Gun trafficking a growing issue in Maine
11/18/09 | 44 comments
guns in maine

Gun trafficking a growing issue in Maine


Using ‘straw buyers,’ particularly women, part of crime trend
By Judy Harrison
BDN Staff
BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY KATE COLLINS
Silsby

Katrina Wickett was 23 in the summer of 2007 when her life spiraled out of control. The father of her children moved out of their Bangor apartment, leaving her with a 4-year-old, a 2-year-old and a newborn.A few months later, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services placed her children in the custody of her parents. By fall, she was without work, without a relationship and without her children, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Bangor.

She did what many lonely women of her generation do — sought companionship over the Internet. Christopher Riley popped into her life. By mid-October, he and his friends James Damon and Levar Carey had talked Wickett into buying three guns for them at a Bangor pawnshop.

Wickett, now 25, is one of a growing number of women around the country being used as “straw buyers” to purchase guns for people, almost always men, who could not buy them legally due to a felony or domestic violence conviction.

The guns Wickett bought were recovered almost immediately due to her quick arrest. The men she bought them for, however, belonged to Boston-area gangs and intended to use them as part of a drug operation, according to court documents.

While violent gun crime rates in Maine traditionally hover among the lowest in the nation, trafficking in guns — buying them in Maine and transporting them across the border where some end up used in crimes — appears to be a growing trend.

• In 2008, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives traced 97 guns recovered by Massachusetts law enforcement agencies to purchases in Maine. That’s up from 65 the year before. The bureau notes that not all guns used in crimes are traced and not all guns traced were used in crimes.

• In 2008, ATF traced 19 guns recovered by Connecticut law enforcement agencies to purchases in Maine, up from 15 the year before.

• Between 2005 and 2007, a New Brunswick man paid a few men in Maine to purchase more than 60 firearms from several licensed dealers in the state. The man smuggled the guns into Canada where gun laws are very strict. One gun later was used in a homicide in Canada.

When asked about the statistics, U.S. Attorney Paula Silsby acknowledged some trafficking in Maine guns is occurring.

“Clearly there are some guns from Maine ending up in other locations,” Silsby said Tuesday. “Whether that translates to an epidemic or a crisis or a even a problem is a different question. I think if you look at the guns located in other states, in most instances, they originated in that state.”

‘Straw buyers’

Wickett’s case, although unusual in Maine, marks a growing national trend, especially in border states. A recent article in USA Today reported that as the demand for weapons in Mexico has increased, according to the Houston office of ATF, the recruitment of women without criminal histories to buy guns has increased.

At least a dozen women in the past two years have been suspects or cooperating witnesses in cases filed in U.S. District Court in Houston. In Texas, they have been grandmothers, pregnant women and single mothers. Wickett is typical of defendants in the handful of cases prosecuted over the past few years in Maine — single and lonely, according to Silsby.

“We’ve seen a number of these cases recently,” Silsby said. “A lot of times the person completing the straw purchase is not doing it knowing they are buying a gun for another person who intends to use it to commit a crime.”

The only way an individual may purchase a firearm for another person is as a gift, she said. If purchasers lie on the application to buy a gun from a licensed dealer by stating they are obtaining it for themselves when they aren’t, they can be charged with a federal crime.

Silsby said that her office has been “very aggressive” in its enforcement of illegal purchasers.

“In the [federal prosecutorial] District of Maine, we are very engaged in ensuring federal firearms prosecutions.”

Beyond Maine’s border

Illegal gun traffic in New England pales in comparison to states on the Mexican border, but Canadian officials have said that the drug trade in that country is fueling a demand for handguns. All guns in Canada must be registered and who may possess a handgun is rigorously controlled.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police earlier this year told the Christian Science Monitor that of the 2,637 guns used in crimes in Canada, about 75 percent were traced to the United States. A major reason for that is cost. Guns are much less expensive in the United States than in Canada. A firearm that costs $150 in Maine could sell for $500 or more on the black market in Canada, Canadian officials said.

Nearly three years ago, police in New Brunswick recovered two handguns, several rifles, a pound of cocaine, a large amount of marijuana and $120,000 in cash. The recovered guns turned out to be just a few of the more than 60 firearms that Andrew Porter, 39, of St. Stephen, New Brunswick, smuggled between late 2005 and September 2007 from Maine into Canada.

One of those guns was used in June 2007 in the fatal shooting of a drug buyer by his dealer in an Ottawa motel, according to court documents. The shooter’s assistant died from a gunshot wound in the motel parking lot. The weapon was recovered and traced to a gun shop in Brewer, even though the serial number had been filed off.

