AUGUSTA, Maine — "I think it's a tragic situation to be honest with you," longtime gun owner Jenny Granat said when asked how she views Maine's new 72-hour waiting period law.
"You're penalizing law abiding, good citizens because there's some bad people that do bad things," Granat said. She predicts the law will be a turnoff to future customers like herself which, in turn, would hurt the organizations running the shows.
The bill was pushed through the Maine Legislature in the wake of the Lewiston mass shooting and went into law after Gov. Janet Mills allowed it to pass without her signature. The full effects are set to begin next month.
Freedom Promotions LLC, the organization hosting the Sunday's gun show in Augusta, wouldn't allow NEWS CENTER Maine inside the building, but we were able to speak to people like Granat outside about how the new law will affect future Maine gun shows.
"If you take this away, you're basically shutting down places that make it possible for gun owners to be safe gun owners," Granat said.
Proceeds and funds raised from gun shows are typically used to support fish and game clubs. How the outdoor sports industry will get by if the shows are threatened and the funding stops was a concern several other states had when passing similar bills. However, Maine Gun Safety Coalition Executive Director Nacole Palmer said those worries were proven to be unfounded.
"Those states have plenty of gun shows. In fact, I've heard it described as a booming gun show business," said Palmer.
Palmer said in many of those states the shows operate the same way, but with a delivery system instead. People are still able to purchase guns at the show, but they have to have them sent to a nearby gun dealer or their home after the waiting period is over. Though that can be seen as an inconvenience, Palmer said it can be vital for those who are contemplating using the guns for violence. She said the 72 hours can act as a cool down period, preventing many from acting on impulsive thoughts of violence, such as homicide and especially suicide, of which suicide rates by gun are especially high.
"The presence of deadly weapons makes those situations deadly, quite frankly," Palmer said.
Gun Owners of Maine argues the waiting period in those circumstances could only be a solution for first time firearm owners, which it says is not the majority attending these shows.
"If 7 out of 10 people already own that firearm, then how does it prevent people from taking their own lives? It doesn't," Laura Whitcomb, president of Gun Owners of Maine, said.
Whitcomb takes the stance that those who want to be violent will do so with or without a gun.
"We don't make people wait 72 hours to take possession of a vehicle, which can be used in a lethal manner," Whitcomb argued.
Yet, for so many, immediate access to lethal weapons like guns is where they believe we should draw the line.
"We should not have to live in a world where there is so much gun violence. There are common sense measures that can prevent that ... the 72 hour waiting period is one of them," Palmer said.
With both sides agreeing the country needs a solution, where they remain split is where to start.
"All the things happening in our country are not good, but this will do absolutely nothing," Granat said.
Gun Owners of Maine is filing a lawsuit to try to prevent the waiting period bill from going into law. Proceeds from Sunday's gun show in Augusta will go towards those legislative efforts.