Category: OFF Alerts

03.27.15 In the recent past, Oregon Sheriffs have taken a vocal and passionate stand in defense of the 2nd Amendment rights of the people who elected them.  Now? With a tiny number of exceptions, like Sheriff Glenn Palmer of Grant County, who has proudly stood for gun rights, the sheriffs and the Sheriffs Association have been silent. The Sheriffs of Oregon are the last bastion of defense against the tyranny of the Portland controlled legislature, but despite promises to take a stand, they have been AWOL on the coming legislation to require that you beg for permission from the State Police before you can exercise your “right” to keep and bear arms. If you don’t think the failed background check system can hurt you, consider the email OFF received today from a gun dealer. In his message he said “I currently am the FFL licensee for my gun store. On 3-20-15 I purchased a Ruger 10/22 for a birthday present for my wife. Imagine my surprise when an employee of mine ran a background on me, the ffl holder, and a delay until May 1st was returned as a response. That’s a 41 day delay for someone licensed by the federal government to handle the sale and disposition of firearms.  It is no wonder why I have simple transfers that are still pending from as early as the first of November 2014 in my files from people who have never committed a crime in their life. This should not only be a severe outrage to me, and those like me, but also to any who hold our system with even the slightest regard.” This kind of insane nonsense has to stop, and it has to stop here. Please contact the Oregon Sheriff’s Association and tell them you expect them to take a stand, now, to protect your rights.  You can find contact info for your sheriff here. Please consider a message to the President of the Oregon State Sheriff’s Association, Jason Myers, asking him why he, and so many other sheriffs, have been silent on the latest attack on your rights and your privacy. Contact info for Sheriff Myers  (jmyers@co.marion.or.us) Sample message: Dear Sheriff Myers, In the past, many Oregon Sheriffs have proudly stood in defense of the 2nd Amendment Rights of the people who elected them. Now, even though your own county, Marion, has joined over 20 other Oregon counties in opposition to more restrictions on our rights, the Oregon State Sheriff’s Association has been silent on the latest attack, SB 941.  You knew this bill was coming. It was no secret. When are you, and the other sheriff’s going to stand up against this attack on my liberty and privacy? Yours, _________________________

03.26.15

Just in time for April Fools Day,  SB 941 , the gun owner registration bill, is scheduled for a hearing on April 1 at 8AM in Hearing Room 50 before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

We told you they were going to race this through and they sure are. The anti-gunners in the Oregon Senate are bypassing all  the normal rules and slamming this bill through as fast as they can. What normally takes weeks is happening in a single day. The bill was introduced this morning, already had its “first reading” was assigned to a committee and scheduled for a hearing at lightning speed. We have seen the Senate President pull this kind of sneaky move before to try to pass anti-gun bills.

The bill is scheduled to be voted on in that committee the following day, April 2.

This bill is far worse then we expected. You will NOT be allowed to transfer a firearm by simply calling the State Police (which often ends in a false denial anyway.) Under this bill you will be required to run the transaction through a dealer. The potential complications of this are too many to list. Most dealers will want nothing to do with this, the cost will be high and that is only if you happen to be in a place where there is a dealer available!

We MUST turn up the heat to defeat this dreadful Bloomberg funded bill!  If you can be at this hearing, please come. But if not, please be sure to contact the legislature and express your outrage at this attack on your rights.  We have very little time.

03.26.15

The long promised gun owner registration bill has been introduced.  SB 941 requires police background checks on private transfers of firearms. Now the failed background check system you are subject to at gun stores will be required when you give a gun to your best friend.

The bill has a long list of co-sponsors including Val Hoyle who at one time seemed to be rational on this issue.

We have been reliably informed that this bill is going to be fast tracked through the Senate. Please, right now, contact your representatives and express your outrage at this new and dangerous assault on your privacy and liberty.

The current background check system is a joke. Most people who are denied are denied with no justification and the very few people who are actually “prohibited persons” are virtually never arrested. So what is the purpose of this bill? The purpose is simply to harass legitimate gun owners and expand the universe of registered guns and gun owners.

You can send a message to the entire legislature here.

You can find your own legislators here. You will want to contact the people under the tabs “Senate” and “House.”

We are in a race now folks. Please act now.

03.25.15

Today the Senate Judiciary Committee heard SB 525. The bill expands the ability of the state to seize firearms from people who have been neither accused of, nor convicted of, committing a crime.

