LEWISTON – “There Ought To Be A Law,” a documentary film about a Lewiston woman who became a gun control activist after her teenage son’s suicide, will be screened at Bates College Thursday, March 22.

A discussion with state legislators, the filmmakers and Cathy Crowley of Lewiston, the film’s protagonist, will follow the hourlong film.

The documentary will be shown at 7 p.m. in Pettengill Hall, G52. Admission is free and open to the public.

“There Ought to Be A Law” follows Crowley after her 18-year-old son bought a shotgun at Wal-Mart and killed himself. Crowley felt compelled to talk to the salesperson who sold him the weapon. The Wal-Mart manager told her that the store was following the law, and if she didn’t like it, she should try to change it.

So that’s what Crowley decided to do. She had no political experience. In fact, she had never voted. But she wrote to every lawmaker in the state legislative directory. Several lawmakers agreed to sponsor a bill that would require a waiting period before young people could buy guns.

The film shows how the bill at first seemed likely to sail through the Maine Legislature, but then ran into opposition from the state’s powerful gun lobby. However, Crowley’s campaign transformed her from a shy “average Mom” into a savvy activist who buttonholed lawmakers and negotiated with committee chairmen in an effort to reduce Maine’s high youth suicide rate. She has vowed to continue her fight and a new version of the bill is before the state legislature at present.

Two years in the making, “There Ought to Be A Law” gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at how the Maine Legislature operates, and how average people can get involved in the process. The film was co-produced by Anita Clearfield and Geoffrey Leighton of Durham and Shoshana Hoose of Portland.

For more information, visit www.thereought2bealaw.com, or call 751-4848.