Three bills introduced in Augusta this session illustrate the ignorance of the anti-gun agenda. One would impose waiting periods for buyers, on top of current background checks. Another would chip away at the policy of issuing concealed carry permits to qualified citizens, vetted for competence and good moral character by Maine’s law enforcement professionals.

Finally, and most insultingly, a new tax to fund courthouse security has been proposed on firearms and ammunition, as if the law abiding gun owners and sportsmen of Maine should be held responsible for courthouse shootings.

The perversity of these policies becomes obvious when we consider there is no convincing evidence that gun control has any beneficial effect on crime statistics. On the contrary, we have good reason to believe exactly the opposite; the common thread in each of the recent, highly publicized multiple shootings is that they all occurred in places where gun control rendered the victims defenseless.

Whatever the intention, the tragic consequence of gun control is that churches and schools are made more attractive targets, where maniacs are free to kill without fear of effective resistance on the part of their victims.

Jim Chappelow

Bangor