The room was filled with supporters whose testimony can only be described as incoherent, inconsistent and misleading.

Everyone who testified in favor came armed with statistics. The statistics  had only one thing in common…they had nothing in common. Some of these statistics seemed to come out of thin air. Most made little sense.

One common theme was that battered women are safer when their abusive spouse or partner is disarmed.  But this all assumed that the victim continued to live or cohabitate with her abuser. No one explained why an abused woman would, or even could, continue to live with a person against whom she had a restraining order.

Representative Carla Piluso attempted to illustrate the need for taking guns away from persons who were the respondents to restraining orders by recounting a crime she responded to when she was a police officer.  She described arriving on the seen of a domestic disturbance with shots fired. Inside the apartment the suspect had shot and killed his wife and then himself.

Everyone would agree that this kind of incident is horrific, more so because children were present. But then she mentioned that the perpetrator was a felon with a history of violence, who, of course, was already prohibited from owning a firearm.  How this could be a justification for taking guns away from people who have not been convicted of any crime is inexplicable.

Oregon’s Attorney General, Ellen Rosenblum, who has been in the news a lot lately because of her handling (or mishandling) of the investigation into disgraced former Governor John Kitzhaber, also testified in favor of the bill, but when questioned by Senator Kim Thatcher, was forced to admit that, yes, the bill takes rights away from people who have been convicted of nothing, people who have never even been charged with a crime.

Most disturbing about the testimony from all the people in favor of this dangerous bill was, in spite of the massive showing by those in the entrepreneurial victimhood lobby,  that while they were all in support of taking away rights from people never adjudicated to have committed a crime, not a single one ever suggested in anyway that victims of domestic violence should be encouraged to acquire the tools and knowledge they need to keep themselves and their families safe instead of relying on pieces of paper. But we did.

The bill was not voted on today. We will keep you posted.

 

 

03.23.05

Tomorrow, as you know, the Senate Judiciary Committee will be hearing SB 913, a bill to outlaw the sale of ivory.  This does not outlaw the sale of new ivory, it outlaws the sale of almost all ivory no matter how old.

An amendment to the bill limits the definition of “ivory” to mean the tusk or tooth of elephants or mammoths and allows you to sell a gun or knife if it is less than 20% ivory by volume, and it has to be over 100 years old!

This is borderline crackpot stuff.  How does a police officer trying to decide if you have broken the law, by selling grandpa’s old single action with ivory grips, go about determining the “volume” of a gun?

The proponents of this bill say they want to save elephants.  How in the world do you save an elephant by rendering valueless an item that has ivory that’s 99 years old in it? And what could they possibly be thinking by including “mammoths” in this legislation? Mammoths are, well…extinct. Really. It was in all the papers.

Oddly, the bill still allows you to give ivory away. So, if you want to sell that old gun with the ivory grips, make sure you take the grips off when you sell the gun and give the grips away. Don’t even ask about determining the volume of a piano.

If you have not already done so, please contact the Senate Judiciary Committee Chair, Floyd Prozanski and tell him this bill makes no sense.Sen.FloydProzanski@state.or.us .

On Wednesday a very dangerous bill will be heard in the same committee.  SB 525, in its current form, is one more effort to find a way to ban guns from as many people as possible. As you know, it is now illegal for a person who has been convicted of a “domestic violence misdemeanor” to own a firearm or a single round of ammunition.   This bill wants to expand what “domestic violence” means.

The bill, on page 2, line 7, expands “qualifying misdemeanor crime involving domestic violence committed against a family or household member” to  any other misdemeanor “that involves as an element of the crime the use of physical force.”

Included in the definition of “household members” are “adult persons related by blood, marriage or adoption. “ So, if you get into a shoving match with your obnoxious brother in law, now you will be treated like a wife beater and a judge will have unlimited discretion to forbid you from having firearms.

Several amendments have been offered to this bill. One simply corrects a numbering error in the original bill. The two others are real improvements.

The “dash 3” amendment removes the language that expands the definition of domestic violence.

That is important. The “dash 1” amendment removes the arbitrary ability of judges to take away gun rights.

Judges now have the power to take firearms away from people who have not been accused of, let alone convicted of a crime . This is a power too often abused. The “dash 1” amendment will go a long way towards correcting this lack of due process.

