That position, he said, reflected in part “a false confidence that our community was above this, and that we could be in full control, among many other misjudgments.”

Representative Jared Golden of Maine, a centrist Democrat, called for a ban on assault weapons Thursday afternoon, reversing a long-held stance after 18 people were killed in a mass shooting in Lewiston.

It was both a remarkable change on a polarizing issue for a politician who has held onto one of the most competitive seats in the House and a familiar response for a person deeply shaken after a mass shooting happened close to home.

Mr. Golden, a Marine Corps veteran, has repeatedly broken with his party to oppose legislation that would ban assault weapons, a policy that Democrats have repeatedly tried and failed to revive in the nearly two decades since it lapsed. Last July, he was one of just five Democrats to oppose such a measure, which has failed to secure enough Republican votes in the Senate.

That position, Mr. Golden said on Thursday, reflected in part “a false confidence that our community was above this, and that we could be in full control, among many other misjudgments.”

  • rifugee@lemmy.world
    282·
    1 year ago

    Here's a crazy idea we could also maybe implement: how about we take someone's guns away, at least temporarily, after they get checked into a mental health facility and/or report hearing voices…like this shooter did A FEW MONTHS AGO!

    • trash80@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      6·
      1 year ago

      Maine has a law that is referred to as "yellow flag" or "yellow paper". The purpose of it is to do exactly what you're suggesting.

      The law differs from red flag laws in that it requires police first to get a medical practitioner to evaluate the person and find them to be a threat before police can petition a judge to order the person’s firearms to be seized.

      Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said she thinks a ban on high-capacity magazines is the best approach to stop this kind of gun violence. She also said at a news conference that from what she has heard, the yellow flag law should have been enforced.

      “The fact, the suspect was hospitalized for two weeks for mental illness should have triggered the yellow flag law. He should have been separated from his weapons,” Collins said at a news conference Thursday in Lewiston. “I’m sure that after the fact, that it’s going to be looked at very closely.”

      https://apnews.com/article/gun-control-lewiston-maine-shooting-c0ea366da50bd9d9dd4fb1aac256c049

    • ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      4·
      1 year ago

      This is actually already a thing, federally. He was IVCd, they are supposed to confiscate and input that into NICs, but people didn't do their damn job.