Maine's Governor Mills Addresses New Gun Safety Proposal

Maine Governor, Janet Mills (D), gave her annual State of The State address on Tuesday evening. And, for a good portion of her speech, she focused a lot on the recent shooting tragedy in the Maine city of Lewiston.

Since the shooting, there has been no shortage of people in Maine and beyond calling for tougher gun law in the Pine Tree State. Governor Mills, as part of Tuesday's address, outlined a new proposal that her administration is currently working on in an effort to keep Mainers safer, and keep firearms out of the hand of people she says shouldn't have them, WGME 13 reported.

Mills stressed in her speech that she believes this proposal would not step on Mainers' second amendment rights, instead citing the need for increased precautions when it comes to firearm sales across the state, including private gun sales.

Mills said in part during Tuesday night's State of The State address,

"Prevention, mental health, and keeping weapons away from dangerous persons. That's what my proposal boils down to. If you are a law-abiding citizen who owns firearms in Maine, you have nothing to fear. If you like to hunt in Maine — deer, bear, moose, duck, pheasant, coyotes — you have nothing to fear. And, if you are a 14-year-old kid bowling with your dad on a weeknight in Lewiston, you too should have nothing to fear.”

Maine Senator, Eric Brakey of Androscoggin said in part following the Governor's remarks,

“Taking away and making it harder for law abiding people to have the means to defend themselves to defend their families, that’s not making people safe. It might grant the illusion of safety, but it’s putting us in more danger.”

Members of the Mills administration say that the proposal to increase gun safety in Maine is currently being worked on though it is expected to be released in its entirety in the coming days.