N.E. lawmakers, advocates discuss potential options to curb gun violence

BOSTON – Ballistic “fingerprinting,” firearms surrender programs and mandatory safety lessons for owners of concealed weapons were some of the ideas discussed by New England lawmakers hoping to curb gun violence.

Lawmakers and advocates from Maine and four other New England states met Wednesday at the Statehouse in Massachusetts, home of one of the nation’s toughest gun control laws, to map out strategies to prevent gun-related injuries.

While crime declined in the 1990s, guns are still a top concern, lawmakers said. There were 28,874 gun-related deaths in the United States in 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Urban America is under siege from gun violence,” said Rhode Island state Rep. David Cicilline.

As lawmakers met, defense attorneys in a nearby Cambridge courtroom argued that Michael McDermott, accused of killing seven co-workers with an assault rifle in 2000, was insane at the time of the killings.

Massachusetts state Sen. Cheryl Jacques said the shootings show the need for better gun laws, especially in a small geographic area like New England.

“Guns know no borders. We cannot pretend that if we are successful in limiting illegal access to weapons in one state, that we will be safe,” said Jacques, who led the effort to pass the state’s 1998 gun control law.

Massachusetts lawmakers are considering a bill limiting gun buyers to one new weapon per month and a second measure banning the sale or possession of all assault weapons. The 1998 law applied only to weapons made after September 1994.

Jacques is also championing a “ballistic fingerprinting” bill requiring gun makers to provide a spent bullet and shell casing with every gun so officials could more easily track weapons used in crimes.

In Rhode Island, lawmakers are weighing a handful of bills, according to Cicilline, including a firearms surrender program allowing people with unauthorized guns to turn them over to police without being prosecuted and measures requiring trigger locks and doubling penalties for gun thieves.

A bill mandating safety lessons for owners of concealed weapons was defeated by New Hampshire lawmakers, who are still considering bills requiring mental illness background checks and “gun-free” school zones.

Maine lawmakers approved legislation blocking police from auctioning guns seized during investigations and are considering a bill giving judges the option to restrict the possession of firearms when issuing restraining orders.

In Connecticut, legislators are weighing a bill requiring state police to work with local law enforcement to make sure people with restraining orders aren’t overlooked as they move around the state.

Gun advocates say they support legislation aimed at criminals, but fear many bills target law-abiding gun owners.

“Are we talking about clamping down on legal gun owners or are we talking about clamping down on gun violence?” said Jim Wallace of the Gun Owners Action League. He singled out the one-gun-a-month bill.

“There is nothing in there about crime. The bill is totally void of anything to do with crime. The bill would put most licensed gun owners out of business overnight,” Wallace said.

Lawmakers defended the need for new legislation, although they shied away from labeling their efforts “gun control.”

“Any mention of gun safety is turned into ‘taking our guns away,”‘ said Maine state Sen. Bill O’Gara. “There’s no attempt to take guns away from law-abiding citizens.”