In September 2023, a future mass murderer threatened to engage in mass public violence, but the government failed to act. His threats went unprosecuted and, only a few weeks later in October, this evil individual murdered 18 defenseless people in two gun-free zones, a bowling alley and a bar. Guns are banned at bars in Maine, and a sign on the door to the bowling alley read:

We kindly ask that you refrain from bringing firearms in this building and we would appreciate it if you left them in your vehicle. Please keep our atmosphere family-friendly.

Over 94% of mass public shootings take place in ineffective and dangerous “gun-free” zones. Guns are not the problem. Crime and gun control are the problems, and the Second Amendment is the solution. When government and the rule of law fails, Americans are empowered to be their own first responders. You have a right to protect yourself and your loved ones from harm with a deadly weapon—to fight crime by shooting back! It’s not time for gun control, it’s time for useless restrictions preventing law-abiding Americans from practicing self-defense to be repealed and for the police to step up by arresting and prosecuting dangerous individuals.

State and Federal Law Enforcement Failed to Stop the Lewiston Killer—Here’s How Congress Can Help in the Future

It is critical that police enforce the laws we already have against making “true threats.” Here are 19 examples of law enforcement preventing mass public violence by arresting and prosecuting dangerous individuals for making “true threats” in the six months preceding the Lewiston mass public murder:

• In May 2023, the Coral Springs Police, the Fort Worth Police Department, the FBI in Nevada twice, the University of Nevada, Reno Police Department, the Reno Police Department, and the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office arrested and charged would-be mass killers for threatening to engage in acts of mass public violence.
• In June 2023, the Las Vegas Metro Police, the FBI in Michigan, and the FBI in Tennessee arrested and charged would-be mass killers for threatening to engage in acts of mass public violence.
• In July 2023, the Hendersonville Police, the UConn Police Department, the Bristol Department, and the Memphis Department arrested and charged would-be mass killers for threatening to engage in acts of mass public violence.
• In August 2023, the San Antonio Police, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, and the Palm Beach County School Police[xviii] arrested and charged would-be mass killers for threatening to engage in acts of mass public violence.
• In September 2023, the Fairfax County Police and the Springdale Police Department arrested and charged would-be mass killers for threatening to engage in acts of mass public violence.
• In October 2023, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, the University of Arizona Police Department, and the FBI arrested and charged would-be mass killers for threatening to engage in acts of mass public violence.

Tragically, during the same six months, an individual in Maine threatened “to shoot up the National Guard Base in Saco, ME” but was not arrested or charged for this federal and state crime. This is a failure of the FBI as well as state and local law enforcement to utilize the laws already on the books. The Supreme Court has recently distinguished between the crime of making a “true threat” and First Amendment-protected “threats” that are merely jokes. Now it is time for law enforcement to use these laws to protect our communities.

For this reason, Gun Owners of America urges Congress to promote meaningful law enforcement programs to prosecute these true threats made by dangerous individuals. This can be done at no additional cost to the federal government by repealing and replacing the useless funding for “red flag” laws, which the Biden Administration has already weaponized and abused to bribe pro-gun states into enacting gun confiscation programs with funding to arrest and prosecute “true threats.”