AUGUSTA - Rep. Vicki Doudera, D-Camden, introduced LD 759, An Act To Amend the Child Endangerment Laws To Include Certain Unauthorized Access to a Loaded Firearm, before the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee on Wednesday.
LD 759 states that, if a loaded firearm is stored or left where a child is likely to gain access to it, and a child uses the loaded firearm, the firearm owner is considered to have endangered the welfare of the child and will be charged with committing a Class D crime.
According to The Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, those killed by firearms in Maine increased 11% from 2018 to 2019, due to an increase in the number of both homicides and suicides. From 2010 to 2019, the overall gun death rate in Maine increased by 45% and the firearm suicide rate increased by 39%. At least 10 Mainers under the age of 19 died by firearms in 2019.
"This legislation presents an opportunity to help curb the rising tide of suicide in young Maine people," said Doudera. "It presents an opportunity to change the culture around safely storing and securing firearms where children are concerned and keep children safer in their own homes. If passed into law, LD 759 would clearly and unambiguously spell out in statute that leaving a loaded firearm where a child can get it is wrong, and that adults who do so should be held accountable."
Close to forty people, including physicians, nurses, teachers, parents, grandparents, hunters and school counselors, testified in support of the bill. The Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee will hold a work session on LD 759 on Friday, April 30 at 1:00 p.m.
Doudera, a member of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee, is serving her second term in the Maine House of Representatives. She chairs the Legislature's Gun Safety Caucus and serves the towns of Camden, Islesboro and Rockport.
Contact:
Jackie Merrill [Doudera], c. 812-1111