04.19.2024
Primary elections are not far off, and voters who treasure their rights don’t have a lot to be excited about.
In past elections OFF has posted candidate ratings. This year there is very little to report that’s positive.
We will have more in the coming days, but for now we wanted to share info one race that is particularly troubling.
Oregon’s Senate District 2 has two Republicans facing off in the primary.
This district is currently represented by Republican Art Robinson. Senator Robinson has been a committed defender of Second Amendment rights, and because of that commitment he has been barred from running to keep his seat.
Robinson was one of the Senators who walked out to stop the demented agenda of Oregon’s radical left and their latest effort to turn gun owners into criminals. As a result of taking that courageous stand, he is now prohibited from running for reelection.
The two Republicans seeking to replace him, and facing off in the primary, are Robinson’s son Noah, who has worked beside Art throughout his tenure in the Senate, and Christine Goodwin who is currently a Republican House Representative.
You will recall that while some members of the Senate walked out to protect your rights, the Republicans in the House chose to remain in Salem, provide a quorum for the Democrats, and thereby help to pass the Dem’s latests outrage, HB 2005, which, among other things, makes it a crime to build your own firearm.
Keep in mind, that because of the timing of the bill’s progress, the House Republicans, under the “leadership” of Vikki Iverson, risked NOTHING by walking out. They could have killed this bill at no cost to themselves but they refused to.
We’ll put aside the fact that the House Republicans made quite a public spectacle of their promise to fund a lawsuit against HB 2005, and then did nothing. The fact is, no matter how they voted on the bill, they helped pass it.
As part of the House Republican Caucus Christine Goodwin helped provide the quorum needed to pass HB 2005.
Now Goodwin is running for the seat that will be open due to Art Robinson being punished for standing up for principle, something Goodwin and most House Republicans did not do.
Currently Goodwin is involved in a controversy regarding whether she actually lives in the Senate District whose seat she is seeking.
She recently discussed the issue with KMED’s Bill Meyer. You can listen to that interview here and make up your own mind about her residency.
But our concern with Goodwin is not where she says she lives but with a mailer she recently sent out to voters in the district.
On it, Goodwin calls herself “A Friend to Gun Owners & Strong Defender of the Second Amendment”. Next to that she writes “Voted NO on making law abiding gun owners into criminals (HB 2005,2023)”.
Curiously above that statement is this: “The ONLY Candidate Endorsed By Oregon Gun Rights”
After almost 30 years as advocates for Second Amendment rights, we can tell you we have no idea who “Oregon Gun Rights” is. They are not listed as a business by the Secretary of State. They are not a political action committee.
We have never seen or heard of anyone claiming that name speak or submit testimony on any gun bill.
“Oregongunrights.com” is the URL for the law firm of Gilroy, Napoli, Short. (Their website lists OFF as an “affiliate or partner” but we are not affiliated with them in any way.) However, “Oregon Gun Rights” is a website address, not a company or organization. So exactly who or what “endorsed” Goodwin?
We have no idea. But what we can tell you is that claiming to be a “friend to gun owners” because she voted “no” on HB 2005 is absurd.
Goodwin and the other House Republicans who showed up for the vote guaranteed the bill would pass no matter how they voted.
Goodwin posed on the Capitol steps with other Oregon Republicans with a giant fake check for a social media photo about a lawsuit they never filed and will no longer discuss. None of this makes Goodwin a “friend of gun owners” or a “strong defender of the Second Amendment.”
UPDATE 04.23.2024. The attorneys at “oregonrights.com” have informed us that they are NOT the “Oregon Gun Rights” Goodwin is claiming an endorsement from.