Eventually, it was traced to Porter, who used a handful of male buyers in Maine to purchase more than 50 handguns from licensed firearms dealers from Calais to Brewer. Porter used the more rural Milltown crossing in Calais, according to one of his accomplices, and hid the guns under his seat. Because he crossed the border frequently, Porter was familiar to American and Canadian border patrol agents.

Catching and prosecuting gun smugglers takes cooperation on both sides of the border. Washington County Sheriff Donnie Smith said that once a month, he along with federal and state officials meet with their Canadian counterparts to share intelligence.

“Being a border county,” Smith said recently, “we’ve really got to count on these people for assistance. Gun smuggling is an increasing problem because of the strict gun laws over there.”

Since 1995, Canada has required that all guns, including rifles, be registered. To obtain a license, an applicant must pass a firearms safety test and undergo a rigorous background check, according to information on the RCMP’s Web site about the Canadian Firearms Program.

Massachusetts connection

Massachusetts also requires all guns be registered, and the difference in gun laws between the northern New England states and Massachusetts has caused some in the Bay State to harshly criticize the Pine Tree State’s gun laws.

Data compiled by ATF traced 97 of the 1,534 guns it recovered in 2008 in Massachusetts to Maine. Maine was second after Massachusetts, where 290 of the guns originated.

The issue of guns being imported to Massachusetts to get around that state’s strict licensing law drew media attention in 2006 when Boston officials and the nonprofit group Stop Handgun Violence unveiled a billboard on the Massachusetts Turnpike that criticized gun laws in other states. The billboard, which was replaced in August 2008, singled out Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Georgia as states, along with 29 others, which allow private owners to sell guns without criminal background checks of potential buyers.

A new billboard has been erected in the same spot by the same organization criticizing the federal law that allows people to sell firearms to individuals at gun shows without running background checks. In Maine, gun owners may only sell to other Maine residents in private sales. A Maine driver’s license is accepted as identifi-cation in most sales, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

In July, the Boston Herald decided to stop distributing well-known Maine publication Uncle Henry’s Swap or Sell It Guide in Roxbury and Dorchester, Mass. The Boston Globe reported that public safety officials in the Bay State believe lax gun laws in Maine and other states allow criminals to circumvent Massachusetts’ strict gun-ownership requirements by buying guns privately.

Efforts to reach Uncle Henry’s publisher Kevin Webb to determine if he had found a new distributor in the Boston area were unsuccessful.

Warning issued to sellers

Under the federal Project Safe Neighborhoods program, Maine’s U.S. Attorney’s Office distributed information to gun sellers through Uncle Henry’s and other publications to help prevent the private sale of guns to individuals who plan to use fake identification to show they are Maine residents, and plan to use the weapons in criminal activities in other states and Canada.

A private seller who sells a gun improperly can be prosecuted. The U.S. Attorney’s Office offers a gun seller’s kit that describes the laws in detail. Silsby said Friday that her office also supported a law passed earlier this year by the Maine Legislature which allows private sellers to have a background check run on potential buyer by a licensed dealer for a fee.

For those caught smuggling, buying or possessing guns illegally, the penalties can be stiffer under the federal sentencing guidelines than they might be under similar state statutes. The length of a federal sentence is increased for the number of guns purchased or smuggled, if the weapons are related to drug trafficking and ac-cording to the length and nature of a defendant’s criminal history.

Porter, the Canadian smuggler, is serving a 2½-year sentence in a U.S. prison. The men who purchased guns for him were sentenced to between six months and 2½ years in federal prison. All of them will be on supervised release after they finish their prison sentences. In addition, Porter is expected to face deportation and be barred from entering the United States.

Wickett is serving an 18-month sentence in federal prison. Riley, 26, is serving a sentence of 7½ years, and Damon is serving six years and eight months.

Carey is scheduled to be sentenced in January in federal court in Bangor. Because federal prosecutors maintain that he has three prior convictions for either violent felonies or serious drug law violations, Carey could be considered to be an armed career criminal and face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison.

On the Web: Project Safe Neighborhoods, Office of the U.S. Attorney, http://www.justice.gov/usao/me/psn/index.html.

jharrison@bangordailynews.net

990-8207

Not registered? Click here
E-mail this
Print this
Guidelines for posting on bangordailynews.com

Bangordailynews.com is pleased to offer a forum for readers to react to our stories, discuss them and provide additional information. We are reluctant to delete comments, but do reserve that right for those who abuse our forum. For more on using this site, please see our terms of service.

