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This remains a five-alarm fire. We have just days left in our Fall Campaign and the numbers we’re seeing are not good. This is terrifying for us, especially when everything we cherish is on the ballot just one week from now.
"Viewing mass shooters as instruments of God seems like it's the perfect next step for Republicans," said one critic. "It combines everything that drives the modern Republican Party."
Two Maine state Republican lawmakers on Thursday were formally censured for saying during a legislative debate that the deadliest shooting in the state's history was the result of God's wrath over abortion, and issued apologies—but rights advocates said their views should not be treated as an aberration in the GOP.
"Viewing mass shooters as instruments of God seems like it's the perfect next step for Republicans," said writer Mark Sumner. "It combines everything that drives the modern Republican Party."
State Rep. Michael Lemelin (R-88) invoked last year's shooting in Lewiston, Maine on Wednesday night during a debate over L.D. 227, a proposal to protect healthcare providers from being targeted by other states' restrictions on gender-affirming and reproductive care.
Lemelin urged his colleagues to consider last year's passage of L.D. 1619, which expanded access to abortion later in pregnancy and went into effect on October 25—the same day a gunman opened fire at a bowling alley and a restaurant in Lewiston, killing 18 people and injuring 13 others.
"When 1619 passed and went into law on October 25, you told God life doesn't matter," Lemelin said. "Keep in mind that the law came into effect on October 25. God heard you and the horrible events on October 25 happened."
Lemelin added that there would be "severe consequences" if the House passed L.D. 227, and also tied recent severe rain and snowstorms in Maine to God's opposition to the state's support for abortion rights.
"Radical religiosity is becoming far too common in mainstream politics," said Ryan Fecteau, a Democratic former Maine House speaker. "It is dangerous and threatens good governance."
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle denounced Lemelin's comments, but the outcry didn't stop Rep. Shelley Rudnicki (R-67) from rising to tell her colleagues she agreed "with Rep. Lemelin and everything he said."
"The GOP is now blaming mass shootings on abortion," said California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat. "Seriously."
When L.D. 227 later passed in a vote of 80-70, Rudnicki called it "a very sad day for Maine."
Lemelin has previously downplayed the Covid-19 pandemic—just as then-President Donald Trump, Fox News personality Sean Hannity, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), and others did in 2020—and called the climate crisis a "hoax," a view also shared by numerous Republican politicians.
The House voted unanimously to censure Lemelin and Rudnicki, requiring them to deliver "brief, identical apologies on the House floor" that allowed them "to resume their ability to speak and vote."
State House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-118) told the lawmakers Thursday that their remarks were "extremely offensive and intentionally harmful to the victims and the families of the Lewiston tragedy, the House of Representatives, and the people of Maine."
One lawyer said it is "proof that these laws are consistent with the Second Amendment and can—and should—be upheld by courts across the country."
Illinois Democrats and gun control advocates on Friday welcomed a federal appeals court decision upholding the state's ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines amid renewed demands for a similar restrictions nationwide in the wake of a mass shooting in Maine.
"The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed what gun safety advocates have said from day one—the Protect Illinois Communities Act is a commonsense law that will keep Illinoisans safe," said Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who signed the law that state legislators passed after a July 4, 2022 massacre at a parade in Highland Park, a Chicago suburb.
"Despite constant attacks by the gun lobby that puts ideology over people's lives, here in Illinois we have stood up and said 'no more' to weapons of war on our streets," added Pritzker. "This is a victory for the members of the General Assembly who stood alongside families, students, and survivors who worked so hard to make this day a reality. Now Congress must act so Illinois is not an island surrounded by states with weak protections."
Illinois state Rep. Bob Morgan (D-58)—who represents Highland Park, was at the parade with his young children, and spearheaded the legislative fight for the law—similarly celebrated the new ruling "a huge win" while also calling for federal legislation.
Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also welcomed the decision, saying: "This landmark legislation is an important step for our communities, providing commonsense gun control measures that have been so desperately needed in our city and throughout the state. This decisive measure will aid in keeping weapons of war out of our neighborhoods and off our streets, creating safer communities for all."
The three-judge appellate panel collectively considered six cases challenging state and local bans: four out of the Southern District of Illinois; one against the state, Chicago, and Cook County; and another involving a firearm shop owner from suburban Naperville and the National Association for Gun Rights—who unsuccessfully sought an intervention from the U.S. Supreme Court.
The gun violence prevention group Brady served as counsel for the city of Naperville in the case. In response to the "important victory," Douglas Letter, the organization's chief legal officer, declared that "states and cities should have the right to stop these weapons of war from decimating our communities, and this ruling demonstrates that assault weapon and large-capacity magazine bans are indeed constitutional."
"When the victims of the Highland Park shooting were gunned down by an assault weapon, their local and state leaders took a stand to say enough is enough," he said. "The gun industry feels threatened by the groundswell of voices trying to hold them accountable, and after today, they should feel even more unsteady."
