Maine voters will be asked next month to borrow $106 million for the state’s transportation infrastructure, adding to hundreds of millions of dollars in debt the state has taken on in recent years to prop up its underfunded highway budget. If passed, Question 3 on the November ballot will authorize state government to sell general […]
Question 3
Posted inLetters
Tax is on taxable income
I continue to read and hear that the additional 3 percent tax is on income over $200,000. That is incorrect. In reading the initiative question, as passed by the voters of Maine, that additional 3 percent is on “taxable income” over $200,000. There is a very big difference. Using myself as an example to demonstrate […]
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Posted inLetters
Back door firearms registration
People shouldn’t be fooled on Question 3. It is a thinly disguised back door to compulsory firearm registration. There are literally tens of thousands of privately owned firearms in the state of Maine, and every single one of them will have to be carried to the police station to be entered into a computer database […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Let us confront violence with love
All too often in this election season, persons on both sides of an issue have tried to frighten others about their opponents. Fear is a powerful motivator that sometimes causes people to react in ways that they might otherwise not if they were not afraid. The ability for civil discourse, to talk about vital interests, […]
Posted inLetters
Gov. LePage misinformed
Gov. Paul LePage has come out swinging against all of the referendum issues that will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot. Furthermore, he declared that Questions 1, 3 and 5 were unconstitutional. He went on to say that Question 3, concerning universal background checks, would also create a gun registry. Just where in the wording […]
Posted inLetters
Question 3 ill conceived
As a senior citizen, I sometimes think the world has gone crazy. The reason is simply that there are a lot of well-meaning people who advocate what they think is the remedy for some social ill when they haven’t stopped to consider the whole story. A good example of such behavior involves referendum Question 3, […]
Posted inLetters
Vote ‘no’ on Question 3
In one advertisement on television, the police want the public to vote “yes” on Question 3 for more gun control. In another ad, the police support a “no” vote. That is confusing. But all the laws that are needed are already on the books. The police should know that. Criminals don’t need a mother, father, […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Question 3: Would criminalize innocent conduct
Question 3 will ask voters whether background checks should be mandatory for virtually all firearms “transfers,” except for transfers between certain family members. “Transfer” would mean not only to sell, but also to “furnish, give, lend, deliver or otherwise provide, with or without consideration.” Violation of the background check requirement would constitute a crime. This […]
Posted inLetters
Myths about Question 3
There are some myths circulating about the effects of Question 3: • No one has any intention to overturn the Second Amendment or take away people’s guns. • The referendum was initiated by Mainers who want to make their schools and neighborhoods safer., not a “New York billionaire who wants to change our way of […]
Posted inLetters
Yes or no on Question 3
Recently, I asked all my Facebook friends this question: Do you think the new gun law (Question 3) would have been a deterrent for the thieves who broke into a Bangor pawn shop to steal guns? Most respondents couldn’t give me a definitive yes or no. One said the new law would be a “baby […]