Tag: anti-gun bills

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Betsy Johnson Now Talking Gun Control

06.04.13

 

Senator Betsy Johnson, who until now has been a solid “no” on new gun restrictions, appears to be changing her mind.

After a stint away from the Capitol due to a car accident, she has said she is open to a “reasonable background check bill.”

NY billionaire Michael Bloomberg just dropped over a million dollars in Nevada to ram through this kind of new attack on gun rights. And we know he’s planning to spend heavily here in Oregon.

We found it strange that the anti-gun bills were being held up, and some were saying the Democrats were waiting until Johnson got out of the hospital, but since she has been adamant about voting “no” that made no sense.  Now maybe it does.

Clearly Senator Johnson is feeling incredible heat from her caucus and the money sure to come into Oregon from Bloomberg is not going to help us either.

In Nevada, Justin Jones, a Democratic State Senator who sponsored Bloomberg’s anti-gun bill there, was quoted as saying he hoped Bloomberg would stay involved in Nevada politics. “It never hurts to have friends with money,” he said.

And trust us, this fight is going to be all about money and Bloomberg has an unlimited supply to impose his totalitarian plans.

Johnson, we have been told, is part of the appointed “work group” on gun control. Based on her past assurance that she would stand up for gun rights, this is very bad news indeed.

Please contact Senator Johnson and ask her to stick by her promises to protect Oregonians’ gun rights. No amount of money from an out-of-state billionaire should be able to buy our liberty.

Contact info and sample message follow.

Senator Betsy Johnson
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1716
District Phone: 503-543-4046
900 Court St NE, S-209, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: Sen.BetsyJohnson@state.or.us
Website: http://www.leg.state.or.us/johnson

____________________________________________________________________

Dear Senator Johnson,

After your courageous stand defending my gun rights, I was very disappointed to hear you are considering supporting an expansion of the failed background check system here in Oregon.

You may know that Michael Bloomberg just spent over million dollars to ram though a similar bill in Nevada.

As an Oregonian, I am deeply offended that a billionaire is trying to buy my freedom.  I strongly urge you to reject his hypocritical agenda.

Remember, when Bloomberg travels to his mansion in Bermuda, he takes armed NY cops with him even though even the Bermuda Police don’t have guns.

Bloomberg’s cynical, deceitful agenda must not be allowed to control our legislature.

Sincerely,

__________________________________________________________________________________

http://www.oregonlive.com/mapes/index.ssf/2013/06/why_oregon_gun_bill_isnt_dead.html
_________________________________________________

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GUN BILLS NOT DEAD

06.03.13

Many of you may have received an email from NRA last week warning  of the possible revival of SB 700.

SB 700 is the expansion on background checks that would require you to ask the police for permission to give a rifle to your nephew.

Since that alert was sent, we have received reliable confirmations from Capitol insiders that this is, in fact, very credible.

We have been told that an effort will be made to amend the bill and rush it to the Senate floor.   We do not know what amendments are being suggested or what has changed that makes Senate President Peter Courtney think the bill now has a chance to pass.  Anything may have happened.

Last session Courtney revived an anti-gun bill that was dead and raced it to the Senate floor with no public hearings. He may well attempt this kind of dirty trick again.

A deal may have been made, a bribe offered, or perhaps Courtney just wants a vote, win or lose, to use against the Republicans.

If this happens of course, we would also have a recorded vote to use against anti-gun Senators, but there is no question that the best outcome would be for that bill, and the other three anti-gun bills that are now in the Senate Rules Committee to simply die.

Anything can happen now and happen fast. And don’t forget, we fully expect Bloomberg to drop in some NYC arm twisters with millions of dollars.

It would be wise to send one more email to your Senator urging him to vote against new gun rights restrictions.

You can use this link to be connected to your Senator:

http://www.legislatorpro.com/(tqzaarqoi5y3h3jfgpnsafid)/oregon/writelegis.aspx

Or you can use our automailer to reach them all:

http://automailer.oregonfirearms.org/

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GUN BILLS IN TROUBLE BUT NOT DEAD

GUN BILLS SENT TO RULES COMMITTEE

We have been reliably informed that the four anti-gun bills, along with SB 713, which would have expanded the places gun ranges could be operated, have been referred to the Senate Rules Committee.

While it would be premature to assume that this means the bills are dead, it’s quite likely.

But make no assumptions. Senate President Peter Courtney is still looking for a way to revive at least some of these bills and anti-rights radicals like Ginny Burdick are working overtime to see that that happens.

“The best outcome for the NRA and other extremists is for the bills not to go to the floor so that their supporters can continue to hide on this issue,” said Burdick, referring to the National Rifle Association.”

Make no mistake. The battle is far from over. But clearly all your efforts are paying off. Please don’t stop now.

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ANTI-GUN BILLS MOVE OUT OF COMMITTEE

04.18.13

Four anti-rights bills moved out of the Senate Judiciary Committee today.

Senator Arnie Roblan who had told us he saw little need for three of these bills voted for all four. Roblan was the swing vote and he caved to the pressure of the Senate Democrats and agreed to attack your liberties.

The bills that passed, with 3 Democrats voting yes and both Republicans (Jeff Kruse and Betsy Close ) voting no, were SB 347, 699,700 and 796.

SB 347 as amended will make you a criminal if you are a CHL holder and you take your daughter to a soccer game at a school.

SB 699 as amended would make you a criminal if a firearm you were carrying in a “public building” could be seen. As bad as that is, what’s worse is that this bill redefines what a “public building” is. While currently that term is pretty limited, this bill would expand it to “any other building owned or occupied by a public body as defined in ORS 174.109”. As  NRA lobbyist Roger Beyer pointed out, in some small towns this could be a private home! For example, a small water district might have its office in the private residence of a member of that board.  If you pulled into his driveway with a rifle in your pickup, you would become a felon! Apparently Arnie Roblan was informed of this and voted for it anyway.

