Page 3 - Michael Rocque News Today

A state ban on assault weapons? Expanded concealed-carry restrictions? Tighter mental health laws? As Maine grieves, it weighs a roiling debate over gun laws.

Wednesday evening started like any other across the state of Maine. In Lewiston, people were starting a night of league bowling. They were playing pool. They were having dinner and

Maine has high rates of gun ownership, yet mass shootings were virtually unheard of — until last week's shooting in Lewiston.

News of the mass shooting sent shockwaves through the state with one of the country’s lowest crime rates despite lax gun laws.

Maine doesn’t have specific measures that have been shown to reduce gun deaths among adults, according to experts.

Maine often feels like a relatively calm and sheltered corner of an otherwise tumultuous world. That calm was shattered to pieces Wednesday night.

Maine doesn’t have specific measures that have been shown to reduce gun deaths among adults, according to experts.

Using biology to understand criminal behavior has long been controversial. Top criminology programs are pursuing it anyway.

An April mass shooting has drawn renewed attention to a problem that arises with some regularity in Maine: people banned from having guns because of criminal or civil penalties are nevertheless getting them, and in some tragic cases, using them — contributing to a persistent problem of domestic violence killings and inflaming other forms of crime and violence.

The Sportsman's Alliance of Maine along with the Department of Public Safety were part of the discussions. This comes as the nation sees a rise in gun violence