Category: OFF Alerts

06.04.15

Before we get into the news from Salem, we wanted you to know that the City Of Canby passed a resolution opposing wasting any money on the enforcement of the Prozanski/Hoyle universal gun owner registration bill.

Resolution 1217 was passed last night on 4-1-1 vote. Councilman Greg Parker abstained and Councilwoman Tracie Heidt voted against the resolution.  Parker had nothing to say, but Heidt (who drove a car with a “Shame On The NRA” bumpersticker until she started campaigning) insisted that background checks were a great tool to stop criminals.  This was after she was provided with the OSP stats proving that background checks are a joke. This is no surprise. There is simply no point in reasoning with these people. (Heidt’s profile talks about the value of “inclusive community”. Apparently gun owners are not included.)

There was the expected, shrill commentary by a handful of nanny-staters who suggested that Canby would now become the center of the illegal gun trade in Oregon, but fortunately most people who spoke were rational.

Thanks to everyone who came and made their voices heard, especially our friends at Canby Rod and Gun Club and Oregon Hunter’s Association.

Given the passage of Lane County’s resolution against the enforcement of SB 941, it’s clear this battle is far from over. Please keep working locally to return Oregon’s gun laws to a semblance of sanity, because it sure is not going to happen in Salem.

So then, on to Salem.

The House Judiciary Committee has passed SB 525 to the House Floor. This bill has passed in the Senate.

The proponents of the legislation had two talking points. One, which was repeated word for word in most of their written testimony, was “It is well documented firearms and domestic violence are a dangerous combination.”  That phrase is repeated parrot like in almost all submitted testimony. But the other talking point repeated endlessly was that the bill was needed because Oregon police cannot enforce the federal ban on firearms possession by persons with domestic violence misdemeanor convictions.

For a full page of testimony making this assertion see this link.

The people who make this claim include district attorneys, city council members, feminist groups, Senator Laurie Anderson, Representative (and former cop) Carla Piluso, and our top lawyer, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum. The entire reason for this legislation was based on that claim. And that claim, as we have been saying for months, is a lie. The chairs of the committees that passed this bill know it’s a lie. But in the usual deference they show to the anti-rights groups, they simply sat there and allowed themselves to be lied to by the  people who funnel money into Democrat coffers.  The shamelessness knows no limits. But now their own lawyers are telling them it’s a lie. Rest assured it won’t matter.

Yesterday, the bill too perfect to be amended, SB 941, the universal gun owner registration bill, was…amended. Remember the Democrats refused to consider a single Republican amendment?  Although already signed into law by Kate Brown, the House Judiciary Committee Democrats voted to use SB 315 as a vehicle to change some of the language in SB 941. Not a single Republican on the committee voted yes. And that’s good.
The changes that were made make a very bad bill even worse. These changes were made so House Rep Brian Clem could say he got some “pro-gun” concessions. Clem is slated to carry this garbage on the House Floor when it comes up for a vote.

Under the changes made and approved by the Democrats, you will now be subject to arrest if you transfer a firearm with an approved background check and the transferred firearm is used in a crime! The crime does not even have to be committed by the person you transferred the firearm to. It could have been stolen from that person.

But wait, you think that’s nuts? There’s more.  Under the changes made to SB 315, you can also be prosecuted if the firearm is transferred with the OSP’s approval  and the person who receives it is prohibited from owning a firearm under state and federal law.

It is the official, written policy of the OSP to approve transfers of firearms to certain felons. Felons who are PROHIBITED FROM OWNING FIREARMS! Let’s let that settle in.

You conduct a background check. The OSP gives its approval to transfer to a person they know is a prohibited person,  and you  go to jail.

This is the great bargain Brian Clem got in exchange for his selling his vote on SB 941.

But we’re not done yet. Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed another amendment to HB 3093, the CHL reciprocity bill. This bill was dragged back into committee after having been passed on June 1st. The Senate Judiciary Committee rescinded the amendments it had previously approved and replaced them with amendments that once again, amended the bill too perfect to be amended, SB 941.

Seems that a lobbyist for the homebuilders association became concerned that under 941, a background check would be required for the transfer of nail guns that use small caliber cartridges to drive fasteners into concrete and other surfaces too hard for other devices.  So the CHL reciprocity bill was changed to include an exemption for tools of that kind.

