In the wake of something like the Lewiston massacre, it’s not unusual for people to want to do something to make sure that never happens again. Their solutions are usually not the kinds of things that would actually address what happened, but one would imagine that a reasonable person would at least try to look at what happened and adjust accordingly.
For example, while I disagree with them entirely, the proposed changes to the state’s yellow flag law at least felt like people were addressing what happened rather than using it as a pretext for stuff they wanted anyway and just couldn’t make happen.
But a law going into effect on Friday was most definitely the result of capitalizing on a tragedy.
A new 72-hour waiting period law takes effect in Maine on Friday, requiring those who purchase a gun to wait three days before taking it home.
The law was designed to protect people contemplating suicide.
However, opponents worry about the potential impact on gun shows.
Gun Owners of Maine President Laura Whitcomb said the waiting period will take away the spontaneity of gun purchases at gun shows and ultimately make the purchases impractical.
That wouldn’t exactly be my primary argument against waiting periods, but it’s definitely something that will need to be considered. After all, gun shows last a couple of days in most cases, then the dealers load up and head back home. Waiting periods just aren’t practical for these sales.
Gun control advocates argue that this isn’t an issue, that states like California have “booming” gun show business despite waiting periods. Of course, California is also trying to find new ways to stamp out gun shows, so I’m not sure they want to invoke that particular state in this discussion.
But let’s understand something important: Waiting periods aren’t proven to reduce suicides. They’ve been shown in some studies to potentially reduce gun suicides, but those studies never looked at suicide rates as a whole. Did people just move to a different method of taking their own life? We honestly don’t know.
What we do know is that a 72-hour waiting period was crammed down the throat of folks in Maine because of Lewiston, a case where a waiting period would never have stopped literally anything from happening since the killer had owned his guns for quite some time before he decided to launch his attack. We also know that mass murderers are willing to wait to take possession of a gun if need be. Most of these cases aren’t spur-of-the-moment decisions, after all.
But Maine’s anti-gun advocates jumped at the opportunity to use the bodies of the slain at Lewiston as a soapbox upon which they could pontificate their desires to a rattled population. Maine has a low homicide rate as a usual thing. Lewiston effectively doubled it compared to many previous years, all in one fell swoop. People were shaken, and the anti-gunners pounced on the opportunity.
And nothing will improve.
People who need guns quickly because they believe their life is in danger will now be delayed in doing so, putting their lives at risk. Those the law is supposedly meant to help will just shift to something else and still take their own lives. Nothing will be better.
But the anti-gunners will pat themselves on the back and move the assault on people’s gun rights to some other issue, just like they always do.
