My heart aches for the Card family. They tried. They knew Robert Card was troubled and wanted to take his firearms away. They called the sheriff for help. The sheriff could not find him and had no warrant to enter his home to confiscate his firearms.
This week, the Maine Judiciary Committee is considering a new bill: L.D. 2283. If L.D. 2283 had been enacted, the Card family could have petitioned a judge to issue a crisis protection order. The judge, considering the evidence that Card may be violent, would likely have issued a warrant for the police to enter Robert Card’s home to take his firearms.
I want the Cards to know that we saw their pain, that we will give other troubled families what they did not have: a pathway to obtaining a crisis protection order from a court.
Mainers need protection from our troubled – and sometimes armed – family members. Please call our representatives and ask them to support L.D. 2283.
Margot Donnis
South Portland
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