Response to Mass Shooting
Maine Gun Safety Coalition responds to first mass shooting in Maine.
Federal legislation does not go far enough
Federal law in response to the shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde law is a significant step, but few states ban the purchase of long guns for the age group of the perpetrators. Maine is not one of them.
Maine Gun Giveback, June 2022
In June 2022 the Maine Gun Safety Coalition Foundation led a gun giveback program across the state of Maine. The public gave back hundreds of unwanted firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition in a safe, legal, responsible manner to participating law enforcement stations.
A Canadian man shot and killed 22 people. Three of his guns came from Maine
The Portland Press Herald has now covered the story of how the worst mass shooting in Canadian history was abetted by Maine's dangerously lax gun laws and the ubiquity of firearms in the state. The MGSC Board, and indeed all of Maine is lucky to have Margaret Groban to once again speak so knowledgeably on this tragic story.
Gun deaths surged during the pandemic’s first year, the C.D.C. reports
The CDC has now confirmed what many outlets have previously reported: America's gun violence crisis is spiraling out of control. The massive surge in gun sales during the beginning of the pandemic, coupled with the loosening of gun laws and regulations around the country since then will only make things worse going forward.
How the Novia Scotia gunman got his weapons and who may have helped him in Maine
Unfortunately it is no surprise that in a state awash in guns and with massive loopholes in our background check, and gun sale and transfer laws, Maine played a role in this tragedy.
Sagadahoc Sheriff’s Office to host gun safety training in wake of 2021 shootings
MGSC Executive Director Geoff Bickford spoke with the Times Record about the gun safety training program being offered by the Sagadoahoc Sheriff's Office.
In a first, firearms were leading cause of death for U.S. children and teens in 2020
Guns became the leading cause of death among children and teens in 2020, killing more people ages 1 to 19 in the U.S. than vehicle crashes, drugs overdoses or cancer.
Merrick Garland: Ghost guns are real guns. And we'll regulate them to save lives
MGSC applauds the Biden Administration for taking the long-overdue action of regulating ghost guns as what they are: not parts, not kits, not regular hobbyist gun smithing, but guns.
Insight: Guns in the COVID era: An expert discusses trends in gun sales and gun violence in pandemic America
Be sure to check out this excellent interview in the Portland Press Herald with Garen Wintemute, an emergency medicine physician at the University of California, Davis, Medical Center and director of the California Firearm Violence Research Center, discussing the relationship between the massive surge in gun sales during the peak of the Covid 19 pandemic and the subsequent spike in firearm-involved crimes.
Federal Government Funds Gun Violence Research for Third Straight Year
Last week saw one bright spot in the passage of the $1.5 trillion dollar budget: Congress allocated “$25 million allocation for gun violence research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. It’s the third year in a row for federal gun violence research funding since it was restarted in 2019 after a decades-long embargo.”
Ethan's Law Now Has Bipartisan Support
Ethan's law/HR 748 which is nearly identical to Maine's own firearm safe storage law, and which will protect kids nationwide from unsecured, loaded firearms, now has BI-PARTISAN CO-SPONSORSHIP!
Guns overtake car crashes as leading cause of US trauma-related deaths, study says
Firearm deaths have overtaken car crashes are the leading cause of death by trauma in the US according to a new report published in the journal Trauma Surgery and Acute Care Open.
MGSC Executive Director Geoff Bickford spoke with WMTW ABC Portland about Maine's well-deserved "F" rating for its gun safety laws from the Giffords Law Center
Maine Gun Safety Coalition Executive Director Geoff Bickford spoke with WMTW ABC Portland about Maine's well-deserved "F" rating for its gun safety laws (or lack thereof) from the Giffords Law Center. Although progress has been made with the founding of the legislature's Gun Safety Caucus and the enactment of a safe storage law last year, there is still much work to be done.
The Sandy Hook settlement offers a roadmap for holding the gun industry accountable
More on the landmark settlement between Sandy Hook families and the insurers of Remington Arms from the Washington Post, and our thanks to the families.
Parents Need to Be Held Accountable in School Shootings
As this great op-ed in the New York Times states: "Charging the parents of the teenager, Ethan Crumbley, won’t solve America’s epidemic of school shootings, but it could be an important step in averting some of these unspeakable tragedies. Holding parents criminally accountable for failing to secure guns in their homes might encourage them to be more responsible."
NRA Revenues Cut in Half Since 2018, Legal Spending Spiked in 2021
The National Rifle Association of America shrank significantly through the first eight months of 2021, according to detailed financial records obtained by The Reload. The contraction came in membership, revenue, and program services across the organization. The group’s income missed the mark against its own budget projections and against what it brought in over the same period in 2020. At the same time, spending on legal services exceeded both.
Record number of guns found at TSA checkpoints last year, 86% of them loaded, agency says
Nearly 6,000 guns were found in carry-on luggage at checkpoints nationwide in 2021, breaking a record set just two years earlier, according to the Transportation Security Administration.