‘What’s the solution?’; Maine mass shooting sparks conversations about gun safety

Comparing Washington's gun laws to Maine's after horrific mass shooting

The suspect of a mass shooting in Maine last night was caught on camera carrying around a long gun. In Maine, firearms laws are more lenient than in other states, but what about here in Washington?

SEATTLE - At least 18 people were killed Wednesday night after a mass shooter opened fire on victims at multiple scenes in rural Maine.

Four years prior, the state passed what’s known as "yellow flag" laws – the first step towards stronger gun safety measures that hold fewer barriers than the "red flag" laws that have been adopted in Washington State.

Gun control laws, or a lack of them, have quickly come into the spotlight following this week’s deadly rampage in Lewiston, Maine.

"We can’t continue to sit on our hands and just say thoughts and prayers are enough," said Stephan Abrams, the national chapter coordinator for Team ENOUGH.

Abrams’ group is a youth-led movement aimed at stopping gun violence. They’ve advocated for an expansion on background checks, assault weapon bans and extreme risk laws, or red flag laws.

In the immediate aftermath of Wednesday night’s shooting, reports emerged that suspected shooter Robert Card had reported that he heard voices, and had recently spent two weeks in a mental health facility this summer.

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Washington State’s red flag laws would make it easier for a family member to petition a court to remove a person’s ability to access their guns. In Maine, there are additional barriers.

Maine doesn’t require a permit to carry guns, and doesn’t ban high-capacity magazines. Over the past few years, a number of proposed gun control laws died in their State Legislature, including background checks for private gun sales, a 72-hour waiting period for gun purchases and bump stock bans.

"In this country where we have more guns than people, we need to continue to make sure guns don’t fall into the hands of people that shouldn’t have guns," said Abrams. "We know that we’re not the only country that has mental health problems; there are other countries that don’t have mass shootings, though."

Abrams pointed to the 1994–2004 federal assault weapons ban that saw the number of deaths from mass shootings fall, before a steep rise in mass shootings deaths once that law expired, due to a sunset provision.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, 566 mass shootings have taken place—a pace that puts America on track for the most mass shootings in a single year.

The Gun Violence Archive describes a mass shooting as "an American phenomenon." While there are various mechanisms to track a mass shooting, GVA labels a mass shooting as a shooting with a minimum of four victims shot, not including the shooter.

"These mass shootings are a challenge, and they’re not going away," said Jesus Villahermosa, President and CEO of Crisis Reality Training.

Villahermosa told FOX 13 that he doesn’t dive into politics surrounding gun control, but noted that California and Texas tend to be on opposite ends of the spectrum for gun control scorecards while both regularly land near the top of the list for states with mass shootings each year.

As a former pointman on a SWAT Team with more than 33 years of experience, he’s translated his law enforcement background into a career advising people on safety. He tours the U.S. speaking to schools and large groups about surviving active shooting situations.

This week, he happened to have a pre-scheduled event at Bishop Blanchett High School in Seattle.

"When the world can’t solve a problem, when all the experts in an arena can’t solve this issue, than you better have a plan when you go out with your family," he said.

He focuses his talks on not having rigid plans like hiding under desks or the popularized "run, hide, fight" mantra—he said he tries to empower individuals to act in their best interest.

That said, he questioned how after decades of research there’s no push to teach emotional coping skills to men, given that most mass shootings are carried out by males.

"I don’t understand with all the data we’ve got showing me that the perpetrators are men and boys consistently by 98%," he said. "You’d think someone by now would create a curriculum tailored to boys started at six years old to teach them emotional intelligence. So that when a girl breaks up you, you don’t want to kill someone, like we saw in Marysville-Pilchuck High School. His girlfriend broke up with him, that’s the impetus."

"What’s the other solution? Get rid of every gun in America? Good luck with that. 400 million guns amongst 350 million people and the only ones registered are among the good guys," said Villahermosa.

Whether it’s Villahermosa or Team ENOUGH, everyone is aware that more needs to be done – that a path towards a new record of mass shootings each year isn’t sustainable.

Maine’s latest mass shooting will only add fuel to the fire.