11.05.14
Oregon has re-elected the Governor of Portland. John Kitzhaber had been chosen to serve a 4th term.
Oregon is now at, or near, the bottom of every major metric with one exception. Oregon leads the country in foreclosures. The executive office of the state has been held by a Democrat for longer than many people have been alive. Kitzhaber has held that office for 12 of those years and, if not indicted, will hold it for 4 more.
After Obama took office he blamed every failure of his policies on previous administrations. Kitzhaber didn’t have that luxury, but it didn’t matter.
Millions of your dollars have been squandered on failed websites and bridges to nowhere. No one knows how many more millions have been funneled to Kitzhaber through his felonious girlfriend and shady deals with friends.
Both The Oregonian and Willamette Week have reported heavily on the blatant corruption of this governor and also endorsed him.
For anyone who has wondered how places like Chicago, Detroit and Washington DC can continue to embrace crooks, you now have your answer.
The single worst manager this state has ever seen will now have free rein to line his pockets and those of his significant other for four more years. Our schools and economy will continue to compete with Haiti and Guatemala in a race to the bottom.
That’s the good news.
The bad news is that the Oregon Senate has replaced a pro-gun stalwart with a woman who wants to take gun rights away from foster parents. Sara Gelser is the new Senator for District 8. Sara was the lucky recipient of a windfall from a California billionaire who helped (millionaire) Gelser attack Betsy Close because she supported a woman’s right to own a gun for self defense.
Another Senate seat, Republican Bruce Starr’s, is still too close to call at the time of this posting. His opponent, Chuck Riley was funded by Michael Bloomberg.
The Oregon Senate is already 16-14 Democrat. With only one exception, Betsy Johnson, they are all anti-gun. Gaining one seat alone will allow them to pass virtually any anti-gun bill they choose. And they have made it clear they will be working a long list of anti-gun proposals. Sure to come up is universal gun registration which is a precursor everywhere for confiscation. Just ask the folks in New York who have had their guns confiscated thanks to the kind of registration former Mayor Bloomberg is pushing across the country.
Add to that the bills they have never been able to pass before.
Semi-auto bans.
Magazine bans.
A ban on guns in schools.
An end to preemption allowing every town to make their own rules.
Warrantless searches of your home.
Lock up laws.
A mandate to run away from an attacker.
That’s just a warm up.
The Republicans also lost one seat in the House although that seat was held by a “Republican” (Vicki Berger) who voted anti-gun and attacked pro-gun Republicans. Not much of a net loss there.
On top of all this news is the passage of Ballot Measure 594 in Washington State. This is the universal registration/background check bill paid for by Michael Bloomberg, Bill Gates, Paul Allen and other fairly well off folks.
This measure could make you a felon for handing a gun to a buddy at the range. Yes, it’s that bad.
While there is no question that this measure only happened because of unlimited funds by billionaire gun grabbers, it’s also true that there was not a particularly effective counter campaign. The “rich” gun lobby never came close to matching the funds spent by the gun grabbers. No doubt many who voted for this had no idea just how dangerous it is.
In fact, many gun owners simply don’t see the danger in “background checks.” And this will be the battle folks. There can be no real “background checks” without universal registration.
Over and over this has been the path to confiscation.
Make no mistake. If the gun grabbers succeed with any of these plans they won’t be stopping there.
First they came for gun dealers, then they came for gun shows. Now they will be coming to stop you from giving a gun as a gift to a family member or lending one to a friend whose life is in jeopardy. Those simple acts will make you a criminal.
None of these attacks will affect criminals or people intent on suicide. As long as there is one misuse of a gun, the haters of freedom will be pushing for more restrictions. Time after time they have shown their hand and made it clear that they will not be satisfied until every gun is controlled by the state.
In 1999, the Oregon Legislature was ramming through a background check bill. It had passed the Senate and went to the House where it was made worse by a political gadfly, Republican House Rep. Kevin Mannix.
Mannix worked behind the scenes with groups pretending to be pro-gun to create HB 2535, a bill to ban private sales of firearms.
It was supposed to be a “sure thing”. Only the Oregon Firearms Federation opposed it.
OFF was then about 6 months old, but even them we defeated this bill against all odds and with no help from the NRA. We can do it again with your help. But frankly, it’s going to take a heck of a lot of work by all of us.
A ballot measure funded by billionaires is going to be different story. If that happens there will simply be no substitute for money.
The anti-gun side now has unlimited funds and has made no secret that they see the ballot measure process as a roadmap to New York style gun control. Too many voters know too little about the truth of these measures.
Oregon Firearms Federation is a political organization. Our focus is on winning political battles through activism. But we cannot underestimate the threats to your rights based on the changes in the Oregon Legislature and the introduction of limitless funds by those who want to steal your freedom. While we urge you to prepare for the political battles ahead and be a part of this fight, you should also consider making any preparations now to deal with potential bans and confiscations.
Get ready. It’s going to be a wild ride.