Everytown Law executive director Eric Tirschwell highlighted that the the Chicago-based court's ruling notably came after right-wing U.S. Supreme Court determined last year in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen that gun restrictions must be "consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation."
The 2-1 decision Friday "to uphold this lifesaving law is not only a victory for gun safety," Tirschwell said, "it also marks the first significant appeals court decision on this issue since the Supreme Court's decision in Bruen and is proof that these laws are consistent with the Second Amendment and can—and should—be upheld by courts across the country."
U.S. Judges Diane Wood and Frank Easterbrook—respectively appointed by former Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan—supported upholding the state and local laws, while Judge Michael Brennan, an appointee of President Donald Trump, dissented.
"The Second Amendment to the Constitution recognizes an individual right to 'keep and bear arms. Of that there can be no doubt, in the wake of the Supreme Court's decisions," Wood wrote, citing cases including Bruen. "But as we know from long experience with other fundamental rights, such as the right to free speech, the right peaceably to assemble, the right to vote, and the right to free exercise of religion, even the most important personal freedoms have their limits."
"Government may punish a deliberately false fire alarm; it may condition free assembly on the issuance of a permit; it may require voters to present a valid identification card; and it may punish child abuse even if it is done in the name of religion," she continued. "The right enshrined in the Second Amendment is no different."
Wood also pointed out that the ruling pertains to preliminary injunctive relief, so the panel did not "rule definitively on the constitutionality of the act or any of the municipal ordinances," meaning that the policies could face future challenges.
The decision in Illinois coincided with President Joe Biden's trip to Lewiston, Maine, where a mass shooter last month killed a total of 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar before being found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Biden—who is seeking reelection next year—and others in his administration have called for reinstating a federal assault weapons ban. After the Maine shooting, Vice President Kamala Harris said that "it is a false choice to suggest we must choose between either upholding the Second Amendment or passing reasonable gun safety laws to save lives. Congress can and must make background checks universal. Pass red flag laws. Ban high-capacity magazines. And renew the assault weapons ban."
Such policies are unlikely to pass during the current session, considering the makeup of Congress—though after the carnage in his hometown of Lewiston, Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) last month endorsed an assault weapons ban and sought forgiveness for his past opposition to it.
Polls consistently show that about 65% of Americans favor stricter gun control laws; if it’s true that majorities rule in democracies, then we’re apparently not a democracy.
The chamber of commerce photo of Lewiston, Maine, is a lovely image of a tidy American city of 37,000 beneath a canopy of resplendent autumn colors. It looks much like many of our own cities here in Wisconsin.
Sadly, the tragedy that unfolded in Lewiston last week could well have happened here. In fact, it has, and it will again. The victims were slaughtered in a bowling alley and a bar, businesses well-known in Wisconsin cities.
Eighteen dead in Lewiston. Many others injured. Thousands forever stained by the violent act of one man with an assault rifle. Predictably, some politicians rushed to tell us to pray. As though whatever God they want us to petition will forgive them on judgment day for failing to do something about this uniquely American carnage. So from this old bleeding-heart liberal I feel nothing but pity for those who could have made a difference but did not. If there is a hell, they’re going to be roasting for a long time.
For the rest of us, there are cold, hard facts:
It’s telling that the last statistic comes from the CDC. Yes, gun violence is a disease in America.
Most Americans, including those who don’t own a firearm, are opposed to eliminating guns. And it’s never going to happen. I own one, though I haven’t dusted it off since my hunting buddy died a decade ago. Hunting is as sacrosanct in Maine as it is in Wisconsin. A buddy who moved here from Portland, Maine, 47 miles from Lewiston, texted me last week about a pal of his in lockdown back home:
Just talked to my friend Bob… He is sitting in his house 20 minutes away from where it happened with his hunting rifles loaded, just hoping the guy sticks his head up.
Fair enough, but we know by now that more guns are not the answer.
Look, nothing is going to change much of the violence in a nation that embraces it. Remove assault rifles, and people will still kill each other. Suicides and accidental shootings by handguns will continue at high numbers. But for God’s sake, to do nothing is to admit we have failed our most innocent, be they school children, congregants in places of worship, shoppers in malls and grocery stores, or people in any number of other venues.
Hope seems hard to come by, but I’m placing mine with the young people who have grown up amid this carnage. The Lewiston shootings led to outcry from young activists, including David Hogg and Trevon Bosley, co-founder and board chair, respectively, of the March for Our Lives organization. They are members of the youth-led gun control movement born out of the country’s deadliest high school mass shooting: the 2018 slaughter of 17 humans in Parkland, Florida, and they represent thousands of young Americans demanding change.
They go after politicians of both stripes for the hypocrisy they spin. They dispel false claims and push for meaningful change. Want to make a difference? Support them with a donation. I just did.