This brings up a few issues.  First, what other problems and unintended consequences will ooze up as this idiotic law is implemented?  Second, if, in fact, those kinds of tools are considered “firearms” under Oregon Statute and would be regulated under SB 941, why are they not regulated as “firearms” now?

 SB 941, the universal gun owner registration bill, just got worse. Yes, that’s hard to believe, but in a party line vote in the House Judiciary Committee, the Democrats, actually achieved that.

They used SB 315 as a vehicle to do this.  That bill, which dealt with record keeping on used guns for pawn shops and gun stores, was “gut and stuffed” with changes to SB 941.  The “dash 8” amendments inserted into SB 315 were the product of a “deal” struck by House Rep Brian Clem in exchange for voting in favor of the massive new registration scheme.

 

So what changes? First, you can now lend someone a gun for hunting or target practice and they can actually have the gun while on the way to and coming back from the range or hunt. The amendment actually says “during the time in which the transferee is preparing to engage in, is in engaged in or is in the process of completing activities related to hunting trapping or target shooting.”

While that sounds like an improvement, it does open the door for plenty of misunderstandings, confusion and bad judicial interpretations and is still far worse than even California law, which allows you to lend a firearm to a person for an entire hunting season.

But the really strange part is a new provision that says you may loan a firearm to someone you know for up to seven days without going to a dealer for a background check.  But don’t think that’s some kind of great deal. You would still need to do the background check, but under this change you could do it yourself over the phone. 

But wait, there is no explanation for the 7 day limit. There is no clarification of a process for returning the firearm. There is no mention of what happens if the gun is not returned “on time.”  And, the amendment says that if you conduct a background check, and if the person to whom you are loaning the firearm PASSES the background check, and that person uses  the gun in a crime, you face the same penalty as if you had not done the check at all!   You face the same penalty if the police approve the person and he turns out to be a prohibited person! We are not making this up.

These changes were made to provide cover for House Reps Clem and Paul Evans who pretend to be pro-gun but voted to attack your privacy and your Second Amendment rights.  They only serve to make this bill even more incompressible and put more people at risk.  The changes were the result of many back room deals and lots of deceit.  The bill with the “gut and stuff” amendments now goes to the House floor where it will no doubt be passed by the Democrat majority, most of whom will not have read it.

That, of course, is the bad news. The good news is that Lane County today passed a resolution saying it is “unable to expend any county resources for the implementation and enforcement of Senate Bill 941”

Thanks to the County Commissioners of Lane who voted for this 4-1 with the only “no” vote coming from Commissioner Sorenson.

Tomorrow night the City of Canby will be voting on a similar resolution. Please contact the City Council and urge support of Resolution 1217.

 

06.01.15

Today the Senate Judiciary Committee passed HB 3093 and HB 2357.

HB 3093 is a limited “reciprocity”bill sponsored by Bill Post. HB 2357 is a bill that gives retired police the same protections when carrying concealed that CHL holders have.

Both bills are limited in scope and were amended with pointless changes, but both are a step forward. To no one’s surprise, Ginny Burdick voted against HB 3093. She also insisted on, and got, amendments to HB 2357 that basically say, if a retired cop is a criminal he can’t carry a firearm. Ludicrous? Yes, but that’s how they roll in Salem. These bills now move to the Senate floor having both passed in the House.

The House Judiciary Committee heard and passed SB 525. This is a “domestic violence” bill that serves exactly no purpose. It has had the worst provisions removed but is one more bill promoted by lies. Supporter after supporter provided testimony with the exact same talking points and the lie that Oregon police may not enforce the  Federal law this bill copies. Even our top lawyer, Attorney General Rosenblum, repeated this nonsense. Her ignorance of the law is breathtaking and she would like to be our next Governor.

House Reps Bill Post and Sherrie Sprenger courageously voted no.

The House Committee also passed SB 173, a fairly nonsensical bill, but did amend it to remove the most offensive and unconstitutional language.

Current law says if you are in a public building you must allow a police officer to inspect a firearm you are carrying to determine if it is loaded.

This makes no sense. If you have a CHL, you may carry a loaded firearm. If you don’t have a CHL, you may not carry a firearm loaded or not, so what purpose does this serve?  The bill would have allowed you to show a CHL instead of handing over a loaded gun in a public place but would have made you a criminal if you did NOT show a CHL.  This was absurd. You become a criminal because you did not show ID even though you are not suspected of a crime?  The bill was amended to remove that provision, so now there is no criminal penalty for not showing a CHL.  The current law should simply be repealed, but this was a big improvement.

