From Bar Harbor to Old Orchard Beach and many places in between, gun owners across Maine turned in hundreds of weapons on Saturday during the Maine Gun Safety Coalition giveback program.
Nacole Palmer, executive director of the coalition, said 290 guns were destroyed on Saturday. Although she does not yet have a final count, she estimates more than 100 other weapons were gathered at 16 police stations statewide.
“Gun violence is preventable,” she said. “There are common sense measures we can take to reduce gun violence.”
The coalition holds the event every other year. The metal portions of the guns are melted and recycled, with some of the parts reused as art and other products.
In addition to the coalition, the program is sponsored by the Maine Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the IM Swedish Development Partner’s Humanium initiative.
And while the coalition considers the event a success, the Gun Owners of Maine say there are other ways to get rid of unwanted firearms.
Laura Whitcomb, president of the group, said police stations will accept firearms at any time and that a program called Hold My Guns works with federal firearms licensees to store guns.
“Hold My Guns is a really good program for people who are acknowledging they are in a place where they are having some issues,” she said.
The program allows those experiencing a mental health or other crisis to temporarily surrender their firearms.
Whitcomb said her organization also encourages people to take a gun safety course. And she worries that some of the guns destroyed during giveback days could have historical significance.
“Unfortunately, they are taking these firearms and are destroying them,” she said. “We could be destroying a historical relic.”
Whitcomb and Palmer spent months this year battling at the State House over several proposed gun bills in the wake of the Lewiston mass shootings in October that claimed the lives of 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar.
Lawmakers passed a bill to expand background checks for advertised private gun sales. The legislation also changes the state’s current yellow flag law to allow police to go directly to a judge to get a warrant if they suspect someone with weapons is a danger to themselves or others.
In addition, the state is expanding mental health services and investing in violence prevention programs.
Another measure calls for a 72-hour waiting period between when a gun is purchased and when it is picked up.
That bill passed the Legislature and became law without the governor’s signature. It is scheduled to go into effect in early August, but Whitcomb said her group is moving forward with plans to file a lawsuit to stop it.
“We are fully prepared to take it as far as it needs to go,” she said.
Supporters of the law say it’s designed to prevent suicides in which guns are used, while opponents say it puts in place a barrier for hunters and others to obtain a firearm in a timely way.
Palmer, of the gun safety coalition, said at least two of the guns turned in Saturday were from families who lost someone to suicide.
“It’s a stark reminder of why we hold these and it was important for those family members to know those were destroyed,” she said.