SB 700 as amended will make it illegal to give a gun to your nephew or your best friend without permission from the failed State Police ID Unit . It will require that you acquire and use state issued forms and keep records of your transfer for 5 years. It allows the State Police to delay a transfer… forever.
It provides no relief if the delay is unwarranted.

SB 796 as amended will make it illegal for you to to use 21st century technology to get firearms instruction for a CHL.

This bills now all move to the full Senate for a vote. They can still be defeated if all Senate Republicans vote no and one Senate Democrat votes no.

Since it is now clear that Roblan is going to roll over and vote for these attacks, that means the only Senate Democrat who could vote no is Betsy Johnson.

She has repeatedly written that she will vote no and her staff assured us today she is solidly against all four bills. But it never hurts to encourage her.

If your Senator is a Republican or is Betsy Johnson, a short note of opposition to these bills is in order.

You can use this link to send an email to your Senator even if you do not know who he is. Be sure to only check the “State Senate” box.

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03.21.13 Pot, Policies and Protests

On April 3, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hear SB 281. This bill “adds post-traumatic stress disorder to definition of “debilitating medical condition” for purposes of statutes authorizing medical use of marijuana.”

OFF takes no position on marijuana, but we are concerned about the gun rights of veterans. Persons who use medical marijuana lose their gun rights under Federal law. We think it’s important that any bill that expands marijuana use to those dealing with PTSD should clearly warn the users of the threat to their liberties.

This bill was sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee from the Health and Human Services Committee with a “Do Pass” recommendation.  Please  contact the Senate Judiciary Committee and ask that they consider amendments that would include a warning in the language of the bill to protect veterans. The Committee’s contact info is available here.

Last night, the St. Helens School Board adopted a policy to guarantee that children and school employees in their district will be every bit as vulnerable as the kids who were massacred in Connecticut. In a 3-2 vote, they implemented a policy forbidding employees, contractors and volunteers from having the means to respond to an attack.  It’s hard to imagine any responsible person concluding that this policy is anything other than a recipe for disaster, but they did it. Voting to protect the kids were Ray Biggs and Marshall Porter. Voting to put targets on the backs of children and school workers were Allen King, Matt Freeman and Nathan Helwig. St Helens voters will have an opportunity to elect School Board members who actually care about the kids soon. Ballots for school board will go out May 5 and are due back May 21.  We have been informed that at least one solid pro-gun candidate, Traci Brumbles, will be in the race. These kinds of policies demonstrate how important these races can be. (Interestingly, St. Helens Girls Softball League seem to have more brains than the majority of the school board.)

Finally,  yesterday the Deschutes County Democrats sent out an email asking for folks to come and protest against NRA fundraisers that are scheduled for Saturday March 23. The email says ” Concerned citizens will be protesting the proliferation of guns in our society and the increasing violence that accompanies this. Gun safety advocates are asked to be on the sidewalk in front of the Convention Center from 2 p.m.-3 p.m. and 4 p.m.-5 p.m. on saturday.(sic)”

The email goes on to say :

“We endorse the banning of high capacity magazines and assault weapons and for the creation of a federal registry for all gun transactions. We also endorse the printing of serial numbers on all ammunition.”  It then comically adds the following:

“We do not want to take away everyone’s guns. This is not a partisan issue. It is a human rights issue, public health issue and a safety issue. More guns equals more violence. We ask all patriotic citizens to join with us against the bullying tactics of the N.R.A. The N.R.A. has lost its way.  They are no longer about sportsmanship and gun safety, but have evolved into a lucrative money making lobby for the armaments industry…..Anyone interested in attending or helping Jim organize the event can contact him at 541-389-9163 orjhauser@bendcable.com“

Included in the email was a request that folks join a march for same sex marriage:

From our friends at PFLAG:

Join PFLAG Central Oregon in Bend, Oregon for a local march for marriage equality! Let’s show our support nationally and right here in Oregon!

Where: Corner of Newport & Wall St. in downtown Bend

When: Saturday, March 23

Time: 10AM – 12PM

Bring your signs!

RSVP: pflagcentraloregon@gmail.com

or join our facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/617426938272711/

Together we can make history!

Looks like Bend is about to be a hotbed of protests.  We’re going to go out on a limb here and bet that the PFLAG folks get lots more participants than the gun banners do.

 

 

 

 

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Even More Anti-Gun Bills

03.01.13

There are several more anti-gun bills you should be aware of. They are by all the usual suspects.

House Bill 3114 gives colleges and universities the right to ban CHL holders from their property. In order to see the actual ban language you must scroll all the way to page 65 of this 66 page bill. This bill is a response to our successful lawsuit against the Oregon University System. On the other hand, House Bill 3009 does the exact opposite, specifically granting CHL holders the right to be there.

House Bill 3412 “Establishes Task Force on Reducing Gun Violence.” What a waste of time and money. As though the “task force” is going to learn anything new.

House Bill 3413 creates mandatory lock up laws for your firearms. If you’re not home and your 17 year old daughter uses one of your guns to defend herself  against a home invader you can spend a year in jail and pay a fine of $6250.00.

You can see all the bills at this link.

It’s imperative that we keep the heat on these people. Remember, you can contact your own legislator using this link. You don’t need to write anything long or profound.  Our job is not to “educate” them.  A simple “NO ON GUN CONTROL” will do it.

The Dembrows and Dingfelders and Keny-Guyers know exactly what they are doing. They are trying to eliminate your gun rights. They are not going to “see the light.” But we can make them feel the heat.