AUGUSTA (AP) — Guns will be a high priority in the state Legislature this week.
More than two dozen gun bills are scheduled to go before the Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety, State and Local Government, and Education and Cultural Affairs committees.
The hearings begin today and continue through the week.
They cover everything from national background checks on firearms sold at gun shows, to improving safety at public schools.
Bill Harwood, founder of Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence, tells The Portland Press Herald that the recent shooting at Newtown, Conn., has given gun control advocates some political momentum.
David Trahan, executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, says gun rights activists will turn out in large numbers at hearings on bills aimed at curtailing what he calls individual freedoms.
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