Ben Lowry: I am distraught by news of the gun massacre in my birth state of Maine

​Normally I am a current affairs junkie but the reports from the Middle East over the last three weeks have been terrifying. So I kept a looser eye on developments during those days off.

And then I heard about the massacre in Maine.

I was born in that state and even though I moved to Northern Ireland shortly before my third birthday, my first memories are from living on the Maine coast (next stop Ireland). We returned for holidays and have dear friends there so it is close to my heart.

I joke that I was born in Bangor Maine and grew up in Bangor Northern Ireland. The latter is true, the former not quite – Bangor is up the road from Portland.

Poignantly, Lewiston – where this atrocity took place, claiming 18 lives –is near both to Bangor Maine and Belfast Maine. That there are two cities of that name is a reminder of the Scots Irish influence. New Hampshire, across the state border, has both a Derry and a Londonderry.

Maine is one of the most popular holiday spots in the United States. It is one of the least violent too.

America’s gun laws are a matter for Americans. Since the days of those pioneers the right to bear arms has been cherished. Personally I prefer a stricter European approach.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​