Film Documents Woman's Tragedy, Efforts to Change Gun Law
By Clarke Canfield, The Associated Press
Boston Globe - January 5, 2007
PORTLAND, Maine --Catherine Crowley tried to change a state gun law after her 18-year-old son killed himself with a shotgun he bought at a Wal-Mart.
Her endeavor fell short when lawmakers rejected her idea to require a waiting period for young people to buy guns in Maine. But her effort can now be seen in a new documentary.
The 55-minute film, "There Ought To Be A Law," provides a look at Crowley's experience navigating the legislative system in hopes of getting a law on the books to make it harder for young people to get their hands on guns.
Crowley is hopeful the film can carry forward her message. If enough people see it, she might ultimately succeed, she said.
"I'm not defeated unless I give up," she said. "If I keep going, eventually I'll have enough people who'll say 'enough is enough.'"
The film begins with footage of Crowley walking through Woodlawn Cemetery in Auburn with flowers in hand to place on her son's grave. Larry Belanger Jr. killed himself in his Lewiston apartment on May 23, 2004, but gave no indication why in a note he left behind.
Crowley and a friend found her son's body when they went looking for him in his apartment, located in a house next door to Crowley's home.
When Crowley, a mother of four, learned that her son had bought the shotgun at a Wal-Mart a day and a half before turning it on himself, she went to the store and talked to a manager: How could an 18-year-old, her baby, simply walk in and buy a gun without a waiting period?
She was told that Wal-Mart hadn't done anything wrong; if she didn't like the law, she could try to it get changed.
Crowley was convinced that Larry wouldn't have killed himself if there had been a waiting period to give him some time get help or at least think through whatever was haunting him. She said it isn't right that it took her son just 20 minutes to buy the gun, but it took him 45 minutes to buy a fishing license a few weeks earlier.
Soon after Larry's death, Crowley -- divorced and working two jobs -- decided to try to get the law changed. The task ahead was daunting; she had never been involved in politics and had never even voted.
Upon hearing of Crowley's efforts, three filmmakers -- Anita Clearfield and Geoffrey Leighton of Durham, and Shoshana Hoose of Portland -- approached her to see if she would agree to be the subject of a documentary.
They raised $21,000 in grants to produce the film and followed Crowley as she went through the legislative process in early 2005. The film premieres Sunday in a showing at Central Maine Community College in Auburn. "There Ought To Be A Law" is believed to be the first film to follow a bill through the Maine Legislature and show how an average citizen can get involved, Hoose said.
The film shows Crowley calling legislators and meeting with the bill's sponsor, Rep. Margaret Craven of Lewiston. It shows the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee as it debates the bill, and legislators and lobbyists strategizing in the hallways of the State House. It includes interviews with George Smith of the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine and Cathie Whittenburg of Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence.
Hoose said when they decided to make the film, part of the intrigue was not knowing how it would end up.
"We had no way of knowing what was going to happen," Hoose said.
Craven's bill initially called for a 10-day waiting period for people 22 and under to buy a gun. It was later watered down to require parental consent for 16- and 17-year-olds to buy a shotgun or rifle in a private sale. In the end, though, the bill was defeated.
While the movie is partly a lesson in legislative process, it is also about teenage suicide and gun laws.
But the most moving parts are Crowley's personal story and the agony of losing her son. The film includes footage that leads viewers up a staircase to Larry's apartment -- the same stairs Crowley ventured up before finding her dead son. It also shows the pain she felt when she came across messages on Internet forums that attacked her, questioned her parenting skills and even blamed her for her son's death.
Even though Crowley favors a waiting period, she says she isn't opposed to guns in general. Her son was in the National Guard, and she was raised in a hunting family. Her efforts, she said, have been about teen suicide, public safety and families.
Craven, who is featured prominently in the film, said she has already submitted a bill for this legislative session calling for a 10-day waiting period for anybody wanting to purchase firearms. The bill won't pass, she said, but maybe it'll keep the debate going.
"If you look at cigarette cessation laws, it took 20 years to ban smoking in restaurants," she said. "I think we are just starting the conversation on keeping our young people safe."
The film's producers plan to have other showings in Maine and elsewhere in New England. They'd also like to distribute the film to schools, nonprofits and advocacy groups, and pitch it to national public television.
Crowley plans to continue pushing for laws requiring a waiting period to buy a gun. Since her son's death, there have been 37 suicides in Maine involving 18- to 25-year-olds, she said. If the film can somehow prevent even one, she would consider it a help.
"To this day, my son, I don't know why," she said. "And I'll never know why."
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