Please contact the Judiciary Committee and tell them you oppose SB 525 unless it is amended with the “dash 1” and “dash 3” amendments.

You can send a message to the entire committee, and get your message on the record, by sending it to Committee Administrator, Laura Handzel.
(laura.handzel@state.or.us)

A sample message follows, please feel free to alter it.

To the Judiciary Committee,
SB 525 expands the definition of “domestic violence” well beyond what any reasonable person would determine it to be.  This is dangerous and counterproductive. Please remove this provision.
Right now, judges have virtually unlimited discretion to take away firearm’s rights from people who have not been accused of, let alone convicted of, any crime.  The proposed “dash 1” amendment would correct this often abused activity and allow an accused person to seek due process. I urge you to support this amendment if you move this bill forward.

 

Thank you,

________________

Finally, Ceasefire Oregon, citing an “internal miscommunication,” has retracted an earlier email telling their supporter that Representative Jeff Barker was in favor of universal gun owner registration in the guise of “universal background checks.” As we told you previously, this was simply false.

03.20.15

First Pro-Gun Victory.

Yesterday your voice was heard loud and clear. HB 2628, which was sold as a bill to eliminate fees for persons requesting stalking orders, but contained a huge anti-gun provision, was amended to remove the anti-gun language. If you are interested, the amendment can be seen here. Thanks to all who took the time to contact the Chair of the Committee, Representative Jeff Barker. (This bill is expected to affect a grand total of 4 people a year.)

Yesterday, Ceasefire Oregon sent out an email asking their supporters to “Thank Jeff Barker for supporting background checks! Please call or email Rep. Jeff Barker, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and thank him for supporting the expected bill, to close background check loopholes in Oregon.”

Well it looks like Penny Okamoto is hitting the sake again. As with almost of all of what CFO says, there is not a word of truth to this. Rep. Barker has been one of the staunchest supporters of gun rights during the entire time he has served in the legislature. Nothing has changed. When you got nothing, make stuff up.

Representative Barker does deserve thanks however, for standing up for your rights. Please consider a note to him letting him know you appreciate his continued support. Rep.JeffBarker@state.or.us
.

Second Pro-Gun Victory

Marion County has added itself to the long list of counties taking a stand for your rights. The Marion County Commissioners have passed a resolution in support of the Second Amendment. We welcome them and thank them for their stand.

Not all commissioners are as courageous.  Lane County Commissioner Jay Bozievich, who campaigned as a pro Second Amendment candidate, and who scheduled a pro-gun rights resolution only to flip flop and unschedule it, has belittled the entire process of counties taking a stand. Bozievich had told us, after removing the pro-gun resolution from the schedule, that he preferred to have his “lobbyists” work on Floyd Prozanski to change his mind about the coming bill to force universal gun-owner registration. Now that’s a pretty absurd position, but when we contacted him recently, after multiple news reports about the coming legislation, and asked how the lobbying efforts were going, he responded with “Fine how are those resolutions working for you? You should listen to KPNW’s interview with Prozanski. He totally blew them off.”  It is, of course, incomprehensible that an actual elected official would think that because someone as militantly anti-gun as Prozanski would not admit that your efforts and the hard work of all the county commissioners were having an effect, that they are not.  Lane County needs commissioners who are not so disconnected from reality.

Your tax dollars at work.

On March 24, the Senate Judiciary Committee will be hearing SB 913.  This bill outlaws the sale of ivory. Now, keep in mind, the importation of ivory is already illegal. This bill makes it illegal to sell ivory you already own, not matter how old it is. It is a new low for stupidity and sure won’t keep any elephants safe.  Not only would this affect things like the ivory grips on your grandpa’s revolver, but anything that has ivory in it. An amendment has been introduced with exceptions for guns and knives, but the exceptions are ridiculous. The gun or knife would have to be “less than 20% ivory by volume” and you would have to document that the gun or knife is “not less than 100 years old.”

Ivory is defined as “all or part of a tusk or tooth, in raw form or worked form, from an elephant or mammoth.” Yes, a “mammoth.” So, all you folks with mammoth teeth… turn ’em in.

The chair of the committee is, of course, Floyd Prozanski.  We can’t think of a message to him that sums it up better than “Dear Floyd… SB 913. Are you kidding?”

