Two weeks ago, I was writing a lab report in the Sawyer Library 24-hour room, nothing but an ordinary task for any student at the College. However, my attention on this assignment was abruptly diverted by the cacophony of a police scanner blaring through my headphones. I had been procrastinating my report by scrolling through Facebook, where I’m a member of the “Lewiston Rocks” group that discusses the goings-on in my tight-knit hometown of Lewiston, Maine. What quickly became evident to me in my scrolling was a rapid outpouring of posts that concerned an ongoing, active mass shooting.
My sleep-deprived body jumped to alertness. My heart sank, and my breathing hastened. I scrambled to get in touch with loved ones to ensure that they weren’t involved in the tragedy, begging friends and family to return home. Frozen in place, I was heartbroken and perturbed by an air of uncertainty; so was the rest of my community back home, where, despite the danger that prevailed, I desperately longed to return.
In the days that followed, I didn’t attend classes. Instead, I eyeballed the news for over two days, awaiting the apprehension of the perpetrator and for victims to be identified. I learned that 18 precious lives were lost and that 13 people were injured between two different establishments. At Schemengees Bar and Grille Restaurant, a deaf cornhole league was attacked. At Just-In-Time Recreation, a bowling alley, a childrens’ league had reserved lanes that night. Gathered at each location were families, friends, and acquaintances, all of whom should have been safe and protected by the law. Yet, as the U.S. government has seen and neglected time and time again after every mass shooting, they were not safe.
The routine of sending “thoughts and prayers” after a mass shooting neither prevented the massacre of beautiful, devoted people in my community nor achieved justice for the families of those whose lives were lost. The sharing of Instagram infographics hasn’t honored the lives lost or donated comprehensive funds towards their funerary costs. Residents of Lewiston, like those of many communities after mass shootings occur, have been left to pick themselves up and dust themselves off.
Knowing my community, we most certainly will do so. However, it is well overdue for this labor to fall on the backs of our representatives at the local and national levels, as opposed to those who are enduring the emotional labor of grief.
Bringing awareness to the aftermath of mass shootings wields significance. However, doing so through social media and in casual conversation fails to conjure applicable action in the national and state legislatures. Following the shooting in Lewiston, Representative Jared Golden (D-ME) reversed his public stance on a national ban on assault weapons, referring to his prior opposition of a national ban as a “failure.” Representative Golden waited until his own constituents were impacted by the state of Maine’s relaxed gun laws before advocating for the protection of Mainers and other Americans. It should not require further tragedy to strike for other representatives across the country to reach similar conclusions.
Maine’s 2019 yellow flag law — which stipulates that the police cannot petition a judge to allow them to seize guns from a gun owner until a medical practitioner has determined the owner to be a threat — is to blame for the tragedy in Lewiston. Police were alerted on two separate occasions that the perpetrator of the Lewiston massacre was armed and dangerous earlier this year, yet his weapons weren’t seized.
A red flag law, which bypasses the aforementioned requirements of the yellow flag law when someone is identified as armed and dangerous, is the bare minimum legislation that Maine, like all states, must implement. Massachusetts enacted a red flag law 5 years ago, which has been used to prevent massacres like the one in Lewiston 57 times.
Lewiston, like other communities affected by gun violence, cannot be forced to bear the burden of advocating for change. Therefore, mobilization for stricter gun control must begin on a national level. The many local elections occurring this November are a crucial opportunity to vote out representatives who won’t advocate for the protection of their constituents. Williams students, wherever they are registered to vote, ought to take care to voice their support for stronger protection against gun violence across the U.S. to their representatives. Guns cannot wield more constitutional protection than those who are injured and killed by them, and our “leaders” in Congress must recognize this and take immediate action. Communities must advocate for other communities that are impacted by gun violence in order to fight for gun control at the national scale. Others must get angry while lending a helping hand to communities like Lewiston in light of tragedy.
To the lawmakers who are charged with protecting us: listen to your constituents and act immediately, for it’s now or never. To my fellow students and the College community: contact your lawmakers, organize, and donate to the families affected by the tragedy in Lewiston. And, to my community: we are Lewiston, and we are strong.
Ry Emmert ’26 is from Lewiston, Maine.