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PROHIBITED PLACES, PART ONE. |
We
are often asked where persons with Oregon concealed handgun
licenses MAY NOT have their firearms, You would think this would
be an easy question to answer, after all the law is pretty clear
isn't it? Well yes it is. The problem is getting anyone to obey
it.
Let's start with schools. CHL holders are allowed in all public
schools from K through college. But an awful lot of schools
have not done their homework. (And we wonder why Johnny can't
read.)
For example, here's a photo
(right) from the front door of the
Chief Joseph Elementary School in Portland.The sign says
all weapons are prohibited. It goes on to warn "This
includes weapons carried under a concealed weapons (sic)permit."
It warns potential transgressors that they are "subject
to arrest."
Putting aside for a moment that Oregon does not issue "concealed
weapons permits," this school just like every other public
school in the state, has NO authority to forbid a person with
a concealed handgun license from entering school property. While
both Oregon and Federal law forbid people from being on school
property with firearms, concealed handgun license holders are
exempt from both laws. Oregon statute 166.370 forbids firearms
in "public buildings" which schools are, but subsection
B says"this section does not apply
to:... (d) A person who is licensed under ORS 166.291 and 166.292
to carry a concealed handgun." As we have said elsewhere,
if you have a chl you
may carry unto public school property.
Of course, it's not only schools that like to make up their
own rules. Here is a photo of the front door of the Bend Police
 Department.The
sign says "No Firearms With Or Without A Permit."It
also says "All persons and property subject to search."
As you can imagine, we were a bit surprised to learn that the
4th amendment had been suspended in Bend. You may remember that
relic of the past. It says"The
right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,
and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall
not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable
cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing
the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
We contacted the Bend Chief of Police in March of 2007. At the
time, the Chief was Andy Jordon. (He is no longer in that position).
We suggested that perhaps he did not have the authority to search
people simply because they entered a building that their tax
dollars had paid for. He had an interesting reply. It is reproduced
here, in its entirety.
I have reviewed ORS 166.370 as did
our City Attorney. We are both in agreement that you are correct
regarding this particular statute and we will be removing the
language posted at the entrance to our police facility. We also
believe that as the person in control of the police facility,
I do have the authority to prevent dangerous weapons of any
type to be brought into our facility. We have temporary holding
facilities for prisoners, we are a safe haven for victims of
crime and therefore we need to control dangerous weapons entering
our facility. There is no statutory mandate for the public to
access our facility and therefore we do have control of who
enters our facility and specifically, we can ban dangerous weapons
from our facility. Anyone entering our facility with a dangerous
weapon would be subject to arrest under trespassing statutes.
The current language at our entrance will be removed but we
will continue to ban firearms and other dangerous weapons.
If you have any further concerns please contact me or Bend City
Attorney James Forbes at 541-382-3917.
Sincerely,
Andy Jordan, Chief of Police
Bend, Oregon
541-322-2970
Now that is a pretty fascinating position. Since you have
no "statutory mandate" to visit the police department,
the (former) chief believes he can make up a rule that no Oregon
law gives him authority to create. As you can imagine, we followed
up with the Chief and questioned his right to continue to bar
license holders in spite of the clear language of Oregon law,
which allows license holders in public buildings with firearms.
(Once again ORS 166.370) There is no question that a police
headquarters is a "public building" under Oregon law.
The Chief responded in a way which should chill anyone who thinks
they still have rights. Here's what he said:
"Regarding access to our facility, I was trying to say
that we do not have to open our building to the public and therefore,
we can prevent entrance to anyone." He continued
: " Our authority, we believe,
is the trespass statute. We would under normal circumstances,
request an armed subject(if we know) to leave the building and
not return if they are armed. If they refused to leave or returned
with a weapon, after being advised they could not possess a
weapon, then they would be subject to arrest. So that you are
aware, we have used the trespass statute to ban people from
our building when they have caused disturbances and this is
legal. The gun issue is no different in our eyes."
Here is a Chief of Police,
comparing persons with concealed handgun licenses to persons
who "create disturbances."
It is not clear if the new Chief
of Police is currently obeying the law or if the signs have
been changed. If you know, or have a photo, please let us know.
But there are plenty of other places where the law is broken
by people who are sworn to uphold it.
Here is a photo
of the Deschutes County Commissioners Building. It was taken
in 2007 and since then, they have promised to remove the sign.
We have no confirmation that they did. But it is startling that
they actually posted a sign saying that something that is legal
is a "felony."
Part Two
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© 2000 - 2008, Oregon Firearms Federation. All Rights Reserved.
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