Tomorrow the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold work sessions on two bills it held over from today.  SB 913, the ban on privately owned ivory and SB 315.  315 is another bill that should never have seen the light of day but now promises to get far worse.   The intent is to use the bill to further complicate the universal background check bill. The proposed amendments are bizarre.  There is no guarantee that either of these bills will actually move tomorrow, but we’ll be watching them.

Tomorrow, Lane County will be voting on a resolution to refuse to expend county funds to enforce SB 941, the universal gun owner registration bill. The anti-gun crazies are already mounting an effort to derail the resolution.  Please send the commissioners a note saying “Stand for liberty and support a resolution opposing SB 941.”  You can contact the commission here.

On Wednesday night, the Canby City Council will be voting on a similar measure. If you live in or near Canby, please come and make your voice heard in support. The Council meets in City Hall at 7.30 PM

05.26.15

Tomorrow, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a “work session” on Rep Bill Post’s  HB 3093. Work sessions are where bills are amended and voted to the floor of the Senate (or House if coming out of a House Committee)

3093 is a simple and limited reciprocity bill that passed out of the House with only one “no” vote. (Anti-gun zealot Barbara Warner) But of course, no bill that could be even marginally considered “pro-gun” is going to get past Floyd Prozanski unscathed. An amendment has been introduced to this bill to further muddy the waters on the nightmare “background check” bill recently passed by the Democrats. (It should be noted that the anti-gun groups are already sending out alerts saying that “unqualified” out of staters will be able to carry guns in our schools. As with everything else they say, this is a lie. CHL’s only allow you to carry a firearm on school property in your own state, if your state permits it. But the girls have never let the truth get in the way of their propaganda.)

We believe the changes that are being stuffed into 3093 were requested by House Rep. Brian Clem.

Clem, who likes to promote himself as a friend to gun owners, sold his vote to the Speaker, and voted to impose the universal background check bill on gun owners.  But he insisted that he’d extracted some concessions for his sell out. The “dash 9” amendments appear to be the “great bargain” he struck.  So what did Clem get? Under this amendment, not only could you lend a firearm to a friend to go hunting, but he could also have it while going to and from hunting!  Wow.

Wait, there’s more.  Under this amendment you can now loan a firearm, to someone you know, for a whole 7 days!  Of course, you will still have to subject that person to a background check, but now, under this great compromise, you could invade their privacy and subject them to the failed background check system in the privacy of your own home by calling the State Police and registering your gun to your friend over the phone instead of dragging them to a gun store and paying whatever fee the dealer wanted to charge.

The police can, of course, still delay or deny with no justification, as they do now. This is nonsense and solves nothing.  HB 3093 should just be passed without more garbage being shoved down the throats of gun owners. If the Democrats want to repair some of the damage they did with SB 941 they should do it with real, meaningful changes and not this cynical dog and pony show designed to convince gun owners that sell outs like Clem are “not so bad.”

Please contact the Senate Judiciary Committee and tell them to pass HB 3093 as is, with no garbage attached. 

Dear Friends,

Next week we will be facing more gun legislation in Salem. There is no reason to tell you there is any positive news. But we’ll get to that in a minute.

First, while it’s clear that Bloomberg has managed to buy himself a legislature and the liars who are working to steal your rights and your property are making great advances, we’d be remiss if we allowed that to divert us from this important holiday.

Here at OFF, we want to say a word of profound thanks to everyone who has served our country and risked all in defense of liberty. There are no words to fully express our gratitude and pride in you.  We also want to say to everyone who has used their time in the military as cover for their shameless and vicious attacks on our rights, you will lose. You are a disgrace to the uniform you wore and the country you took an oath to defend. You know who you are.

To the brave men and women who served honorably, we owe you more than we can ever pay. You have been treated shabbily by your government. You deserve so much more. To those who have used their time in uniform for personal gain and the destruction of other people’s rights, you will know shame. Life is like that.

On to the latest in Salem.

Next Wednesday at 8am in the Senate Judiciary Committee, there is scheduled a work session on HB 3093. This is a very limited reciprocity bill that has been sponsored by House Rep Bill Post, who is turning out to be one of the boldest defenders of gun rights in the Oregon Legislature. Given that this bill will be before Floyd Prozanski and Ginny Burdick, it is a very safe bet that it will be used as a vehicle for anti-gun amendments. Prozanski and Burdick are mindless anti-gun zealots. The other Democrat on the Committee is Sara Gelser. She has become a fellow traveler and attacks gun rights every chance she gets. While anything can happen, the chance of this bill moving forward without being turned into something very bad is… very small.

