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9.30.09 Anti-Gun Efforts Begin Long Before "Special Session."
Firearms Possession On School Grounds In The Cross Hairs. |
In
February, the Oregon Legislature will be meeting for a "special
session."
Although our legislature is supposed to meet only every two
years, it is now a forgone conclusion that they will be in Salem
annually.
But they are not waiting until then to begin their assault on
your rights, so it's essential that you start responding right
away.
Today, at a joint session of the House and Senate Judiciary
Committees the attacks began.
As you may know, in the 2009 session OFF passed SB
603. This bill did several things.
One of the things it did was correct a mistake in Oregon law.
The old law (still in effect until January 2010) said that a
person with a felony conviction could petition the courts to
have his rights restored to purchase a firearm. However, that
person was still not allowed to OWN a firearm. SB 603
corrected that and allowed a person to ask to both buy and own.
It seemed like a no-brainer. But today the Oregon Department
of Justice came to asked that this correction be reversed. It
was their position that because of SB 603, a person with multiple
felony convictions could walk out of prison and legally get
guns. This is, of course, absurd.
All the bill does is allow a person who could ASK to have his
rights restored to actually get them restored. There is no guarantee
that the petitioner would be successful. But it was clear that
neither the Department of Justice, nor most members of the committee
really understood current law or the effects of the bill.
Although this was not a public hearing, we were asked to respond
to the DOJ and we made it clear that the language in SB 603
was not a mistake, nor was it unintended. It was a well crafted
attempt to fix an existing error. If this language is stripped
from the bill, the law may very well return to its previous
nonsensical version.
But that was just a down payment on what was next.
As you know, the Oregon Firearms Educational Foundation has
filed a
lawsuit against the Oregon University System for attempting
to enforce illegal anti-gun rules.
Just as in the Medford School District, which threatened a teacher
there for having a CHL, the Oregon University System has draconian
anti-gun regulations that Oregon law does not allow them to
adopt.
But, not content to wait until the courts rule on either case,
OUS has sent out their hired hack, Neil Bryant, to try to convince
the legislature to write new rules to strip license holders
of their ability to be on University property.
Bryant was the Chair of the Senate Judiciary in 1999. He was
one of the driving forces behind an attempt to ram through legislation
to end private transfers at gun shows. This bill was actually
supported by a "pro-gun" state group back then,
and it was ignored by the NRA. OFF opposed it and it was defeated
by one vote.
Now Bryant is back as a lobbyist trying to attack the
rights of the most law-abiding people in the state, concealed
handgun license holders.
It's interesting to note that while this hearing was a joint
session of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, the Chair
of the House Committee, Jeff Barker, wanted no part of it. So
he dismissed his committee when this issue came up. Only
ultra-liberal House Rep Jefferson
Smith stayed in the room. Smith commented that Oregon
might be "better off" with a patchwork of different
rules and laws in different places, a nightmare our "preemption"
statute was passed to address.
Bryant told the Committee that college students should not be
allowed to be on campus with lawfully owned guns because they
drink too much. He asked what would happen if a bunch of drunken
college students decided to "pass a gun around."
He wondered aloud about what armed students would do if they
"broke up with their girlfriend" or were "angry
at a professor."
At no point did Bryant actually give an example of any problems
on any college campuses. At no point did Bryant explain why
these same students could be trusted off campus. But he did
mention our lawsuits as the reason he was asking for new
restrictions. (We can only conclude that the Oregon University
System is convinced they will lose.)
Bryant also stated in the hearing that Jeff Maxwell, the Western
Oregon University student who was unlawfully arrested for having
a handgun on campus, was given a "public hearing."
As many of you know, that's untrue. Maxwell was "tried"
by a kangaroo court of students in a closed session where even
Jeff's family was denied access.
Bryant suggested, and the Senate Committee agreed to the creation
of a "work group" to try to come up with new laws
to restrict gun rights on college property.
Bryant suggested that the group consist of legislators,
school board members, officials from K-12 schools, district
attorneys, campus security, police and sheriffs. Almost as an
afterthought he said a representative from "gun rights
group" should perhaps be invited. At that suggestion,
Senator Susanne
Bonamici said that if a pro-gun representative was included,
she wanted someone from an anti-gun group like Ceasefire Oregon.
(As if the deck were not stacked enough.) Neither Bryant
nor any member of the committee suggested having any representation
from student organizations.
There is no question that the anti-gun establishment is running
scared and is working overtime to find a way to disarm license
holders. It is essential that we act before this misguided movement
can pick up steam.
Both the attempted gutting of SB 603 and the attack on gun rights
on college property will likely be considered at the February
"special session." Please contact the Senate
Judiciary Committee and let them know that you will not
stand for any attacks on your rights.
Chair Floyd
Prozanski is the person who most needs to hear from you.
It was he who agreed to put together the "work group"
being assembled to craft these new restrictions.
If you are a student, or will be in the future, or if you have
a child or grandchild who is a student, it is critical that
Prozanski hear your voice. Remember, this is NOT just about
colleges. If these efforts are successful, a parent with a CHL
will not be allowed to pick up a child at school
while in possession of a self defense firearm. Tell Prozanski
that you want to be represented at this "work group."
(You may even want to serve on it yourself.) This group will
be forming immediately. You MUST act right away. A sample e-mail
and contact info for Senator Prozanski follows:
Capitol Address:
900 Court St. NE, S-417
Salem, OR 97301
Capitol Phone:
503-986-1704
District Address:
PO Box 11511
Eugene, OR 97440
District Phone:
541-342-2447
sen.floydprozanski@state.or.us
___________________________________________________________________
Dear Senator Prozanski,
I am very concerned that the improvements made to Oregon law
under SB 603 will evaporate if the Department of Justice has
its way. It's clear that they have misunderstood current law
and the changes that SB 603 makes. 603 does NOT allow felons
to get guns. It only allows them to petition the court to review
their status. Please don't fall for the scare tactics the DOJ
is using.
I am also very concerned about the formation of a "work
group" to explore new ways to erode the rights of concealed
handgun license holders. The Oregon University System's position
that license holders cannot be trusted on their property makes
no sense. If the system is so concerned about "drunken
college students" behaving irresponsibly, they should consider
banning cars from campus. Cars kill far more college students
than firearms do. If you do go ahead with the formation of this
group, I urge you to not stack the deck with countless anti-gun
bureaucrats and only token representation for gun owners.
Yours,
___________________________________
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© 2000 - 2009, Oregon Firearms Federation. All Rights Reserved.
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