AUGUSTA, Maine — A bill to crack down on gang activity by making recruitment illegal has been killed for this session by a Maine legislative committee.
The Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee voted unanimously Thursday to reject the bill after questions were raised about its potential cost and whether Maine has a gang problem serious enough to warrant the legislation.
In its original form, the bill also authorized enhanced sentences for certain violent and drug crimes when they’re committed by a criminal street gang member.
Sponsors of the bill had warned that gang activity is expanding from cities to rural areas where it can “fly under the radar.”
Here is a Gang of Miscreants that they Need to go after!
http://s3.amazonaws.com/atrfiles/files/files/State%20Taxpayer%20Protection%20Pledge%20List_CURRENT_2012(3).pdf
Another Big Republican lie. And another piece of wrong headed legislation from Amy Volk.
score one for gangs.. hey lapage here is something else you can do something about but you won’t cause it does not put dollars in your or your friens pockets.Prescription drugs, domestic violence,i am sure gangs have nothing to do with any of this
The CJ/PS Committee has lost a huge opportunity, thru their refusal to listen to those of us who have worked this issue both here in Maine and elesewhere, to show the gang’s that Maine is not where they want to be. Already the MDEA, the State Police, any number of Sheriff’s Office’s and the town PD’s knows that there are gangs here that thrive on the fact that they don’t have the law enforcement attention paid to them simply because the State and local legislature’s want to be so concerned about their civil rights that these same legislature’s are willing to risk their children’s safety in the name of these civil rights. Folk’s wake up !
The gang’s here in Maine use this state to both recruit (and the few remaining SRO’s know this all too well !), manufacture their meth (and some of you wonder why those hunting camp’s are being used year-round despite the snowbuildup’s on their access road’s) and clean their cash by running it thru any number of local business’s. These gang’s are nothing more than domestic terrorist’s hiding under the cover of ignorance of local official’s who simply play the ‘ostrich-head-in-the-sand’ approach to any issue that they don’t either understand or, and this is the really sad part of Maine Gov’t, they don’t want to understand because when they become aware of it, that awareness requires them, responsibly, to deal with it in order to protect the public. Help for Maine is available thru any number of outside agencies, some already here like the CBP, the ATF (No, they are not all boogeymen flying in ‘black helicopter’s ) and the US Marshal’s. But before any progress can be made it is required that the Maine Legislature, and the Governor, come together, realize the size and complexity of the problem and discuss and debate any number of possible solution’s. To date, I have yet to see that happening. Tick tock folk’s. And as the weather gets warmer as Spring approach’s it’s only going to become more obvious as to just how serious the problem is. The gang ‘tagging’ is going be seen more and more as the snow melt’s. It’s time for both the Governor, the CJ/PS Committee, and the Legislature as a whole, to wake up and realize the time to act is now, not when Maine start’s racking up body count’s at the local hospital that rival Boston, Philly, Chicago or Los Angeles. Dead and bleeding kid’s are a heck’uva way to have the problem presented.
If they are doing anything illegal, how about just enforce the laws that already exist?
The biggest gangs in Maine are seated in the legislature and the Blaine house.
Of course it has, otherwise the LePage gang would have been in big trouble. Anyone who does not believe that Maine has a gang problem needs to wake up and OPEN THEIR EYES. There were gangs in Hallowell and Farmingdale in the early 90s. I’m not talking clusters of rowdies, I’m talking groups affiliated with national level gangs.
so much for prventative maintenance