On the same day, they will be holding a work session on HB 2357.  This incredibly simple and common sense bill simply addresses some issues in current law that prevent retired police from having all the protections  that CHL holders have and clarifies that off duty police are allowed to be armed. While you might think no one in their right mind would oppose this, Ginny Burdick has already complained that honorably retired police cannot be trusted. So that bill may have problems too.

On the same day at 3pm in the House Judiciary Committee, work sessions are scheduled for two bills. SB 315 and SB 913.

SB 315 seems to make a minor correction in current law. Right now, if a pawn shop or gun dealer takes a used gun into their inventory they are required to notify the local police and provide all the information on the firearm and the person they got it from. (Yes, it is gun registration.)  This law is obsolete and predates our current background check system.  The law serves no purpose and, in fact, many dealers and pawn shops don’t even know it exists and neither do most police departments. The change SB 315 makes is it allows the dealers to send this info to the police via email instead of being required to hand deliver it or send it by regular mail. Sounds good until you see it also offers access to this info to the Feds. More dangerous registration.

This law should be repealed instead of amended. Period.  In fact, we had good reason to believe the bill was dead. But as with all bad ideas in the 2015 legislature, it has been revived. This bill is a bad idea. But what Bloomberg wants, he most certainly will get.

Another really, really bad idea is SB 913, the”ivory ban” bill.  This bill is the brain child of Senator Mark Hass who also wants to ban transfers of firearms to family members! The bill is nothing more than state sanctioned theft of personal property and is an absolute outrage.  Passed by mostly Democrats in the Senate, we thought the House Committee would kill this and it appeared it had. But someone got their chain yanked and now the bill is headed for a vote. Keep in mind, votes are rarely held on bills in committee unless the fix is already in and the bill is guaranteed to pass. Clearly House Speaker Tina Kotek sent word to Committee Chair Jeff Barker, “pass this bill…or else.”  Prepare to have your property stolen by the state again.

On June 1, the House Judiciary Committee will, once again, hold a work session on  SB 173. This bill had made it to the House floor when  House Rep Andy Olson, who was scheduled to carry it, requested that it be returned to committee for more work.  Often that means the bill is dead as this one should be.  But it’s not.

While well intentioned, this is a very, very dangerous bill.  Current law allows a police officer to inspect a firearm if you are carrying it in a “public building” to determine if it’s loaded. But that law makes no sense at all.

If you have a CHL, you may carry loaded in a public building. If you don’t have a CHL you may not carry at all. So why should a cop ever be allowed to seize and handle your firearm? If you’re legal you should be left alone. If not you should not be there.

The obvious solution to this problem is to, once again, repeal the law. Instead, the bill says that you can show a cop your CHL rather than hand him your loaded firearm.  But this is crazy.  You have no obligation to talk to the police ever. Unless you have been pulled over for a traffic infraction you have no obligation to show ID.  But this bill would make you a criminal if you simply chose not to answer a question and show id when you  have done nothing illegal! Under this bill you can be arrested simply for exercising your rights.   

The House Judiciary Committee is made up of mostly lawyers and ex-cops.
If this bill moves forward in its current form we are in very serious trouble.

God bless the people who fought and died to keep us free. Be prepared to defy.

5.19.15 Today the Oregon Legislature passed two bills.  The Senate Rules Committee passed SB 525 to the full Senate floor and the House Judiciary passed SB 385 to the full House floor. SB 525 does for domestic violence victims what SB 385 does to protect Municipal and Justice Courts.  Absolutely nothing. Everything in both these bills is already in existing law. In both cases the proponents of the bills (often judges and other legal “professionals”) displayed such breathtaking ignorance of the law, or a simple willingness to lie, that it makes you hope you never have to go to court.  We are seeing a spate of pointless and redundant legislation that is nothing but a squandering of your money. In the House Judiciary Committee, only Rep. Bill Post, who is the most junior member and one of only two who was never a cop or a lawyer pointed out the flaws in SB 385.  The other members and staff who were lawyers, told him he was wrong. But he wasn’t. He got it right. The lawyers screwed up. Tomorrow, as we told you, House Judiciary is scheduled to hear another pointless waste of time. Mark Hass’s SB 913. We believe with enough input, this nonsensical bill can be killed. But you can never underestimate the willingness of some folks to spend other people’s money.

