failed in the legislature due to opposition from Republicans and some Democrats. Governor Janet Mills plans to involve both parties and various advocates in the discussion on gun safety. The Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, a key player on gun issues, is expected to be included in the conversation. The outcomes of the discussions and potential actions to strengthen gun laws in Maine are currently uncertain.
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by Evan Popp, Maine Morning Star
November 2, 2023
(This article was first published by Maine Morning Star)
As policymakers consider strengthening Maine’s lax gun laws following a mass shooting in Lewiston last week that killed 18 people and wounded 13 others, a new study finds that more restrictive state-level firearm regulations can make a significant difference and save lives.
The study, published in the November issue of the journal Epidemiology, examined state gun regulations and their relationship to firearm fatalities from 1991 to 2016. In the paper, Princeton University researchers Patrick Sharkey and Megan Kang said they found “strong, consistent evidence supporting the hypothesis that restrictive state gun policies reduce overall gun deaths, homicides committed with a gun, and suicides committed with a gun.”
Using statistical analysis methods to measure the relationship between the strength of gun laws and the number of firearm fatalities, the author estimated that stricter statutes passed in 40 states between 1991 and 2016 averted nearly 4,300 firearm-related deaths in 2016 alone.
“The recent rise of gun violence may lead to the perception that the problem of gun mortality in the United States is intractable. This article provides evidence to counter this perception,” Kang and Sharkey wrote.
Michael Rocque, a professor at Bates College who studies criminology and has done work on issues related to gun violence prevention, agreed.
“More evidence,” he wrote on X in reaction to the study. “We know what works.”
Though unclear if Maine will strengthen gun laws, here are some policies lawmakers may consider
In their analysis, the Princeton researchers looked at a range of state-level gun laws, including background check laws, concealed carry statutes, minimum age requirements for obtaining a gun, safety training regulations, and waiting period laws, among others. The analysis was limited to statutes passed at the state level that either strengthened gun regulations or made them more permissive.
In the study, Kang and Sharkey ranked Maine in the middle of the pack in terms of how permissive its gun laws were between 1991 and 2016, with the state having stricter laws than some places but more permissive statutes than others.
Currently, much of the focus in Maine in the wake of the Lewiston shooting has been on the state’s “yellow flag” law, which was enacted in 2019. That statute is a weaker version of the “red flag” law that some other states have. While both laws authorize firearms to be confiscated if someone is demonstrated to be dangerous, Maine’s version must be instigated by police, as opposed to family or friends, and also requires a mental health evaluation from a medical professional before petitioning a judge to confiscate a person’s firearms.
Maine’s existing firearm laws averted 13 deaths in 2016, the Princeton researchers estimated in their paper.
The finding of a relationship between state-level gun laws and a reduction in firearm fatalities is particularly noteworthy as Maine policymakers begin to discuss how to respond to the worst mass shooting in the state’s history.
At a press conference Monday, Gov. Janet Mills — who signed Maine’s yellow-flag statute into law but has resisted more ambitious gun regulations — said she will bring together legislative leaders from both parties and advocates from all sides of the debate to consider how to keep Mainers safe, but she did not provide specifics about what such a policy could look like.
The governor’s pledge to make the discussion bipartisan means it will involve Maine Republicans, who have staunchly opposed gun safety reforms. It also seems likely that the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, a key player on gun issues that has bragged about defeating “hundreds of anti-2nd Amendment gun control proposals,” will be included in the conversation.
While it’s unclear at this point what, if any, action state leaders will take, some of the potential ideas floated so far to strengthen gun laws in Maine include an assault weapons ban and implementing a red-flag law.
In addition, Maine leaders had the opportunity to pass other gun safety reforms earlier this year, including a background check bill, a measure to institute a 72-hour waiting period for someone buying a gun, and legislation to prohibit rapid-fire modification devices. Each of those bills failed in the legislature, however, amid opposition from Republicans and some Democrats.
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