PORTLAND, Maine — Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was seriously injured in a 2011 shooting in her native Arizona, took part in a Portland forum Tuesday at which attendees said the issues of gun control and domestic violence cannot be separated.
The former Democratic congresswoman has campaigned for stricter gun control laws since her recovery from a Jan. 8, 2011, mass shooting near Tucson that claimed the lives of six people, including a federal judge and 9-year-old girl.
The attack was later described by prosecutors as an assassination attempt on Giffords, who survived being shot in the head at point-blank range.
Giffords, who also visited Portland for a public appearance in July of last year, took part in a 25-person roundtable discussion at the University of Southern Maine on the connection between domestic violence homicides and gun possession.
Participants — including representatives from the Maine Women’s Lobby, Family Crisis Services, Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence, the Portland Police Department, Pine Tree Legal Assistance, the U.S. Department of Justice and many other organizations — largely agreed that voters concerned about domestic violence should rally behind greater gun control measures.
“Dangerous people with guns are threats to women. Stalkers with guns. Abusers with guns,” said Giffords, who spoke briefly and spent most of the hourlong session listening. “We can change our laws. We can win elections.”
Giffords on Tuesday did not single out any Maine candidates in particular she recommended supporting in the upcoming Nov. 4 elections, but her political action committee has supported Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and Giffords has in the past attended a fundraiser for Democrat Mike Michaud’s gubernatorial campaign.
Michaud is challenging incumbent Republican Gov. Paul LePage, who as a childhood abuse victim has a strong track record on the issue of domestic violence, but vetoed a bill seeking additional background checks in gun sales.
The group Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence has endorsed independent Eliot Cutler in the three-way gubernatorial race, while the National Rifle Association has endorsed LePage.
Giffords was joined in Portland on Tuesday by Hayley Zachary, executive director for Americans For Responsible Solutions, the advocacy group Giffords founded with her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly. The forum was held as part of the Protect All Women Leadership Network tour and largely moderated by Julie Colpitts, executive director of the Maine Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
According to the Protect All Women network, a woman is five times more likely to be murdered by her partner if there is a gun in the home than if there is not, and 55 percent of all women killed by partners between 2001 and 2012 were killed with guns. The network also distributed handouts on Tuesday noting that between January 2009 and January 2013, 57 percent of mass shootings began with or involved a domestic violence incident.
“We need to change the conversation,” said Emma Connor, director of Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence. “You can’t be good on domestic violence [issues] and bad on gun control.”
Zachary and others in attendance lamented the 2013 defeat in the U.S. Senate of a measure requiring background checks on individuals seeking to buy firearms at gun shows and other private sales. They also touted current proposed legislation at the federal level that would block individuals convicted of stalking or subject to restraining orders from possessing firearms.
In Maine, laws allow judges to follow a temporary restraining order with a second order demanding the individual relinquish all firearms. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Darcie McElwee said at Tuesday’s forum the relinquishment order “has no teeth whatsoever.”
McElwee said police have no authority to enter a home and independently verify that all firearms have been relinquished, there is no system for tracking compliance with or histories of relinquishment orders, and some individuals comply with the orders by simply handing guns over to friends, who could give the weapons back after the police leave.
“We’re not even close to [an effective] relinquishment system,” McElwee said.
According to the Protect All Women network, 44 percent of homicides of women in Maine between 2003-2012 were domestic violence incidents, and 65 percent of those homicides were committed with a gun.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence and would like to talk with an advocate, call 866-834-4357, TRS 800-787-3224. This free, confidential service is available 24/7 and is accessible from anywhere in Maine.
