Numerous Gun Bills Introduced
DAS Changes Gun Policy.
SB 81 Passes Senate.
A number of gun related bills have just been introduced, including several versions of a “stand your ground” law.
We had already told you about SB 658, now you can add HB 3069 and HB 3115, a bill we have been working on for some time with Representative Kim Thatcher. HB 3115 has 23 cosponsors including Democrat Jeff Barker.
To view this bill and the other new gun related bills, please see our 2007 Gun Bills page. This page is updated regularly.
On Feb.28th, we told you, that after being informed by a gun owner that Oregon’s “Department of Administrative Services” had an illegal policy forbidding handguns in their buildings, we asked several legislators to look into it. House Reps Wayne Scott, Brian Boquist and Kim Thatcher all contacted DAS and told them their policy was not lawful.
As we pointed out in the earlier alert, the illegal policy was removed from their website, but it was not clear that they had actually changed their rules. Now it is. Yesterday we received an e-mail from Representative Brian Boquist, which he had gotten from Lindsay Ball, the Director of DAS. It is reprinted below:
Rep. Boquist,
I have removed the language regarding the authority of weapons possession by individuals with concealed firearms permits. I am very respectful of the statutory language and the authority vested in the legislature on this issue. I am disappointed that language on the Web site was not written in an obvious fashion with respect to the law.
I am driving a concerted effort to ensure the next posting on our Web site contains language consistent with the law. There will be a review of the language by myself, staff and legal counsel. We will share that language with you by March 15, 2007.
Sincerely,
Lindsay Ball, Director
Department of Administrative Services
In addition, Representative Wayne Scott forwarded a letter he had received from Legislative Counsel, (the legislature’s lawyers) making it clear that state agencies may NOT make rules of this kind. You can download a .pdf of that letter here.
We are currently working with legislative staff on a similar issue. We have been informed that the Department of Human Services has policies that greatly restrict gun ownership for foster parents,even those with concealed handgun licenses. We believe those policies are unlawful as well, and we’ll keep you informed as we learn more.
Finally, one more piece of good news for gun owners. SB 81, a bill which would require that a court would must inform persons who are charged with domestic violence offenses, that if they plead guilty or no contest, Federal law could bar them from owning firearms, passed the full Senate yesterday with 27 “yes” votes, The only people not voting “yes” were three Senators who were excused from the floor session.