The University of Maine at Augusta College of Arts and the UMA Senior College will present a panel “Looking at the Second Amendment” from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 3, at Jewett Hall on the Augusta campus on University Drive.

The discussion will include a refreshment break, followed by a question-and-answer period. UMASC Forums on the Future are intended to be presentations of information and ideas, and not a debate, according to a news release from the UMA Senior College.

The February forum will begin with details of the history of the 2nd Amendment to our Constitution, followed by the perspective of the hunter/sportsman, and will also propose ways to decrease gun violence. The forum is prompted by the many discussions taking place regarding this amendment.

Dave Cheever will present historical aspects. A former teacher, sports director at Bangor television station, news director of Stephen King’s Bangor radio station, he later became press secretary for Gov. Joseph Brennan. He also has been editorial page editor for Central Maine Newspapers, and he has been the State of Maine Archivist since 2007.

Another speaker is David Trahan, a former self-employed logger and legislator from Lincoln County, he has been executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine since 2011. His interests include defending 2nd Amendment rights, rebuilding the deer herd and expanding the use of our Maine outdoor attractions to a broader population.

The third speaker is Geoff Bickford, who is the executive director of the Gun Safety Coalition, the longest standing gun violence prevention organization in Maine. He will speak to issues of protecting Maine families from gun violence by expansion of education, advocacy and the distribution of free trigger locks. A lawyer, his previous experience includes acting as a public defender in Manhattan and clerking for Judge John Rich III of the United States District Court for the District of Maine in Portland.

All Forums on the Future are free and open to the public. For more information about UMASC, and its other activities, call 621-3551, email umasc@maine.edu. or visit uma.edu.

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