National News
Question 3 for expanded gun background checks fails
November 15, 2016 posted by Steve Brownstein
|
​Votes |
Vote % |
% |
|
No |
392,701 |
52% |
|
Yes |
362,156 |
48% |
"This was a slap in the face. We are trying to fix something that’s not broke," gun dealer Jennifer Johnson said.
Johnson said she was not surprised that voters said no to Question 3.
"You have to look at the big picture. We don’t have a gun problem. We have the second lowest gun crime in the United States and we have the highest gun ownership per capita. Other people keep creating laws, after laws, after laws. Where has that gotten them? They have some of the highest gun crime, but they have some of the strictest laws," Johnson said.
Westbrook Police Chief Janine Roberts, who supported Question 3, said that fact that members of the law enforcement community were split on the issue likely sent mixed messages to voters.
"Even from law enforcement, we were divided. So we had a lot of people asking, ’How do we decide when we don’t have a solid position within our own profession?’ Basically, people voted their conscience, their lifestyle," Roberts said.
While Question 3 failed, Mainers will still need to ill out a federal background check form to purchase a gun from a licensed dealer.
