Maine Democrats Pass Gun Control That Would Not Have Prevented Lewiston Shooting

Maine Senate Democrats wrapped up their legislative session by passing gun controls in response to the October 25, 2023, Lewiston shooting, but the controls they passed would not have prevented the attack.

Breitbart News reported FOX News’s observation that the Lewiston attacker used a sniper rifle which he had “legally” purchased.

The New York Post likewise pointed out that police noted the attacker “legally purchased a sniper rifle with .308 caliber bullets, the weapons [sic] believed to have been used in the attack.”

When law enforcement speaks of “legally” purchasing a gun, the reference normally indicates that the buyer passsed a background check. As a side note, the overwhelming majority of high-profile public shooters acquire their guns after passing a background check.

Nevertheless, Maine Senate Democrats responded to the Lewiston shooting by passing a bill early Thursday to expand the scope of point-of-sale background checks, according to the Associated Press.

WGME reported that Maine Senate Democrats also passed a 72-hour waiting period for gun purchases and a bump stock ban.

The waiting period would have had zero impact on the Lewiston shooter; the New York Post indicated he purchased his gun months before the attack.

Moreover, a bump stock was not used in the commission of the heinous act.

California has had expanded background checks since the 1990s and also has a 10-day waiting period on gun purchases, as well as a bump stock ban. Yet in 2021, California led the nation in “active shooter incidents.”

WATCH — AWR Hawkins: Why Gun Control Is Not the Solution to Mass Shootings

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, and a pro-staffer for Pulsar Night Vision. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Beef is his favorite vegetable. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.