May 2010
Without mandatory checks on private sales from ads and at gun shows, the problem will only get worse.
By SANDRA SCULLY
CUMBERLAND — In light of the recent “open carry rally” in Portland (where firearms were openly displayed), it might be of interest to review the gun situation in Maine.
Maine has one of the highest gun ownership rates in the country and a higher rate of death from firearms than Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire and six other states.
About 13 children and 100 adults die in Maine each year from firearms. The most recent data from the Maine Center for Disease Control show that the suicide rate for people ages 20 to 24 is 30 percent above the national average, and firearms account for more than 50 percent of these deaths.
It is legal for a 16-year-old (with parental permission) to buy a rifle and an 18-year-old, a handgun. Drinking is legal at 21 and a driver’s license at 16.
Maine is the No. 1 supplier of guns used in crimes in Massachusetts. The U.S. attorney in Portland, working with federal agencies in Maine and Massachusetts, has targeted two-way traffic (guns to Massachusetts and drugs to Maine) with extensive use of undercover agents, informants, specialized Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and FBI agents from outside the region and cooperative programs with local and state law enforcement.
They investigate and prosecute both the out-of-state dealers and their Maine resident accomplices, including students and young women enlisted as “straw buyers” (who buy guns legally and resell them to those who would not pass a background check), as well as local gun dealers who illegally sold to unqualified buyers, some of whom turned out to be law enforcement officers working undercover.
The investigation and prosecution of the gun and drug trafficking remain a high priority of all law enforcement agencies along the I-95 corridor. Maine requires no background checks or records of gun sales at gun shows (except from licensed dealers) or sales made through ads in Uncle Henry’s shopping guide and newspapers.
More than 885 Mainers failed background checks during the most recent three years for which data is available. To fail, one has to be a convicted felon or domestic abuser or to have been deemed mentally unfit.
Massachusetts has much stricter gun regulations, making it easier to buy guns in Maine. Many states (eight, in fact) require background checks at all gun shows. Only one gun show in Maine requires licensed dealers (in Bangor). Polls show that 88 percent of Mainers would like stricter gun laws.
The gun lobby (the National Rifle Association and the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine) work relentlessly to weaken Maine’s very weak gun laws. When a bill was proposed in February to ban guns in Acadia National Park, SAM argued that its members needed firearms to protect themselves from criminals – because hunting is banned and there are no bears in that park.
The group I work with – Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence – is very respectful of hunters and target shooters. These people, for the most part, are responsible citizens who do not abuse their right to have firearms.
SAM would have people believe we are against all guns. Not so. As the only group in Maine working to reduce gun violence, we have made progress enacting new legislation to further this cause.
Mayors Against Illegal Guns, founded by mayors Michael Bloomberg in New York and Thomas Menino in Boston, will invest funds in Maine to improve our gun laws in order to reduce the flow of illegal guns to their urban areas.
In the past, MCAHV has distributed thousands of free gun locks throughout communities in Maine and will continue to submit new legislation in hopes of protecting domestic violence victims and others threatened by firearms.
— Special to the Press Herald
Special to MCAHV
THE TALE OF THE TRAVELING GUN
In the way of an introduction, my name is Steven Edmondson and I currently serve as the Domestic Violence Investigator for the Sagadahoc County District Attorney’s Office in Bath, Maine. I have been a Law Enforcement Officer in Maine for over three decades and as you might expect, I gave witnessed my share of needless tragedies involving the use of firearms.
For the better part of the past 20 years, I have frequented the pages of a Midcoast newspaper either on the editorial page with an OP-ED piece on Domestic Violence, various columns on selected public safety issues or a ranting Letter to the Editor whenever my ire is stirred. This piece however, is taking on a subject that should alarm us all on the sheer negligence and potential for tragedy. This story involves the travels of a particular gun; one not unlike many of you own or possess in your homes. I want to state at the beginning there is no underlying theme supporting gun control or interfering with anyone’s Second Amendment Rights. What I am about to describe however, should make the hair on everyone’s neck stand up just a little and take stock in what should be common sense gun safety.