 

03.18.15

Living in a state controlled by anti-gun militants can be frustrating, but your hard work is clearly having a positive effect. But don’t relax just yet, there is more to do.

On March 5th we asked you to contact the House Judiciary Chairman and ask that he remove dangerous language from HB 2628.

That language in the bill would allow a judge to seize firearms from a person who was the recipient of a “stalking order.”  The problem, of course, is that being on the receiving end of a “stalking order” may mean no more than someone is trying to harass you. It does not mean you’ve been accused of, let alone convicted of, a crime.

Well your voices were heard. An amendment to the bill to remove the language that threatened gun owners has been introduced.  The bill is due to be heard again tomorrow and we expect it to pass in its amended form. We will, of course, keep you updated.

On March 12th we told you about Deschutes County’s continued refusal to take a stand for your rights in spite of overwhelming support for that position among residents. County Chair Tony DeBone was sending a message to voters saying “When there is a specific bill number then we may take a position in support or opposition.”

This has been the position of commissioners of several other counties. They wanted to take no action until “they saw a bill.” The obvious problem with this approach is that it waits until things are being rammed through before taking a stand.  In other words, doing nothing until it’s too late. It’s also odd that elected officials would act as though the offending bill was merely a “possibility.” The Democrat leadership has promised a gun owner registration bill and they control both houses. It’s no secret the bill is coming.

Now as a result of your continued activism, Deschutes County has somewhat changed its tune, but it’s clearly intended to get gun rights activists to leave them alone while really doing nothing.

On March 16, after saying “At this time I am not proceeding with a resolution from Deschutes county.” and  “The commissioners have determined that the most effective path at this time is to focus on specific legislation. We have directed staff to research any bills that involve firearms and the second amendment in Oregon’s current legislative session.” Chairman Tony Debone and the other two county commissioners did in fact sign a resolution. The resolution was proposed by Commissioner Tammy Baney, according to an email she is sending to voters, and contains the following statement:

“WHEREAS, Commissioners Tammy Baney, Alan Unger and Anthony DeBone are unwilling to single out any one section, Amendment or provision of the Constitution based on their concern that doing so will create the perception that one Amendment is more important than any other or the Constitution as a whole…”

But of course, the fact is, that there is one Amendment to the Constitution that is under direct attack by the anti-gun leaders in Salem, and it is the Second.

This resolution is nothing more than an attempt to give the appearance of doing “something” while accomplishing nothing. We suggest you continue to contact the commissioners until they have taken an unequivocal stand in defense of  your rights. Maybe Deschutes will have to follow the lead of Coos County where residents who, tired of the inaction of their commission, are taking matters into their own hands.  Maybe the residents of Lane County will have to do the same. In spite of  concentrated efforts to get Lane County to take a stand, their commissioners have stonewalled with the same tired excuses about “waiting for a bill.” Well time is running out. And with every passing day, counties like Deschutes and Lane are looking like places in need of some real representation.

 

03.12.15

Yesterday, Josephine County passed its pro-rights resolution 2-1.
The opposition came from Commissioner Cherryl Walker who supports gun owner registration.

Fortunately the other two commissioners were willing to take a strong stand in defense of the Second Amendment.  Our congratulations to the people of Josephine County and our thanks to Commissioners Heck and Hare for their courageous stand for liberty.

03.12.15

In the long and very successful battle for our rights, we have watched county after county stand with the citizens and make strong public statements defending our Second Amendment rights.

There have been a few curious hold outs. Obviously Lane County is one of them. But even stranger is Deschutes County.

Although many county residents have been working to get Deschutes to stand alongside them, the county chair has decided that he’d prefer to dodge, weave, and stall.

County Chair Tony DeBone, elected with the votes and financial support of gun owners who believed he would help protect them, has decided he wants nothing to do with a real stand. His recent statement to activists in his county:

“We have directed staff to research any bills that involve firearms and the second amendment in Oregon’s current legislative session. When there is a specific bill number then we may take a position in support or opposition.”

 

 

This is nothing more than dereliction of duty and cowardice.  DeBone knows very well that waiting until the bill is introduced and moving is no different from approving more attacks on our rights. What does he mean he “may take a position“?  It means he “may” do his job someday.

That is simply not acceptable.  Deschutes County is now almost surrounded by counties who have had the courage to take a stand. (Notably, Lane County to their west is playing the same game.)