The primary rule here is pretty simple: Treat others with the same respect you'd want for yourself. What does that mean specifically? Here are some guidelines (see more):

Comments
44 comments on this item
On 11/18/09 at 4:12 AM, coopah wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Project Safe is an excellent program Highly recommended by SAM & the NRA.

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 5:37 AM, ElectraGlide wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Yep, I agree coopah<<

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 5:46 AM, SteveP wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

The Canadian Parliament recently voted to remove the requirement for "long gun" registration. While not law yet, it appears the national registration of riles and shotguns will be stopped.

http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2009/11/04/gun-registry-vote004.html

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 5:46 AM, Bartak wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

We should change Maine laws because Massachusetts has a problem??!! We have enough laws in place here now without turning our state into the

police state that Mass. is! Have you seen the Mass. state police uniform? They look just like the gestapo! One of Hitler's henchmen! Tell the Mass.

lawmakers to STAY in Mass. and stop trying to impose their regime on us!

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 6:08 AM, iworkformymoney wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

21/2 years for trafficing across an international border. This is a joke to these guys. Use the laws that we already have on the books. Bartak is right just because Mexsico or Canada or Mass, has major issues dosnt mean we should have to pay the price. Good timing for these articals as the Supreme Court is hearing the case against States Rights as it is applied to gun control early next year.

"Silsby said Friday that her office also supported a law passed earlier this year by the Maine Legislature which allows private sellers to have a background check run on potential buyer by a licensed dealer for a fee." What kind of law is this anyway? You could already do this if you wanted too. it was volintary then and within this "law" it is still volintary. Another usless law on the books, that by the way they pushed through without anyone knowing after the people of Maine voted this down. They passed the law as volintary for now and they will slide it through as mandatory later. They new they couldnt get it through as mandatory after the vote. Where were Susan and Olimpia on this one. Gun Owners should have been warned this was going on. Thanks to all our reps, and if they say they didnt know they are liers!!!!!!

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 6:27 AM, justsaying wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

so there it is,,,,,, its official now,,,,,, ive read in the last few months more and more stories about the problems with guns,,,,,dosent take rocket science to know whats comming,,,,,but now its official,,,,,add lonely women with children and no man in her life and there you have it,,,, its an epidemic now,,, so folks get ready, funny tho most of problem they want us to beleive comes from mass..or conn,, or elsewhere,,,, so maine citizens will pay the price,,,bottom line,, criminals will always get them,,, honest folks wont be able to......

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 6:36 AM, Native1710 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

The US Constitution guarantees the right for all Americans to be stupid and dangerous. So what's the problem with all you idiots owning guns, anyway?

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 6:59 AM, freedomfighter wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I have to agree about the Mass state trooper uniforms, they definitely look like nazis. I hope we never get like that up here.

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 7:10 AM, Bartak wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Freedomfighter.... If we allow Mass. lawmakers to impose their stringent, encumbering laws on us, we WILL get like that up here which is why it's so

important to pay close attention to what is going on in Augusta.

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 7:33 AM, CJSBDN wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Why e we giving this woman a pass due to her poor decisions?Throw her in jail with her druggie friends and leave her there.Wah Wah Wah.And crack down on the gun trade NOW>

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 7:50 AM, hooligan wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I think we should pass laws against lonely women. BAN LONELY WOMEN!

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 8:11 AM, freewill wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

The problem for human beings: there is no cure for stupid. Why would anyone, man or woman, purchase guns for someone else?

This series of articles is compelling in the delivery of fear surrounding guns. "We the People" must remain diligent in support of the Constitution.

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 8:21 AM, schoonerdog wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Is Wickett a member of MENSA??? This article seems to blame her problems on guns. 23 with 3 children (with how many fathers), loosing custody to the state, and all because of guns.....I see the connection now.....Bad bad guns! Shame on you for forcing Wicket and the others mentioned in the article to Illegally buy, sell, and smuggle guns. Were these people forced by the guns to do what they did?? The ones connected to the homicide should be tried as accomplices with the actual shooter.....WHERE IS THE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY???????

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 8:27 AM, TurkeyTalker wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Criminals commit crime, guns don't... But, guns can stop criminals from commiting crimes! So guns are good!

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 8:58 AM, hooligan wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Nope, yer all wrong. Sorry.

I have an evil black rifle in my closet that periodically gets up, climbs the counter, gets in to the ammunition, loads itself, sneaks out the back door and indiscriminately shoots the first person within range.

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 8:59 AM, firefly wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I'll say it again...why all the articles on guns lately? What's up with this and who's pushing the articlesand the issue. It's like the same sex marriage issue all over again except a different topic.