5.19.15 SB 913, Mark Hass’s idiotic ivory ban bill will be heard tomorrow in the House Judiciary Committee. This bill is so moronic it seeks to protect animals that are extinct.  The bill makes a few exceptions that really make no sense. For example, you could have a firearm with ivory components if the firearm was made before 1976 and contained less than 20% ivory by volume. The bill offers no insights into how you prove when the gun was made. That would be up to the police to decide.  When the bill’s sponsor, Mark Hass, was asked how one determined the “volume” of a firearm, he responded “By volume…”  Ok Mark, we got it now.  This bill would not save a single elephant or wooly mammoth. It would render valueless expensive and legally acquired firearms, knives and countless other items.  This amounts to nothing more that government sanctioned theft. Please tell the House Judiciary Committee to vote no on SB 913. Representative Jeff Barker  Chair (503) 986-1428 Rep.JeffBarker@state.or.us Representative Andy Olson  Vice-Chair (503) 986-1415 Rep.AndyOlson@state.or.us Representative Jennifer Williamson Vice-Chair (503) 986-1436 Rep.JenniferWilliamson@state.or.us Representative Brent Barton (503) 986-1440 Rep.BrentBarton@state.or.us Representative Mitch Greenlick (503) 986-1433 Rep.MitchGreenlick@state.or.us Representative Wayne Krieger (503) 986-1401 Rep.WayneKrieger@state.or.us Representative Ann Lininger (503) 986-1438 Rep.AnnLininger@state.or.us Representative Bill Post (503) 986-1425 Rep.BillPost@state.or.us Representative Sherrie Sprenger (503) 986-1417 Rep.SherrieSprenger@state.or.us

05.13.15

Today we were able to put the brakes on SB 315, a bill that requires gun dealers and pawnshops to share info with the Feds about used guns they have taken into their inventory. The original intention of this bill was to allow gun stores and pawn shops who acquire used firearms to report those acquisitions to local police via email rather than regular mail, as is now mandated. The existing law makes no sense. Police make no use of this info currently and police departments we have spoken to did not even know the law existed. Some pawn shops and gun dealers we spoke to also had no idea this was existing statute.  The statute is pointless and outdated and the better answer to amending this law is to simply repeal it. We have requested that this be done. The bill was not moved out of committee, but is by no means dead. Tomorrow, the Senate Judiciary Committee will be hearing 3 bills.  The one of interest to most gun owners is HB 3093. This is a very limited reciprocity bill and, as you might expect, already has the anti-gunners in a complete tizzy. They are trotting out the same tired, disproven and comical lies about blood running in the streets if people from other states are allowed to carry firearms here. The bill requires the exact same requirements of non residents to carry as we have here in Oregon. The anti-gunner’s arguments are, of course, hysterical nonsense. We believe this bill may be used as a vehicle to add provisions to the recently passed universal gun owner registration bill, SB 941. We’ll know tomorrow. There are MANY deals being proposed behind the scenes on gun legislation and we are not done yet by a long shot. We’ll keep you informed.

05.11.15 Today, unelected Democrat Governor Kate Brown, who replaced disgraced Democrat Governor John Kitzhaber, ignored the will of the people, the counties, and the sheriffs and signed into law SB 941, the universal gun owner registration bill. Today we also received an email from another sheriff who said he will not enforce it. As you know, the bill contains so many dangerous provisions, we cannot possibly list them all.  The parts of the bill outlawing the private transfer of guns, storing firearms for friends, neighbors or persons in need of safekeeping, along with the prohibition on providing firearms to persons who are in danger, take effect 90 days after today’s signing. If you store a firearm for a friend, or lend one to a neighbor without first taking the gun to a gun dealer and asking for police permission, you will be a criminal. Yes, this is a tremendous setback for gun owners. We cannot deny that. However, please do not think this is over. We urge you to defy this sinister attack on your rights. We urge you to refuse to comply. In the coming days we are going to ask for your most generous support in our fight to respond to this unconstitutional outrage. Please stay tuned.  My friends, this battle has only just begun. Don’t despair. Subvert.  As you know there are recalls underway for three of the people who helped pass this attack your rights. There will be more in the future.  Please do all you can to support these efforts. Val Hoyle Recall Chuck Riley/Susan McLain Recall

05.09.15

When SB 941, the universal gun registration bill, passed on Monday we told you to expect more gun legislation. Now we have it.