PROLOGUE
The tale I am about to share involves the travels of a high-end .40 caliber, semi-automatic handgun similar to the one I carry on my hip every day. What makes this particular gun unique is how many hands this gun touched and how many crimes were committed and how many lives have been impacted in the process of its travels.
CHAPTER 1
We start in the late summer of 2009 with the arrest of a young man for pointing a gun at a motorist in Kennebec County that has all indications of a road-rage incident. What made a bad situation worse for our angry motorist was the person he allegedly pointed the gun at was an off-duty police officer.
Police locate and arrest the perpetrator here in Sagadahoc County for the offense and seize the gun used in the crime along with a second gun he had in his possession. A check with police records show arrests for this individual dating back three years for drug trafficking and possession. Unfortunately none of these offenses rose to a level that prohibited owning or possessing weapons.
Later in the day of this man’s arrest, his wife remembers there was a third gun in the car at the time of his arrest and locates it in a backpack in the trunk. Recognizing his bail conditions prohibit the possession of weapons and not wanting to have the gun around her, the wife takes the gun to an uncle of her husband here in Sagadahoc County for safe keeping.
We have reached the end of Chapter 1 with this gun, but far from the end of the story.
CHAPTER 2
Within days of the young man’s release on bail from the County jail on the original weapon and terrorizing offense, he was again arrested, this time for domestic assault on his wife in a central Maine county not far from here. With this offense, bail conditions required him to relocate away from his wife. Things seemed fine for several weeks until the young man had the electricity discontinued at the apartment he previously shared with his wife, along with extracting funds from their joint bank account. This did not sit well with the wife and when she discovered where her husband was staying, she called police in our County in late October to report her husband was currently residing with the uncle she had previously given the gun to for safekeeping.
Upon her call, local police followed up on her complaint and investigated the circumstances of her husband and the gun being under the same roof. The uncle readily handed over the gun to the officers who inspected it. It was determined her husband was not staying there at the time but the officers advised the uncle it would be in his best interest if the gun found a new home elsewhere so as to avoid problems. The uncle was very accommodating and agreed to relocate the gun promptly. To his credit, the uncle had the gun hidden and locked away even if his nephew had been present in the home. The uncle indicated he had actually long forgotten the firearm was even there as a couple of months had passed since he originally took it in.
When the wife was informed of the officers’ findings, she apparently was not satisfied. She proceeded to inform the officers that she recently discovered the uncle she previously gave the gun to for safekeeping, was a convicted felon and was by law prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm. I’m only speculating here but since her husband successfully avoided further interaction with law enforcement, she would throw the uncle under the bus.
Once our office was made aware of this new revelation, I was instructed to investigate her allegations. Sure enough, the uncle tasked by the young woman with keeping the gun out of her husband’s hands, had been convicted of crimes in another state 34 years ago when he was an admitted wayward youth. Nonetheless, those crimes were considered felonies and that stain stays on you for life. I met with the uncle for an interview and he readily acknowledged being a felon and admitted to handling the weapon before and after the officers came to his house. To his credit, he did take steps to remove the weapon from his residence as directed by the officers. The uncle was frank and honest in speaking to me but unfortunately we could not overlook the offense and he has suffered the consequences accordingly.
I would like to say this was the end of the story for this handgun but sadly that is not the case. This firearm has now been handled by two people after its owner had been arrested for a weapon offense with the uncle charged with the crime for merely being in possession of it.
CHAPTER 3
If the story ended here it would still be a shame for those involved but it only gets worse. Within days of being advised to relocate the handgun by the officers, the kindly uncle gave the gun to yet another relative in the same community before I ever become involved.
When the gun changed hands from the uncle to the next relative, step-father to the original owner, his teenage daughter, half-sister of the original owner, was present at the time of the exchange and became aware of the guns existence in her home. For reasons known only to her, she took the gun from her house and carried it around with her throughout town for a period of time. We are not sure how long she had or carried the gun around but it was determined her father received it on or about November 1 and the first report she had it in public was two weeks later.
