The Lisbon Reporter

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Friday, January 18, 2013

Let Maine Lead The Way, Finally Someone "Gets It"; Morning Sentinel: Sheriffs to lawmakers: Target mental health, not gun supply

"It's the mental health side ... It's the person behind it," says Capt. Christopher Wainwright, of the Oxford County Sheriff's Office

By Craig Crosby ccrosby@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer
AUGUSTA -- If lawmakers want to curb gun violence, they must begin not with laws aimed at limiting the use of weapons, but with the state of mind of the people who use them.

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Rep. Matt Pouliot, left, Rep. Corey Wilson and Sen. Roger Katz, all R-Augusta, look over a table of weapons with Richard Beausoleil, far right, of Kennebec County Emergency Management Agency, on Thursday at the Senator Inn and Spa in Augusta.

Staff photo by Joe Phelan

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That was the message many state legislators took away Thursday from a Maine Sheriff's Association training session held at the Senator Inn & Spa. The session aimed to provide an overview of issues at the heart of the ongoing gun control debate.

Randall Liberty, Kennebec County's sheriff and the association vice president, singled out mental health -- not guns -- as the key to reducing violence related to shootings.

Sen. Roger Katz, R-Augusta, who held and examined a variety of rifles and guns with other legislators, said after the training that the Legislature must get beyond discussion about the danger of particular firearms to improve safety.

"The harder work is to take a hard look at our mental health system and see if we're really getting at the root," Katz said.

Read more:
http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/sheriffs-group-discussesmental-health-amid-guns_2013-01-17.html

Awesome job Captain Wainwright I stand beside you in this informational exchange. We already have laws on the books that are not enforced or are selectively enforced. We need to educate the 'so called' leadership of the difference. Again to all Law Enforcement involved great job!.
Signed, Todd Comber

Submitted by: "Todd Comber"