House Democrat Rep Brian Clem has introduced HB 3553. This bill is the result of the “concessions” he claims to have extracted from leadership to buy his “yes” vote on the worst gun bill ever passed in Oregon.  Clem told us that he agreed to vote to destroy your liberty, your privacy, and your rights in exchange for these important changes in the bill. (Clem had originally signaled that he would vote “no” on the bill.)

So Clem teamed up with Democrat House Rep Paul Evans and introduced this “compromise.” It is nothing short of comical.

(Keep in mind, Evans, who many were deluded into thinking was “pro-gun,” has called for universal gun registration and also blatantly lied about the registration portion of SB 941. )

So what did Clem get in exchange for selling out the gun owners of his district and the state? He got a pathetic joke of a bill that gives Oregonians a “tax credit” for the fees they will be forced to pay the state in order to register their firearms, enter their personal info in a state police database and further the goal of future confiscation.

Clem and Evans seem to think that Oregonians are so stupid that they will see this absurd insult as a “pro gun” bill. Sorry guys, your transparent effort to rehabilitate yourselves after bowing to the Bloomberg money isn’t fooling anyone.  If this is the best you can do after being slapped around by the Speaker, give it up.  We all know whose side you play for.

05.04.15 SB 941 has passed the Oregon House. That was the last stop before it goes to the Governor who will sign it. Today’s debate was very long. The House Republicans gave it all they had. We are indebted to them, but, in spite of mountains of evidence that this bill will do nothing but hurt the law abiding, the House Democrats just continued to parrot the same tired lies they have been telling since the bill was introduced. Oregon will soon have one of the worst background check requirements in the country.  The carrier of the bill willfully mislead the chamber about what the bill did, but it really didn’t matter. The minds were made up.  Three Democrats joined all the Republicans voting no. They were Jeff Barker, Brad Witt and Caddy McKeown. We appreciate their support.  Two Democrats we thought we could count on folded. They were Debbie Boone and Brian Clem.  We think at this point we will see more legislation related to this issue before the session is over, but that could turn out to be another false promise, or it could make things worse, but no matter what, we will keep you informed. We want to say to each and every one of you who worked tirelessly and against the odds, that we are truly and deeply thankful. Your efforts were heroic in the face of a very deceitful majority.  We also want to say the battle does not end.  As you know, many counties and sheriffs are on record opposing this and we believe there are still opportunities to throw up roadblocks. We will be exploring all of them. Now that the bill is passed, the clock is no longer ticking and we can take our time in planning responses. But one thing won’t wait. As you know there are recalls underway for three of the supporters of this bill. There may be more in the future.  Please do all you can to support these efforts. Val Hoyle Recall  Chuck Riley/Susan McLain Recall

05.01.15

The peddlers of fear are ratcheting up their screeds and pulling out all the stops. New York megalomaniac, Michael Bloomberg, has made a giant media buy in Oregon to spread his freedom smashing agenda to our state.  If nothing changes, the final vote on SB 941 is Monday. We have very little time to drive a stake through the heart of this evil piece of legislation.  There are a handful of Democrats in the House who are on the fence. We need five to stop this atrocious gateway to gun confiscation.  Don’t stop now. Bloomberg is trying to buy our state and our rights. He has a handful of zealous mercenaries but a boatload of money. Please make one more push to let the swing voters know that a vote for this bill will be a mistake. We have listed the House Reps who are in play and a sample message below. They do read their email over the weekend. Rep Brent Barton  503-986-1440   Rep.BrentBarton@state.or.us Rep Deborah Boone  503-986-1432  rep.deborahboone@state.or.us Rep Brian Clem  503-986-1421    rep.brianclem@state.or.us Rep Caddy McKeown  503-986-1409 Rep.CaddyMcKeown@state.or.us Rep  Brad Witt     503- 986-1431  Rep.BradWitt@state.or.us Rep Paul Evans  503-986-1420  Rep.PaulEvans@state.or.us _______________________________________  Dear Representative, As you consider your vote on SB 941, scheduled for Monday, please keep a few things in mind. Every day another sheriff voices his opposition to this dangerous and counterproductive bill. Most recently the Sheriff of Curry County expressed his opposition. 23 counties oppose it. The City of Turner just went on record opposing it. You are, no doubt, being bombarded with the false statistics of the Bloomberg lobby who lie and tell you “81% of gun owners” want their name on a government database.  Have you heard from any of them?  They also tell you that in states where there is universal gun registration  “48% fewer on duty police officers are shot and killed.” But in 2014 in Oregon, exactly NO police officers were shot and killed. What is 48% less than zero? This bill is dangerous, polarizing and opposed by more than half of the state. Please carefully consider the real ramifications of this bill on the people who elected you to protect their liberty. Yours, ____________________________________

04.29.15

The Capitol rumor mill is in overdrive, and while it’s true that Salem is the place where truth goes to take a vacation, one thing is certain, the fight to stop universal gun owner registration is far from over.