The teenage apparently had shown the gun off to enough kids that word got to an adult who called the police on November 15. Local police responded to the report and located the young woman in a public place with some friends. The police told her what they were there for and searched her bag. Not finding the gun, the girl made up a story to the police on why she thought other kids would be saying such a thing. As it turned out, the gun was in a backpack of a young man sitting nearby to the teenage girl in question. Seeing officers drive by her earlier that day, the girl panicked and assumed they were looking for her. Fearing getting caught with the gun, she handed it off to the friend, a teenage boy, who now was carrying it around. It is worth noting the young man made no mention of the gun to the police when they questioned the girl sitting nearby. It is also worth mentioning that in the ensuing days when this case developed and the facts came out, it became known the young girl had posted pictures of herself with the gun on her MySpace page.
After the confrontation with police, the young man returned to his home in a neighboring town with the gun. Apparently guilt, fear or a conscious set in as he now had reservations about hanging on to this gun. After a few days of hiding the gun, he gave it to another young man he knew that had some experience with firearms. The second young man stashed the gun in a shed on his property for a couple of days before telling his father. For the first time in a long time involving this weapon, someone did the right thing at the right time. The father of the second boy took the gun to the local law enforcement agency to turn it in.
This of course is when the story started to unravel for the teenage girl. Both of the young men were truthful when questioned by police and eventually the trail lead back to the girl. She finally opened up and admitted her role with the gun and was also charged accordingly.
EPILOGUE
After all of this, the gun was finally in the authorities hands by the end of November. At some point in the near future it will be destroyed and what little metal it contains will contribute to the formation of a fire hydrant or manhole cover.
Let’s review the history presented here. In a matter of six weeks, this firearm was handled by at least eight people, two of which were charged with offenses for merely possessing it, not to mention the original owner who was charged with a weapons offense and can no longer own it. I can think of two savings graces in this story. First and foremost, no one was injured. I have heard differing information on whether the gun was ever loaded during its travels.
The second positive note from this tale is hopefully a lesson for all who read this story. I have carried a firearm on my side for over three decades and I own several others. It has been drilled to me throughout my career on the safe handling and storage of firearms. Unfortunately, most gun owners have not had the opportunity to receive such education and training nor is it mandated with gun ownership. I would like to think common sense would be enough but sadly, that is just not the case. Aside from gun violence, too many people are injured or killed by sheer misconduct, mishandling and negligence. I read a story some time ago that indicated more people are shot with their own guns than by a stranger.
There are lessons to be learned from these events from all perspectives. Perhaps if the Police had searched the entire car after the initial arrest, they may have located the third handgun and these events would not have occurred. Or if the Police had taken the time to check the history of the uncle, they may have discovered his criminal history and at least ended this story before the teenage girl got her hands on the gun. To the Officers’ defense, the uncle had lived in the community for over twenty years with minimal contact with law enforcement with the officers having no indication of his criminal past or suspicion of his history.
We also cannot ignore the young girl’s father and his poor choice of storage for this weapon and of course the actions of the two young men who were accomplices of the teenage girl by hiding it for several days.
Young people are determined and resourceful and holding on to assumptions everyone knows right from wrong when handling weapons is downright irresponsible. Any assumptions involving weapons should always lean towards the worst case scenario. That way if you act on those assumptions, you will be doing the right thing. To say this gun is jinxed is diverting blame from human misconduct. I recall seeing a bumper sticker that read: “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people”. Again, I am not using this piece to project a stance on gun control but if nothing else comes from this column, it is my hope people take notice of the neglect and human error involved in the handling of this particular firearm and take steps to prevent it from happening in your homes.
The Second Amendment provides the right for citizens to own and possess firearms. It does not however, relieve you from your responsibilities of safe possession and proper ownership of firearms. Laws exist to address illegal, careless and reckless acts with firearms. Thousands of people are killed and injured each year in this country from firearms with a vast majority the result of needless accidents from careless handling and storage of firearms.
Whether you own a single pistol for protection, an avid hunter with a display case full of rifles and shotguns or a casual collector like myself, each firearm is a potential tragedy in waiting. The only thing preventing tragedy is the human element; you, me and every gun owner in America.
April 2010