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 9:05 AM, djmuzx wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Hey Firefly.The BDN a liberal newspaper pushing Liberal agenda again.Pretty simple!!

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 9:16 AM, schoonerdog wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

The BDN is an EXTREME leftist paper.

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 9:44 AM, hardworkerx2 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Banning guns and tougher regulations will not stop crime or murder. GUNS CANT KILL PEOPLE!! You can put a loaded gun any where you chose and it WILL NOT fire. The olny possible way for a gun to fire is for a PERSON to make it fire!! Guns dont kill people PEOPLE KILL PEOPLE!! If guns are ban then knives fists and rocks chould be too!!!

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 10:39 AM, Woody1 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

We shouldn't fine tune a law because Massachusetts state police have objectionable uniforms. That's creative.

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 10:44 AM, ljreece63 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

You said it........

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 10:45 AM, ljreece63 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

....ok I was directing my comment to what hardworker said..........not the splinter headed woody.

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 10:58 AM, Justbill wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Why are people always comparing maine to more heavily populated states? There are more people in boston than in all of maine. Mass is a gun hating gay loving freakshow of a state. They are the prime example of local government gone awry. The people in maine need to stay alert! The anti's have been coming for years. The obama house is anti gun. Politicians with agendas for personal gain are jumping on this bandwagon. It isnt whats right for maine that matters. In more than forty years of gun ownership, not one of my firearms has committed an illegal act. Anyone with an I.Q. over 50 knows they are doing something illegal when they purchase guns for someone out of state. Once again, the BDN spin. I dont feel the least bit sorry for the girl. I see the BDN didnt accurately report why she lost her children. Just because she has no arrest record doesnt mean she led a nice life. Awful lot of troubles for a 23 year old girl.

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 11:18 AM, gw2kpro wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

What Katrina Wickett did was illegal.

She knew it was illegal when she did it.

So, I guess the solution is to make it double-illegal? If it was double-illegal she would not have done it??

And to restrict my LEGAL use of these firearms at the same time?

Does that logic pass any type of sanity test?

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 11:23 AM, gw2kpro wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

"and the difference in gun laws between the northern New England states and Massachusetts has caused some in the Bay State to harshly criticize the Pine Tree State’s gun laws."

Maybe those people in Massachusetts would be better served using their time and energy to explore the reasons why so many of the citizens in their state feel the need to kill each other, rather than blame the problem on Maine's laws.

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 11:32 AM, WWPaul wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Massachusetts does not trust its citizens. Is this a problem with their government or are their citizens untrustworthy?

Either way, why is this Maine's problem?

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 11:42 AM, patycat wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Maybe the Canadian Border Service should search every car and truck for guns thoroughly like the East Germans did for people .They worry to much about the rum coming from St. Pierre

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 12:08 PM, gw2kpro wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Hey, look over to the right.......... it's an ad on this very page for Maine Military Supply, a place where you can go to buy guns, gun accessories, ammo, etc.

Please don't tell me that the BDN is supporting itself using "dirty" advertising money from a place that sells GUNS!!!!!!!!!?????????????

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 12:39 PM, JWBooth wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

If we cut the DHS budget, these gun trafficking sluts would take their %^@*& children and move to another state with more generous benefits.

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 12:39 PM, Bartak wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Woody1....my point was, Mass. state police uniforms represent the HITLER MIND SET of the Mass. legislators. No we should not "fine tune" our laws to

accomodate Mass. problems or let them impose their will on the free citzens of Maine who rightfully own guns and are law abiding.

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 12:53 PM, gw2kpro wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Bartak -- here's the problem, the people of Mass. move to Portland where they choose to vote to make things exactly the way they are in the State they just chose to leave.

Amazing..........

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 1:16 PM, Bartak wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

gw2kpro.....You're right. There is an old proverb I refer to frequently....."THE GREATEST SIN IS TO BE UNCONCIOUS" .....The people of Maine need to be CONCIOUS

of what the lawmakers are trying to put over on us and not let them chip away at our freedoms.

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 1:23 PM, windfuture wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Who determined that "gun trafficking" is becoming a "growing problem" in Maine? The very statement is unsupported by any facts in the article. One woman was used as a "straw" buyer for 3 guys to buy guns illegally?? And she committed a crime by doing so? Is that the extent of the problem? Or is it the 6% of guns used in Mass. crime being traced to Maine? Illegal interstate transport of firearms, and a host of other laws broken in the process? This is supposed to be of concern?? What is up with the BDN even reporting on this? Are you guys looking for a new political angle to hammer on since gay marriage rights are gone for the moment?

