Words fail to convey sorrow and anger over the tragedy and trauma in Lewiston

Susan Young is the Bangor Daily News opinion editor.

I am a professional writer. But today, I don’t have the words. I don’t have the words to convey my anguish and despair. For the families who may have lost a mother, father, son or daughter in Lewiston. For the people whose lives were forever altered by a hail of gunfire. For those, like the first responders and medical professionals, who were traumatized by horrors they never hoped to see. For my colleagues who worked through the night, and will continue to do so, to keep our communities informed and connected. I am proud of all of you.

I have no words to fill the holes left in families, towns and workplaces in Maine’s tight knit fabric. Or for those who lost their sense of peace and tranquility – long a hallmark of Maine.

I have no words to pledge that it will get better, because for many it will not. The fear, the sadness, the loss, the trauma, the helplessness may fade, but it may not fully go away. I am truly sorry.

I mourn for all that was lost and shattered.

I am also outraged. Outraged that our epidemic of gun violence is unrelenting and cruel. I am angry that there will be an outpouring of thoughts and prayers, but likely no meaningful action.

I’m angry and heartbroken that Lewiston joins a long list of communities traumatized by gun violence.

Wednesday’s massacre was among the most deadly mass shootings in U.S. history. It is a list no one wants to be on. It is a list that won’t stop growing with Wednesday’s violence in Lewiston.

But it could. If more lawmakers were brave, as Rep. Jared Golden was on Thursday as he said he would work for passage of a federal ban on assault rifles like the one used in Lewiston. The congressman, a Democrat who represents a district twice won by former President Donald Trump, asked for forgiveness for his past opposition to such a measure.

Yes, mental health appears to have contributed to the slaughter in Lewiston. Of course, we need more and better mental health treatment, and we need it to be readily accessible to all who need it.

But we also need to do something about guns. Random and frequent gun violence is almost uniquely an American phenomenon. There are common sense ways – with strong public support – to reduce easy access to guns, especially assault weapons, the guns so frequently used in the most deadly mass shootings, including in Lewiston.

Yes, there are hundreds of millions of guns in the U.S. Yes, most of them are used (or stored) safely. But that does not mean we shouldn’t look for ways to prevent other mass shootings.

Those specific actions, of course, are for another day.

Today, we need to support one another. To give each other, and ourselves, room to grieve, to vent, to rest. Because Maine is, as so many say, one big small town, is it likely that we know someone who was killed or injured in Lewiston, or we know someone who knows someone.  We are all grieving. We need to support one another, with a kind word, a shoulder to lean on or maybe much more.

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