As we told you, it looked like SB 941, the gun owner harassment act of 2015, might be on the House Floor as early as today. While things can change at lightning speed when gun grabbers want to bend the rules, as of right this minute the bill is not even scheduled for a “Second Reading” which usually happens the day before it’s voted on. What does this mean for us?

It can only mean one thing. They don’t yet have the votes to ram it through.  As you know, this bill has been fast tracked from the beginning. Bypassing all normal scheduling, the anti-rights zealots have done all they can to race this bill forward. Now it looks like it might be as late as Monday before it is voted on. It could even be later.

This means that your tireless efforts are having an effect and some Democrats are having second thoughts about their career futures should they vote for this deranged attack on your rights.

To be sure, there are plenty who continue to parrot the mindless lies about “dangerous loopholes” and “internet gun trafficking” even when they know what they are saying is false.  Michael Bloomberg continues to throw vast amounts of money on a media onslaught against liberty, but… if Val Hoyle had this nailed down, they would have voted on it already.

That’s why now is the time to turn up the heat. If you’ve been working hard at contacting legislators, we are going to ask you to do it again. If you’ve never made your voice heard, now is the time to do it.

As we told you on Monday, there are a handful of Democrats who we think need to hear from you now.

We’ve listed them below but want to add one more to our previous list. Please also contact Rep. Paul Evans. His phone number is 503-986-1420, email   Rep.PaulEvans@state.or.us

Evans is no friend of gun owners. His rant in the hard left blog “Blue Oregon” shows just how extreme he is. In it, he calls for registration of “automatic weapons,” (which he defines as  “hand guns as well as rifles,”) with the county sheriffs.

Aside from how much he demonstrates his ignorance of firearms and current law, he also calls for amending the US Constitution to redefine the Second Amendment. However, we have reason to believe Evans would like to portray himself as pro-gun. So he’s wavering.  Please contact Evans, and the legislators below, with a message that your rights are not negotiable.   Sample text follows after the contact info for the other House Reps who need to hear from you.

Rep Brent Barton  503-986-1440   Rep.BrentBarton@state.or.us

Rep Deborah Boone  503-986-1432  rep.deborahboone@state.or.us

Rep Brian Clem  503-986-1421    rep.brianclem@state.or.us

Rep Betty Komp   503-986-1422 rep.bettykomp@state.or.us

Rep Caddy McKeown  503-986-1409 Rep.CaddyMcKeown@state.or.us

Rep  Brad Witt     503- 986-1431  Rep.BradWitt@state.or.us

______________________________________________________

Dear Representative,

The supporters of SB 941 have made it clear that this bill will not stop criminals. In fact, the Oregon State Police report that they virtually never take action against prohibited people who try to buy guns. So who does this bill actually affect? People like me. People who obey the law. People who want to be able to safely store a firearm for a friend or neighbor. People who want to be able to protect someone whose life is in danger. People who vote.

I am outraged that the promoters of this attack on my rights continue to lie about this bill. They continue to parrot the disproven claims about how many people want to have their privacy invaded and their names put in a government data base. They continue to repeat the lies about “unregulated internet gun sales” and they continue to call my rights “a loophole.” I am not a criminal and will not be treated like one.

My rights, my privacy and my property are not “loopholes.”   Vote no on SB 941.

Yours,

___________________________________________________________________________

 

Please support these recall efforts:

 Val Hoyle recall campaign.

Chuck Riley, Susan McLain recall campaign.

 

04.28.15

The Oregon Senate, on an almost party line vote, today passed Senator Mark Hass’s ivory ban bill. (Republican Brian Boquist voted with the Democrats.)

