Maine State Rep. Suzanne Salisbury (D) voiced support for gun control measures moving through the state legislature, suggesting lawmakers have to look beyond the Second Amendment and act in light of “real world experience.”
Salisbury’s observation comes as Maine Democrats are pushing universal background checks and a 72-hour waiting period for gun purchases.
WMTW noted that state Rep. Matt Harrington (R) opposes gun control, specifically worrying that universal background checks might violate Second Amendment rights and lead to a gun registry.
Harrington said, “I just think it’s contrary to the Second Amendment. The first step in confiscation, generally, is a registry. So, it’s a slippery slope when you start going down that path.”
Salisbury responded with her comment about not being hedged in by the Second Amendment, saying, “If we focus solely on a sentence in the constitution without putting in real world experience, we’re missing an opportunity.”
On April 4, 2023, the Maine Beacon reported that Democrats were pushing gun control because of crimes witnessed in states other than Maine.
According to the Beacon, “[Maine] … has yet to see a mass shooting.”
House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D) made clear that a shooting in Canada was part of the impetus for pushing universal background checks in Maine.
California has universal background checks and a waiting period for gun purchases. California also has a gun registry and leads the nation in “active shooter incidents.”
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 Turning Point USA Ambassador. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and he 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. 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.
