Margaret Martin is a 10th-grade English teacher at Lewiston High School.

Nearly two years ago now, I walked into my 10th-grade English classroom on Monday, Oct. 30, with no idea where to begin.

We were in the middle of a lesson on the First Amendment. I had no idea if any of my students had lost someone last Wednesday — a parent, older sibling, aunt or uncle, cousin. Were we supposed to just pick up where we left off? How could anything go back to normal?

It couldn’t, but that’s exactly what we did. We talked about it as a class — and of course the school had counselors available — and we did some activities together to support our community, but ultimately we picked up and continued where we left off the previous week.

We had to. It’s the reality for too many students and teachers, not just after a tragedy in our hometown, but every time we see a school on lockdown on social media or a horrific shooting somewhere in the country. If we don’t move on, and try for normalcy, we would be overwhelmed by the constant, looming fear I know so many of my students and colleagues experience.

I’m tired of it. So this year, as I headed back to my classroom at Lewiston High School, I did it with a renewed sense of urgency for our state to vote “Yes” on Question 2 this November.

Question 2 would create an Extreme Risk Protection Order law in Maine, which would empower families to go directly to a court when a loved one is in crisis and may pose a danger to themselves or others. If a court deems them dangerous through due process, a judge can temporarily limit their access to firearms. It’s a common-sense, life-saving policy that would close a dangerous gap in Maine’s current law.

Firearms are the leading cause of death for American children and teens. Let that sink in. More American kids are killed by firearms than car accidents.

There’s no single solution to end all gun violence, but Extreme Risk Protection Order laws have been used effectively in other states to disarm people who threatened mass shootings, including school shootings. If we can prevent one of these national horrors from being visited on our community again, we have to do everything we can.

Maine currently has its own watered-down version of this law, called our “yellow flag” law. It failed us. Two years ago, the would-be shooter’s family knew he posed a threat and repeatedly warned police about his mental state. Their warnings went unheeded, and our current law gave them no way to take action.

A state investigation reported that Maine’s laws were too burdensome and weak to prevent this tragedy or tragedies like it. Minor tweaks have been made around the edges since then, but the underlying problems of the law still exist and our political leaders in Augusta have failed to take action.

As a school, and as a community, we all lived through this horrific event together. If this law had been in place — if we had smarter, safer, more effective tools that empowered both families and law enforcement to intervene — perhaps one of the many warnings could have prevented the shooting.

Before Lewiston, I remember that so many of us felt this kind of tragedy could never happen here. I know it seems like the horrors of school gun violence could never happen here either, but we cannot wait for another tragedy to once again ask what we could’ve done differently.

We must close this dangerous loophole in our current law. Extreme Risk Protection Orders will make our schools and communities safer.

And you don’t have to take it from this teacher. The Maine Education Association, which represents professional educators across Maine, has endorsed “Yes” on Question 2. 

Whether like me you headed back to a classroom in the last few weeks, or are a parent who knows what it feels like to have the intrusive “what if” thoughts or have to assure your kids they’ll be safe at school, none of us deserve to live with this fear.

And we don’t have to. Nothing will ever take it away entirely, especially for a community that experienced what we did, but we can pass common-sense laws that make us safer and save lives. Question 2 is one of them. Vote “Yes” this November.