Deschutes is in the heart of central Oregon. Outside of Portland, Oregon is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment and the politicians of Deschutes have no excuse for running from their responsibilities. Please contact DeBone and demand he stop playing games with your rights.
Tell him to take a stand NOW for the residents of Deschutes County, as so many other counties have done.

Contact info and suggested message:

Tony DeBone, Commissioner Chair

Phone : (541) 388-6568

Email :Tony.DeBone@deschutes.org

_______________________________________________________

Chair DeBone,

I am shocked that you have chosen to ignore the people who elected you and you refuse to take a stand for the Second Amendment rights of the people of Deschutes County.
Most counties have had the courage to step up. Even Clackamas County, with parts of Portland in it, took a stand.
Your position of waiting for a bill to be introduced that will attack our rights plays directly into the hands of the gun grabbers. You know this legislation has been promised. Stop playing games.
Introduce a strong pro-gun ordinance immediately.

Yours,

_________________

 

03.10.15

Tomorrow, the Josephine County Commissioners will be discussing Resolution 2015-012 “In the Matter of Adopting A County Resolution on the Subject of Universal Background Checks for Firearms Purchases.”

We have not seen the resolution but have reason to believe it will be a good one. (UPDATE, here is the resolution.)  The Commission will meet at 5:30 PM at  500 N.W. 6th Street Dept. 6, Grants Pass. A strong showing by gun owners will go a long way to making the passage of this resolution a reality. Please attend if you can and please send a note of support for the resolution to the Commissioners.

Every day we see more reports about the expected introduction of a privacy invading, liberty destroying, gun owner registration bill. With every new county that steps up to oppose it, we increase our odds of killing this dangerous legislation. We look forward to adding Josephine County to the ever growing list of counties and cities that support your Constitutional rights.

To see who has taken a stand so far, and to send a message to the counties that have not, please see this link. Lane County and Deschutes are long overdue to step up.

Please tell the Josephine County Commissioners  you support a resolution opposing universal background checks and gun owner registration.

Commissioner Simon Hare share@co.josephine.or.us

Commissioner Cherryl Walker  cwalker@co.josephine.or.us

Commissioner Keith Heck  kheck@co.josephine.or.us

Phone for all: (541) 474-5221

 

03.05.15

Today, the House Judiciary Committee will be hearing two bills of interest to gun owners, HB 2628 and HB 2915.

HB 2915 allows a small tax credit for the purchase of a”qualifying gun safe.”

As far as we can tell, this bill is mostly symbolic.

HB 2628 is troublesome.  It adds the following language to the stalking order statute:

(c) The court may specify other relief in the order that the court finds necessary to:

(A) Provide for the safety and welfare of the victim and the children in the custody of the victim;

This language currently appears in ORS 107.718, the statute dealing with restraining orders.  This language is frequently used by judges to confiscate firearms from people who have not only not been convicted of crimes, they have not even been formally accused of crimes. Those people lose their rights with no due process.

Please contact the Chair of the committee and tell him you oppose expanding unlimited firearm’s prohibitions by judges, against people who have not been convicted of crimes.

Contact info and sample text follow:

Chairman Jeff Barker

Rep.JeffBarker@state.or.us

Dear Chairman Barker,

HB 2628 gives almost unlimited power to judges to confiscate firearms from people who have not been convicted of crimes. This power is currently being used against gun owners via other statutes such as  ORS 107.718. While well intentioned, there is virtually no due process for those whose rights are taken away by judges. I urge you to remove the language in 2628 that gives judges this unlimited power and find a balance for people who may be falsely targeted with a “stalking order.”

Yours,

03.04.15

Today both Tillamook and Curry County passed pro 2nd Amendment resolutions.  This was a great day for pro rights activists and more proof of the power of the grass roots.

The lies the anti-gunners keep repeating that “87%” of Oregonians and “most gun owners” support further intrusions on their privacy and more attacks on their rights are daily falling apart.

Congratulations to both counties and congratulations to the hard working activists who made this happen.

 

 

03.03.15

Yesterday the City of Myrtle Point sent a message to the Coos County Commissioners and unanimously passed a pro Second Amendment resolution that the County would not.

The resolution specifically opposes the proposed expansion of the gun owner registration system. Congratulations Myrtle Point for leading the way. We expect other cities to follow.

