Film Highlights Mother's Gun-Law Crusade
By COLIN HICKEY Staff Writer
Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel - Monday, April 23, 2007
WATERVILLE -- Cathy Crowley believes her only son would be alive today if Maine had greater restrictions on the ability of young people to purchase a gun. That belief motivated the Lewiston mother to begin a crusade -- ultimately unsuccessful -- to get such a law passed.
It also was the reason Crowley came to Railroad Square Cinema on Sunday, part of a contingent on hand for a free screening of "There Ought to Be a Law," the award-winning documentary that chronicles Crowley's effort to get the gun restrictions she advocated into law. Less than a week after the shooting at Virginia Tech that left 33 dead, Crowley said the need for such restrictions has never been so apparent.
"I'm hoping in light of what happened at Virginia Tech last week," Crowley said before the screening, "that they'll see what the 10-day wait will give people time to do."
Crowley's proposal was that any Mainer under the age of 22 would have a 10-day wait before gaining possession of a firearm purchase.
Her bill, sponsored by Rep. Margaret Craven, D-Lewiston, ran into trouble quickly last year, failing to gain support from the Legislature's Criminal Justice Committee and subsequently rejected by the Senate. Crowley's adventure in grass-roots advocacy began after her son, 18-year-old Laurier "Larry" Belanger, killed himself with a gun he purchased from an Auburn Wal-Mart in May 2004.
Initially, she said, she was confident that her legislative quest would be successful. But as the film shows, Crowley's expectations were dashed quickly.
"I was a little surprised," she said, "because I thought once this came forth and people saw the number of people we lose to this each year that there would be no way this wouldn't pass right through." "There Ought to Be a Law," however, shows the reality of the legislative process.
The most powerful opposition to the legislation came from the National Rifle Association, one of the nation's most powerful lobbying groups. Rep. Marilyn Canavan, D-Waterville, was among the handful of people who attended the screening. Canavan, who supported the proposed restrictions on gun purchasing, said the bill's defeat did not surprise her given the NRA's opposition.
Still, she called the film an uplifting story of political activism at the most fundamental level. "I think the film was very powerful," she said, "because it makes it evident how important it is for a person at the grass-roots level to get involved in the political process. The only way we can hope to succeed is if enough people at the grass-roots level are willing to speak up."
Crowley has not abandoned her effort. She is back rallying support for her bill, although once more the legislation -- LD 361 -- already has been watered down and goes to the House after the Criminal Justice Committee recommended by a vote of 12 to 0 that it be rejected -- committee member Rep. Stan Gerzofsky, D-Brunswick, was not present for the original vote but kept the legislation alive by supporting the bill.
Geoffrey Leighton, Anita Clearfield and Shoshana Hoose, the trio that produced the documentary, answered questions after Sunday's screening.
Earlier this year the Maine Film Academy named "There Ought To Be A Law" its 2007 Groundbreaking Activist Leadership Award winner.
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