Adapt Angus King gun proposal to craft a state assault weapon ban

To the Editor;

Accepting the challenge from letter writer David Winslow, the following is a modest proposal for an assault weapon ban in the state of Maine. First, start with U.S. Sen. Angus King’s federal proposal and adapt it to the state of Maine. Any federal bill to ban assault weapons is going nowhere, and I think Sen. King likely knows it.

Make the proposal a standalone bill. Use King’s apparent definition of an assault weapon and add to the bill a Maine licensing board. The board would require all manufacturers of guns, including individuals who make or modify guns, to obtain a license to sell guns in Maine. Each model of gun would also require a permit in order to be sold in Maine. All unpermitted guns would be deemed illegal guns. A licensing board would prevent workarounds of the law. The need for a licensing board is based on the premise that an individual can recognize by operation and function an illegal gun when one sees it.

This bill only bans the sale of a type of gun. It does not confiscate guns, nor does it initially register the owner of an illegal gun. To reduce existing guns that have become illegal, the new law I’m proposing would only allow transfer of these illegal guns down through the family by first degree of kinship. If the living owner or the estate wants to exchange the gun for its fair market value, then Maine would buy the gun and destroy it. Illegal guns passed down through the family legally would have to be registered by the new owner.

So there, in less than 300 words, you have a modest proposal that over time should reduce the

occurrence of mass shootings.

Stephen Freeman

Presque Isle