Letters: Maine bill enforcing safe gun storage would keep kids safe; US law enforcement history tied to persecution of Black people; Maine must ban flavored tobacco; Carbon cash back could cure climate crisis

Maine bill enforcing safe gun storage would keep kids safe

With rights come great responsibilities. Maine gun owners pride themselves on being responsible. Securely storing firearms around children is a simple and responsible act. LD 759 helps to line up our laws with what responsibly gun owners already know: secure storage of firearms saves lives.

While millions of responsible gun owners follow recommended storage practices, research shows that more than half of gun owners do not store all of their guns securely, and an estimated 4.6 million children in the US live in households with at least one unlocked and loaded firearm. Responsible gun owners can make our homes and communities safer by storing their firearms unloaded and locked, with ammunition kept in a separate place, to prevent access by children and other people who are at risk of harming themselves or others.

Research shows that secure storage laws, sometimes referred to as child-access prevention laws, can play a vital role in reducing unintentional firearm injuries and deaths among children, as well as firearm self-injuries and firearm suicides among young people. I urge the Maine legislature to pass LD 759 and help keep our children safe.

Glenis Elliott,
Bath

US law enforcement history tied to persecution of Black people

I thank Steven Edmondson for his letter to the editor published May 6 (“Law enforcement officer objects to editorial cartoon”). He speaks for many people, some in law enforcement, in response to an editorial cartoon you ran in April. A pale-skinned man, pointing to the bandage on his own upper arm, asks his African American friend, “Why are you afraid of going out and getting your shot?” His friend replies, “That’s not the shot I’m worried about.” There is a police car in full view through the living room window. Mr. Edmondson spoke up for officers routinely preparing to go to work. He cited the 38 officers who have been murdered in the line of duty in 2021, as well he should.

The difference between police officers — of all ethnicities and skin tones — and all African Americans is that the officers have chosen to wear the uniform, which they take off when they are off duty. African Americans never have the same privilege. We cannot escape the fact that the history of law enforcement in the U.S. is deeply tied to persecution of enslaved human beings of African descent and their descendants. For insight into the effectiveness of police departments compared with their funding, I recommend readers to view CNN’s series United Shades of America, Season 7 Episode 1, titled “Policing the Police.”

Lucy Ijams,
Brunswick

Maine must ban flavored tobacco

I am a public school teacher who has seen the problem of flavored tobacco on the front lines in the bathrooms and hallways of our schools. For many teens, the “yummy” taste and smell of flavored tobacco products means they are not as bad as cigarettes or chewing tobacco. Many believe that because there isn’t a flame involved or a harsh taste that makes them cough, that means that there isn’t anything wrong with these products, that they aren’t harmful. This is especially true with menthol-flavored products because not only does this flavor “taste good,” but it eases the harshness of the tobacco, makes it easier to ingest, and hooks another young person on the tobacco industry’s deadly line. I primarily teach juniors and seniors in high school, many who tried these products when they were younger and now feel ashamed of their younger selves for falling for the idea that because a tobacco product tastes good means it can’t be bad for you.

As anyone who regularly engages with children and teens knows, their brains are not fully formed, and last to form is the protective part that helps adults make better decisions about what is safe and what is harmful. The tobacco industry understands this too, which is why they market directly to young people. It is vitally important that we do our jobs as adults, parents, and teachers to protect, educate, and even legislate rules and laws that work to improve the lives of all Mainers. We need to protect our kids from harmful products by ending the sale of flavored tobacco products.

Corrie Calderwood,
Brunswick

Carbon cash back could cure climate crisis

Let’s take an effective step in resolving our climate crisis in a way that we can afford. Here in Maine we see the early effects in our warmer and acidifying ocean, and strange weather patterns. We know that we need to shift to renewable energy and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels to protect ourselves, our children and grandchildren from their adverse effects. We can do this quickly and simply by putting a price or a fee on carbon, in coal, oil and gas, as it is removed from the earth. The cost of things will rise, speeding our shift to renewable energy. All the money raised by a price on carbon will then be sent to every US household, a check every month. This plan is called Carbon Cash Back, a bill in Congress now, HR 2307.

A check each month to every household will cover the increase in prices or more, for 65% of us in Maine and nationally. This is most beneficial for people of lower and moderate income, people who stand to lose the most from climate change. This is the only carbon pricing plan that pays families.

We will benefit in other ways too. Expanding renewable energy will create new jobs, stabilize temperatures and weather patterns, and give us cleaner air. We can choose to do all this and give all Americans a monthly check. What is not to like? Our senators, Collins and King, are both working for climate solutions. Let them know that you support Carbon Cash Back.

Remember the saying “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”? We have a choice. We can act now to reduce our use of carbon and prevent the worse effects of a changing climate, or we can wait and pay much more to cure the effects of our reliance on fossil fuels. Waiting will cost more. Think of the future we want for our children and grandchildren. Carbon Cash Back is our best “ounce of prevention” for all of our futures.

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