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 1:29 PM, Bartak wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

On Sept. 12 Maine just passed a new law regarding cell phone use while driving ....the LD6 "An act to establich distracted driver law". Sen.

Bill Diamond usd common sense when he stated we need to focus on the BEHAVIOUR not the DEVICE. Let's hope the same common sense

is usd regarding our gun laws.

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 1:40 PM, Coronadrinker wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

That picture just needs to go, i wouldnt trust him with a gun either. He is a horrible sheriff

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 3:17 PM, NewYorkGuy wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I like how because other states celebrate their anything-goes-amoral-liberal-overpopulated-culture, which promotes crazy and criminal behavior--and then by enacting law after restrictive law, make their states into a padded cell so that their crazy citizens can't hurt themselves.

Then those same dysfunctional states feel the need to shame saner states into restricting the freedom of their citizens, too--as if those saner states are the states that should be ashamed.

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 3:42 PM, sportycliff wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Mainers,

Please enforce what laws you have. Don't become Massachusetts!

I implore you DO NOT under any circumstances create more gun laws!

As a resident of Massachusetts and gun owner I feel qualified to say that it will get much, much worse.

The anti-gun crowd will feel more and more empowered with each new law they pass.They will laugh in your face

as they make criminals out of your citizens. Want to go to jail for a year? Have and EMPTY shell casing on your person

if you don't have their license! ANY COMPONENT of ammunition will do the same. ALL guns must be locked at all times

if not under your direct (on your body) control. This is assuming you're ALLOWED to OWN a handgun! That's at the discretion of

the local Chief of Police! If he doesn't want you to have one (for ANY reason) no guns for you. Don't go down this insane gun control

road. Our rights are being destroyed right before our eyes as is. I'm leaving this craphole of a state as soon as I can.

Stay safe, and be free...

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 3:57 PM, JonAlbrecht wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

With this much paranoia you could reopen AMHI. Nobody is proposing anything yet. Until they do, there is nothing to do.

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 4:26 PM, Scintillate wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

So if a woman is over weight and her husband goes and buys her an ice cream and she dies of a heart attack while eating it should ice cream be illegal?

Guess someone made a big mistake inventing guns but now they are here and most people have sense about them. Remember Hilter took away all the peoples ability to denfend themselves from evil. History could have been written quite different. We already have the "American Wall" against Canada lets not follow with the rest of Hilters ways.

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 6:24 PM, JoeDoe wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

when the govt' comes to get my new gun. i figure that will be a good time to try it out.

Report abuse
On 11/18/09 at 8:27 PM, gw2kpro wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

"With this much paranoia you could reopen AMHI. Nobody is proposing anything yet."

No kidding. There's so little going on that the BDN felt compelled to write a 5 part series on this issue.

Report abuse
On 11/20/09 at 4:19 AM, noreasternelly wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

if i wanted to buy a gun, it,s to easy to get one, uncle henerys always available to sell me one!!!! too easy? it sure as heck is. how do you change that?

Report abuse
On 11/20/09 at 10:47 AM, demsuk64 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Noreasternelly,

Fix it? What's wrong with it? How about we stop trying to fix things that aren't broken and instead focus on real problems. How about our economy? The gun issue is nothing more than a red herring put out by the BDN to shift attention away from real problems, to get lemmings all worked up and demand action. The legislature will act and nothing will change, criminals will still have guns, Maine will still be third rate state, and the politicians will be haled as heros for fixing this "public emergency".

Don't be a lemming.

Report abuse
On 11/20/09 at 10:23 PM, chumby wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Let me get this straight - Mass-holes are coming to Maine, buying guns, going back to Mass, and shooting other Mass-holes; where's the problem? :-)

Perhaps Maine should revisit its billboard prohibition and put one up in Kittery asking the Mass-holes to not drink before they drive their boats on Sebago Lake.

Mass' contribution was far worse than Maine - perhaps the billboard should have singled out Mass.

I thought about eight years ago some yahoos used airplanes to kill a whole bunch of Americans. Why aren't airplanes banned? I wonder if NYC would put up a billboard shaming Mass because of the two airplanes that came from Logan.

Unless the pawn shop didn't follow protocol, Wickett had to fill out a form that included at least one question regarding the straw purchase. I have personally witnessed a gun store stop a straw purchase because that's what it was.

Report abuse
You must be logged in to post a comment. click here to log in.

Powered by: Creative Circle Advertising Solutions, Inc.