There are some myths circulating about the effects of Question 3:
• No one has any intention to overturn the Second Amendment or take away people’s guns.
• The referendum was initiated by Mainers who want to make their schools and neighborhoods safer., not a “New York billionaire who wants to change our way of life.”
• No one will be arrested or jailed for loaning or handing down their gun to a family member, nor will anyone be arrested or jailed for loaning their gun to a friend who is a hunter unless that friend is a known felon, as long as they’re out together or a background check has been done.
• It is currently against the law for felons, domestic violence perpetrators and those with a severe mental illness to own a gun. Question 3 would simply require that anyone buying a gun have a background check done, which takes a matter of minutes, so that guns do not get into the hands of someone not allowed to have a gun.
• In states where a background check is required, the amount of gun violence dropped dramatically because those who tried to get guns and were ineligible, were denied. This resulted in fewer law enforcement officer deaths, fewer women shot to death by their partners, fewer gun suicides, and less gun trafficking.
The gun lobby is holding America hostage. The NRA is pumping money into the state to defeat this Maine-initiated referendum.
With the right information, Mainers will vote “yes” on Question 3.
Mary Beth Paquette, Monmouth
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