Second amendment supporters criticize Caribou officer’s role
CARIBOU, Maine — Caribou’s Police Chief has withstood criticism since he appeared in a political ad by Mainers for Responsible Gun Ownership.
In the television commercial, Chief Michael Gahagan says “Question 3 will close Maine’s background check loophole – a loophole that allows criminals to buy guns from strangers they meet online or at gun shows with no background check and no questions asked.”
He also says that “in places with comprehensive background checks, far fewer women are shot to death by their partners and about half as many officers are killed by guns,” concluding that it is “common sense” to vote “Yes” on 3 in the upcoming election.
Since the ad began circulating, a number of opponents have criticized the chief’s stance via social media. Caribou PD’s Administrative Assistant Laura Adams said that many have been leaving one-star ratings on the department’s Facebook page as well.
Gahagan has been called a “communist,” an “oath breaker,” and some accused him of being paid by business magnate Michael Bloomberg to appear in the commercial. Others claimed that imposing stricter gun laws would do little in the way of stopping a criminal with murderous intent.
In spite of the online backlash, Chief Gahagan does not regret participating in the advertisement.
“I don’t regret it at all,” said Gahagan. “I think it’s a safety issue that the public should be aware of. Tell me that we haven’t brought that to the forefront of discussion by just doing this. If that’s what comes about: that we just get major discussions and come up with a better way to solve the problem, then so be it.”
Gahagan said that, as a member of the Maine Chiefs of Police Association, all members took a unanimous vote to support Question 3.
“It’s a safety issue for law enforcement,” Gahagan said, “I think our job is to bring attention to those issues and close loopholes we see as detrimental to public safety.”
The chief said he understands why people are concerned about certain aspects of the proposal, particularly the matter of lending a gun to a friend while hunting.
“In all my years with the police, I don’t ever remember an officer asking an individual if they owned their gun unless that person was a felon or they had a probable cause to investigate,” Gahagan said. “I’ve been out hunting and I don’t ever recall anybody ever asking if I owned the gun I was using.”
“I think that’s a big thing to add to our daily conversations,” Cheif Gahagan continued. “Who has ever asked you if you own your firearm? People don’t run around with receipts for their gun. I think it’s something that the opposition can look at to make it bigger than it is.”
Section 8 of the proposal cites seven exceptions for the transfer or sale of a firearm between unlicensed individuals, among those exceptions are transfers between family members, and a temporary transfer for the purposes of going to an established shooting range, participating in a lawfully organized shooting competition, or for hunting and trapping. There is also an exception, and therefore no associated penalty, if the person lending the firearm is in the presence of the person they lent it to while it’s being used.
For all of these exceptions, the person lending the gun has to have no reason to believe the individual borrowing their firearm is not qualified to possess it.
“The law is only good until it is challenged,” said Gahagan, “and once it’s challenged it can be fixed. 85,000 people signed the petition for this referendum, so there are 85,000 people out there who are behind Question 3.”
The Caribou chief said he does not advocate for registering firearms, but that he believes this measure could make it a little tougher for felons to obtain guns.
“I realize that some people believe this is just the next step before requiring all firearms to be registered,” Gahagan said, “or the government taking your guns, but I don’t believe that’s ever going to happen.”
