As a lifelong Mainer and a 30-year Army veteran – Airborne Ranger and qualified Green Beret – I am committed to defending the rights and freedoms that define our nation, including the Second Amendment. Following the Lewiston tragedy, many are calling for sweeping new restrictions on responsible gun owners. These measures would only punish law-abiding citizens, not prevent future violence. The failures we witnessed in Lewiston were systemic, spanning mental health systems, data-sharing protocols, and interagency communication.
America faces a worsening mental health crisis, and the systems that connect mental health records to firearm background checks are both inconsistent and incomplete. We must close these information gaps while safeguarding individual privacy, due process, and the rights of responsible gun owners—especially Veterans who seek mental health care.
I support targeted reforms that improve background check integration, expand mental health resources, and strengthen interagency coordination without infringing on constitutional rights. Our policy focus should be on fixing the systems that fail to identify individuals in crisis, ensuring that those who present a real danger receive timely intervention and care. I oppose any effort to impose burdensome gun control measures that criminalize responsible citizens and will continue advocating for meaningful solutions that both protect public safety and preserve the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution
Protecting public safety and protecting constitutional rights are not opposing goals. By improving data coordination, expanding mental health resources, and reinforcing existing safeguards, we can prevent tragedies like Lewiston without eroding the fundamental liberties of law-abiding Americans.