By Bonnie Washuk,Staff Writer

AUGUSTA – Cathy Crowley of Lewiston tried to speak, but tears came instead of words. Soon, both words and tears were flowing.

Crowley told the Legislature’s Criminal Justice Committee Monday how she found her 18-year-old son, Laurier Belanger Jr., dead in his apartment last May after he killed himself with a shotgun he bought at a local department store.

Legislation sponsored by Rep. Margaret Craven, D-Lewiston, would create a 10-day waiting period for anyone under 22 buying a gun. “Firearms are final,” said Craven, noting that guns are the leading cause of suicide for young people.

The National Rifle Association and George Smith of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine testified against the measure at the public hearing. While Smith said SAM was neither supporting or opposing the law, he went on to say those under 22 with parental permission should be exempt from the waiting period, and he questioned both the effectiveness of the proposal and whether the age should be lowered.

In her testimony, Crowley said she didn’t want what happened “to my Larry” to happen to others. She recalled the last phone message he left her, the agony of finding him, and living with that memory.

“I started to scream and beg, Please help him!’ I stepped back into the hallway. I couldn’t stand to look at my own boy. I just cried,” Crowley told the committee. Then, “I opened the door back up to go inside, because I just wanted to hold him for a minute.”

In the days that followed she couldn’t sleep and eat. When she closed her eyes she saw him. Crowley said she wants the bill to pass so she can help as many parents as possible not to have to live with the same kind of memory.

Crowley said she didn’t know why her son took his life, and that there were no warning signs. “They say depression is a big part of it, and males hide it well.”

Portland psychiatrist Jim Maier provided some insight.

Speaking in favor of the bill, he said modern science is confirming that a person is into their 20s before the parts of the brain responsible for judgment, foresight and maturity are developed. But the parts responsible for emotion “are turbocharged. … That means the foot is on the accelerator, but the brakes aren’t working yet. That’s one reason why we see young people do impulsive things without being able to understand the consequences,” Maier said.

A waiting period before buying a firearm would not endanger anyone’s right to hunt, Maier said, and it would help reduce access to firearms so that a young person “won’t get to Wal-Mart to buy a shotgun for the wrong reason.”

Also speaking for the bill were the Maine Medical Association, Dr. Robert McAfee, Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence and a Saco mother whose 18-year-old son also shot himself.

The NRA submitted written testimony in opposition. SAM’s Smith said his organization wants to work with legislators, and said he recognizes suicide with firearms is a serious problem. He offered sympathy to Crowley for suffering such “unimaginable tragedy.”

But while Crowley said she believed her son would still be alive if a waiting period had been in force, Smith said he wasn’t sure. “Who knows what was in that young man’s mind, or whether 10 days would have made a difference. “We’re looking to see if it’s really the solution. If it is, we’ll support it.”

The committee will hold a work session on L.D. 310 on Feb. 28.