SB 913 will, with limited exception, ban the sale of ivory. While the bill purports to save African elephants from Al Qaeda terrorists (no really, that’s what Hass stated on the Senate floor.)  what it actually does is destroy the value of property that may have been in your family for generations or that you acquired perfectly legally. Seems the Democrats are determined to steal as much of what you own as possible. While pretending to protect endangered species, the bill also outlaws the sale of mammoth tusks.   We have it on good authority that the mammoth is no longer on the endangered species list.  Apparently Senator Hass is unaware of this.

The bill allows for an exception if the ivory makes up less than 20% of a gun or knife by volume. and you can document that the gun or knife was manufactured before 1976.  Of course this means that the amount of ivory in question is immaterial, only how much of the “volume” of a gun or knife it makes up.

Senator Alan Olsen asked Senator Hass a few questions about the bill. We’ll share them in reverse order.

Olsen wanted to know how a person “documents” that the item in question was manufactured before 1976. For example, could you write a letter to yourself saying this was so?

Hass replied this was “up to law enforcement.” But the far more astonishing answer was when Hass was asked how one determines the “volume” of a firearm.

Olsen simply asked “How do you measure the volume of a gun?” Hass’s response after a long pause was: (not making this up) “By weight…or volume.”

There you have it folks. You measure volume… by volume.  You are forgiven if you think we are doomed when people making laws  reason this way.

The bill also makes exceptions for some musical instruments. Just for a laugh someone should ask Hass how to measure the volume of a piano. The bill now moves to the House.

But while lunacy reigns in Salem, there is some hope on the local front.

Traci Brumbles and Ray Biggs will be on the ballot being mailed tomorrow, 4/29/15, for the Saint Helens School Board in District 502 of Columbia County.

Both Traci and Ray are supporters of the Constitution, the 2nd Amendment and are friends of OFF. Ray is an incumbent and was instrumental in the repeal of the District Policy that refused to allow staff and volunteers to carry concealed handguns on school grounds though perfectly legal under state law.

Both of these candidates could use your support and. if you live in the district, please consider casting your vote for them. If you have questions for them, Traci can be contacted at idoliquor@msn.com (liquor agent) and Ray can be reached at 503-397-6061 .

04.27.15 The House vote on the liberty smashing, privacy invading, woman attacking SB 941 will happen any day. It could be as soon as this Wednesday. Republicans plan to introduce alternatives (minority reports) and this might slow it down, but not by much. We are heading into the home stretch on one of the worst anti-gun bills in the country. If 941 passes, it will make it illegal for someone to leave a firearm in your safekeeping unless they first conducted a background check on you. Consider the implications.  Your friend or neighbor is suddenly faced with the critical need to remove a firearm from her house. Perhaps she is experiencing a mental health crisis. Maybe she suddenly finds herself having to care for someone who should not have a gun available. You’re willing to store the gun in your safe, but you are forbidden from doing so until you pass a background check which could take months ! Or, the opposite happens. Someone you know is in fear for her life and has no way to protect herself. You cannot provide a firearm to her unless she passes a check by the Oregon State Police. Because the system so often fails, for some this could be a death sentence. Want to lend a friend a hunting rifle? Sorry that’s illegal. What if you have a firearms trust? Can those guns be transferred? No one knows. 23 counties have opposed this bill. Many sheriffs have come out in opposition. Even its sponsors and supporters admit it won’t stop crime. But the vast majority of Democrats in the legislature have chosen to ignore them, and you, to ramrod this bill through as another building block towards complete registration and confiscation.  They have continued to read from a discredited script like mindless drones. We have little time to defeat this, so please contact the Democrats listed below. These are the people who can kill this bill. (Democrat Jeff Barker has already made it clear he will oppose this terrible bill.) The Bloomberg funded anti-gunners have pulled out all the stops with media campaigns and email blitzes.  Time to double down. Please send the message, “SB 941 does nothing to stop criminals but endangers the law abiding, especially single women with no protection against predators.  The promoters of this bill have put a bull’s eye on the backs of the most vulnerable. Vote no on SB 941.” Rep Brent Barton  503-986-1440   Rep.BrentBarton@state.or.us Rep Deborah Boone  503-986-1432  rep.deborahboone@state.or.us Rep Brian Clem  503-986-1421    rep.brianclem@state.or.us Rep Betty Komp   503-986-1422 rep.bettykomp@state.or.us Rep Caddy McKeown  503-986-1409 Rep.CaddyMcKeown@state.or.us Rep  Brad Witt       503- 986-1431  Rep.BradWitt@state.or.us Please Act Now. Val Hoyle recall campaign. Chuck Riley, Susan McLain recall campaign.