AUGUSTA – Now there is a law.

Four years after Cathy Crowley’s teenage son committed suicide after purchasing a shotgun at Wal-Mart, Gov. John Baldacci signed legislation Wednesday that bans the sale of firearms to 16- and 17-year-olds without parental consent.

Crowley, of Lewiston, is the subject of the documentary “There ought to be a law,” which chronicled her efforts to get a gun law passed in the Maine Legislature.

The new law is good, but the state can do better, Crowley said.

“There’s still a long way to go, but this was a step in the right direction,” she said.

Crowley said she was disappointed that a mandatory 10-day waiting period for potential gun buyers under 22 years of age was not included in the new law, but plans on continuing to work toward that goal.

“We thought this legislation would pass as a waiting period bill, but we have at least achieved some oversight of the sale of rifles to adolescents,” said Rep. Margaret Craven, D-Lewiston.

Craven, along with Rep. Stan Gerzofsky, D-Brunswick, and Sen. Ethan Strimling, D-Cumberland, were instrumental in the bill’s passage, Crowley said.

“It is common sense that kids who can’t buy cigarettes shouldn’t be allowed to a buy a gun without their parents’ knowledge,” Gerzofsky said.

The first offense for breaking the new law is considered a civil crime and would result in a fine of up to $500. Subsequent offenses would be Class D misdemeanors with possible jail time and up to a $2,000 fine.

Children under 16 were already banned from purchasing firearms.

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