“Moms Demand Action” is amping up its screed against gun rights to county commissioners with its usual boatload of lies. Now is not the time to relax.

Tomorrow Tillamook County will be hearing a pro Second Amendment resolution. The commission meeting starts at 8:30 am. Public comments start at 10 am. County Commission contact info, location and agenda can be found here. If you can attend, please do. Whether you can or not, please contact the commissioners with this simple message; “I am strongly in favor of the resolution supporting the Second Amendment.”

Columbia County is still dragging its feet even though a pro-gun resolution has been brought before them. A call or email to them reminding them that many other counties have stepped up would be in order. Ask them what they are waiting for.

Corvallis once again took no action on a loaded carry ban. They have considered an ordinance, a resolution, a statement and may now be lurching towards a city wide suggestion that everyone be nice to each other. This nonsense over one sighting of one person with an openly carried firearm who threatened no one and committed no crime. Really Corvallis City Council, don’t you have anything real to deal with?

Once again, thank you for all the hard work each of you are doing that makes these victories possible.

More Counties Consider Resolutions, Cities Start To Stand Up, Corvallis Back In The News, SB 385 Heard But Not Acted On.

02.27.15

The first Oregon city to consider a stand against the expansion of intrusive background checks will be Myrtle Point Oregon.

On Monday, March 2, the City Council will be considering Resolution 2015-06, “Opposing Expansion of the Firearms Background Check System.” Residents are encouraged to attend. The time and location are in this agenda.

We want to thank Councilman Dan Martin for bringing this to our attention and thank the City Council for considering this important resolution.  We encourage you to ask your town to take similar action. Coos County may have voted down a resolution, but their town of Myrtle Point is taking a stand.

There is plenty of action on other fronts as well. While almost daily we add counties to the list of places standing up for Second Amendment rights, there are still some who are stalling, making excuses and dragging their feet. Although commissioners in Benton County have been asked to consider a resolution like the kinds their neighbors have passed, for now they seem reluctant to take action. Washington County has stated “…the Washington County Commissioners have decided not to make a statement or take any actions regarding gun rights and the 2^nd Amendment.”

As we have seen in the past, some Commissioners seem to think it’s not their job or they don’t see what the “goal” is. Well, as we have seen time and again, it is their job, and the goal is obvious. To send a clear message to Salem about what Oregonians really feel about their rights.

Please consider sending a message to Benton County Chair Jay Dixon asking him to stand up and make a statement for your rights. jay.dixon@co.benton.or.us or 541-766-6800

Curry County will again be considering a resolution on March 4th. As you know, this issue was on their agenda on Feb.18th.  This resolution is a different version. Be there if you can. The meeting is at 10 am at the County Courthouse Annex in Gold Beach. Please contact the commissioners with a message of support.

 

The Josephine County Commission has reported that they will be considering a Second Amendment Resolution on March 5th. The Josephine County Commissioners meet at the Courthouse, 500 NW 6th Street, Grants Pass.  We believe this meeting will be at 9am, call 541-474-5221  for confirmation. Please attend if you can. Please also send a note of support for the resolution to the commissioners.

Simon Hare share@co.josephine.or.us

Cherryl Walker  cwalker@co.josephine.or.us

Keith Heck kheck@co.josephine.or.us

 

If you have been following the shenanigans in Corvallis, you know that for several months, a tiny group of phobic busybodies have been trying to get the City to erode the rights of gun owners. It seemed for a while that the City figured out that the proposed attacks were neither wise nor enforceable. But some folks never give up. Here is an interesting editorial from Corvallis’s Gazette-Times about next Monday’s pending action in that city. For those who want to attend the city council’s meeting, the agenda, with location, is here.

Finally, as we told you, SB 385 was heard yesterday in the Senate Judiciary Committee. This utterly pointless and unnecessary bill would have banned licensed carry in Municipal and Justice Courts. Of course, since those courts meet in places that serve many other purposes, like city council chambers, the bill would have greatly expanded the list of “off limits” location for CHL holders even when the courts were not in session.  The most ridiculous part of this is that judges in those courts already have the power to ban guns when their court is meeting, and many do. Oddly the judges who requested this bill did not know this was current law.  Not very reassuring if you should ever have to appear before them. After explaining this to the committee, they took no action on the bill, but the bill is not dead and we will keep watching it.