Protect victims of domestic violence

LD 1938 is “An Act to Protect Victims of Domestic Violence.” If this bill passes, the Department of Public Safety would attempt to notify a victim of domestic violence and local police that the abuser had attempted to buy a firearm. They would be alerted of this through a background criminal check from a federal agency if the potential buyer or transferee is prohibited from receipt or possession of a firearm, due to a temporary or final protection from abuse order. It further states that the state is not liable for damages caused by a failure or inability to inform the individual.

You may wonder if this is really an issue in the State of Maine. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System keeps statistics: In 2001, 10 abusers tried to buy a firearm; in 2002, 33 abusers did; 2003, 23; 2004, 46; 2005, 26.

This is a real issue in Maine. An article written in 2004, stated that in 46 cases that were reviewed by the Maine Domestic Abuse Homicide Review Panel since 1997, 29 of those cases involved firearms. Another article in 2004, states that while the crime rate in general has decreased by 2.1 percent for the state, the number of domestic assaults has increased by 11.4 percent since 2002.

Having been volunteers for Spruce Run, a domestic violence project, we have learned first hand the increased danger women are in when they leave their abuser. In a review of articles from the Bangor Daily News we found articles that reported incidents of violence with a gun. Examples are from 1989, a women was shot and killed in her work place in Bangor. Another woman and two of her children were shot to death by her husband in 1998 in Caribou. In 2001 a woman was shot to death along with her sister by her estranged husband in Patten. In 2005, a woman from Vinalhaven was shot and killed by a man she was trying to end an affair with.

We ask all citizens to support this bill, and especially encourage sheriffs and police chiefs to take a stand to protect victims of domestic violence by supporting this bill. It will give law enforcement additional information, allowing for further protection for citizens in their jurisdictions.

We want to stress that this is not a “gun bill” but an “act” to provide safety for those who have left an abusive partner. In the first legislative session this act was touted as a gun bill and thrown out. It has since been reworded and resubmitted. This act is important because research shows that women who leave their abusers are at a higher risk for lethal injury and often with a gun.

We also ask the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine to support this bill. We acknowledge and respect the time-honored traditions of hunting, guiding and owning guns in Maine. Maine’s sporting industry brings much needed revenue into our state and provides employment statewide. Hunting camps, some passed down from generation to generation, give our state historic and cultural value. Our experience is that hunters and collectors honor their First Amendment rights and take the responsibility of passing those traditions on to future generations very seriously.

Due to current attitudes popularized by the media, hunters may see any legislation involving guns as an opportunity for the anti-gun lobby to further erode their rights. In cases of domestic violence, however, people who commit acts of domestic violence and use guns irresponsibly give a bad name to gun owners. This is a chance for those who treasure their First Amendment rights to take a stand on providing safety to victims of violence.

Please support LD 1938 is “An Act to Protect Victims of Domestic Violence.”

Michelle Brown and Susan Wengrzynek are Old Town residents and graduate students in social work at the University of Maine.