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Michael Cianchette is a Navy reservist who served in Afghanistan. He is corporate counsel for several companies in southern Maine and was general counsel to former Governor Paul LePage.
Sobering.
That is the best way I can describe the final report of the independent commission investigating the facts of the Lewiston tragedy.
I spent Tuesday evening reading the entire document. The tragedy was heartbreaking, the report encouraging.
Despite all the chaos surrounding the presidential election—accusations against the border czar, claims that “Project 2025” would create a terrible autocracy, literal assassination attempts—the independent commission is a symbol of what good government looks like.
A skilled group took the time to gather and review the available evidence, working at a measured pace to get to the heart of the matter rather than quickly deciding that they knew best and could answer the questions without doing the work.
The gravity of the tragedy required this. And now we have the report. It can serve as a basis for future policy action.
I would encourage everyone to take the time to read it with clear eyes. Don’t bring your preconceived notions about gun laws, mental health, law enforcement, or military service. There is a lot to be learned from it.
First, neither the new “waiting periods” nor the expanded “background check laws” passed by the Maine State Legislature had any impact whatsoever on the tragedy. Robert Card II, the shooter, wanted to purchase firearms accessories but was turned away after reporting that he had been hospitalized.
He already owned the guns he used. Legally. He even bought a gun safe to keep them safe.
The most shocking aspect of the report was that countless people knew that Card was losing touch with reality and becoming dangerous. He threatened to fight several long-time friends. He made numerous thinly veiled threats because he suffered from delusions that people were calling him a pedophile.
Hindsight is always 20/20, but the number of missed opportunities where people could have intervened and prevented the tragedy is shocking. Whether it was his military commanders, Somerset County officials, psychologists, friends, family or others, concern for Card was high.
Nevertheless, the report details cases in which people repeatedly failed to comply with legal or medical interventions.
This is another finding from the report. One of the problems identified with Maine’s yellow flag law was the lack of procedures for our courts to handle problems that arose in other states. The Maine Legislature rightly fixed this last session.
The commission was not created to recommend policy changes, but to uncover the facts of the tragedy to inform the decision-making of elected officials. This is what good government looks like in the face of terrible circumstances.
Their final report can and should be read by every MP elected this November. For good policy, it is crucial to start with a knowledge and information base. In less difficult situations, this model should be emulated.
When it comes to our economy, the Maine Economic Growth Council regularly publishes scorecards that provide real information – and identify real challenges – to help Maine prosper.
In their last report, they identified our workforce, our children’s education, and energy costs as areas where we as a nation are heading in the wrong direction.
The next generation of legislators should also read this report.
Policymaking often gets lost in a morass of talking points, interest groups and emotions. But to solve real problems, it’s crucial to work through all of that and look at the world as it is – not as we would like it to be.
The independent commission investigating the facts of the Lewiston tragedy has taken a sober look at what actually happened. This is what good government looks like. We could use more of it.
