Dear Editor:

Let’s be clear: Question 3 does not create new gun control regulations. All it does is close the current loophole that allows people purchasing weapons privately to avoid a background check.

Question 3 allows friends hunting together to share their weapons. And it allows the transfer of guns within a family. The NRA would have you believe that under Question 3, a man can’t give a weapon to his child. That’s a bogus concern – unless, of course, that man is attempting to give a weapon to a minor who is not his own child.

Current Maine law says that convicted felons, domestic abusers and those who have been committed to institutions for the mentally ill can’t buy firearms. But they can purchase them privately, no questions asked. And they will continue to do so unless and until the loophole is closed.

Approximately 30,000 people die in America every year from firearms. That’s half the number of Americans who died in the entire Vietnam War, which lasted more than a decade. Where’s the outrage? This is a public health emergency – leading especially to domestic violence and suicide – and it has hit Maine and our region hard.

No, Question 3 won’t keep all weapons out of the hands of all criminals. But it’s a start. And let’s face it: Law-abiding citizens have nothing to fear from a background check.

Martha Helman

Boothbay Harbor