MAINE, USA — In the wake of this week's school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Maine's Independent Sen. Angus King held a press conference with Maine reporters Thursday.
Along with gun safety reform topics, King addressed other issues including lobster gear regulations, gas prices, and inflation.
The main focus of the press conference was related to the shooting in Texas and politicians' responses.
“No one law will necessarily solve all these problems, nor can we solve them through legislation purely," King said over the Zoom call. "But we can lower the odds. We can improve the situation and of course, as many people have pointed out, we also have to pay attention to mental health issues."
While King and his fellow senators debate and discuss gun safety reforms in Washington, D.C., he proposed a few ideas to help avoid more of these tragedies from happening.
King said it will be "very unlikely" that a vote banning assault weapons would pass through the Senate this year. He said mass shootings "almost always seem to involve these weapons" and limiting the number of bullets in gun magazines is a more realistic solution.
“In Maine for example, if you go hunting you can have a magazine with five bullets," King said. "One in the chamber and five in the magazine. We don’t need magazines with 20, 30, 40, 50 rounds."
In the wake of the Parkland school shooting in Florida, King joined Florida senators and Republicans Rick Scott and Marco Rubio in co-sponsoring a red flag bill. The bill would incentivize individual states and recognized tribes to pass red flag laws tailored to their specific communities.
Red flag laws allow law enforcement or a judge to prevent firearm purchases and possession by individuals who pose a significant threat to themselves or others.
Maine's Independent senator also spoke about his plans to vote in support of Steve Dettelbach's nomination to be the director of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
“I want an effective, strong ATF," King said. "I think Steve Dettelbach can lead that agency effectively.”
High gas prices in Maine, around the country, and around the world were also a topic of discussion during the press conference. King said he gets frustrated when he hears politicians blamed for gas prices.
“Joe Biden doesn’t control the price of gasoline," King added. "Oil is a worldwide commodity; the price is set on the world stage and that determines what the price of gasoline is in the United States.”
Senator King said there are short-term and long-term solutions to lower gas prices. In the near future, he said the country needs to increase oil production.
In the long-term, King said developing renewable energy storage capacity will help permanently bring down the price of oil and gas.
"If we can get grid-scale energy storage, we can go to a fossil-fuel-free energy grid, and then we can go to the electrification of transportation, and at that point, we’ve eliminated two-thirds of the [carbon dioxide] problem but it’s going to take time to get there," King added.
It will take years to even get permits approved for more renewable energy projects in New England, King said.
Maine lobstermen are now dealing with new NOAA regulations related to fishing gear. The new rules were implemented in an effort to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale. The enforcement of the rules was set to begin on May 1, but due to supply chain issues lobstermen couldn't get the proper gear and the enforcement timeline was delayed.
“I’ve been very disappointed in the performance of NOAA and the Department of Commerce throughout this whole incident because as far as I’m concerned, they are making regulations that aren’t on science," King said.