03.27.2023
Today’s “informational” hearing on SB 348 provided very limited “information” but here are the highlights :
Yes, if you have purchased a standard capacity magazine since Dec 8th of 2022, you will be subject to prosecution.
The drafter of the bill has no idea how you would prove you legally owned one before that date.
The provision in the bill to completely end firearms acquisitions by young adults was, in the words of Floyd Prozanski,… “a mistake.”
And… the supporters of Mz 114 think this bill is not extreme enough!
No, that is not a misprint.
One unintentionally hilarious moment came when the head Marxist behind this measure, “The Reverend Doctor” Mark Knudson, commented that the son of one of his supporters would be alive today if the ban on magazines over ten rounds had been in place. Because you see, that young man was shot 12 times. You think we make this stuff up, but it’s all recorded.
The bill moves to a work session on March 30th where they will no doubt find ways to make it worse.
At this time there is no indication that the Republican legislators are prepared to do anything except ask you for more money.
But while all that is going on, there is another issue that needs to be addressed.
Tomorrow at 8am, the House Judiciary Committee is hearing HB 3513.
This is another one of Brian Boquist’s bills. The bill creates a convoluted method for people in mental health crisis to be able to temporarily store their guns with others or gun dealers. It “Directs Oregon Health Authority to establish grant program to fund storage of firearms pursuant to firearm hold agreement. Appropriates moneys to authority to fund grants.”
We have no argument with people storing their guns off site if they feel the need. However, this is another tax payer funded boondoggle that could be far more easily solved by simply revoking the idiotic law that makes doing that illegal. The state creates a problem and then wants you to spend millions to “fix” it. But that’s not the worst of it.
This bill will also require that any training course for a concealed handgun license must include the “use of firearm hold agreements for firearm suicide prevention.” That means not only the regular CHL classes taught by NRA instructors, but also any of the hunter safety classes or law enforcement classes that qualify. That means that any class taught in any other state that used to qualify no longer will.
We were told there would be an amendment to address this problem. So far there is not one. One Republican House Rep has already removed her name from the bill because of this issue.
Please consider testifying tomorrow on this bill or uploading testimony pointing out this problem. The bill will still be a massive misuse of taxpayer funds when there is a solution that would cost nothing. But at least it won’t be one more pointless hurdle for people seeking the means to protect themselves.
You can submit testimony here: https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1/Testimony/HJUD/HB/3513/0000-00-00-00-00?area=Measures
A complete overview of the bill can be found here: https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1/Measures/Overview/HB3513
Please note we added the following after further review of the bill:
Our original objection to the bill was that it would eliminate countless classes that qualify for concealed handgun licenses because any class that currently qualifies from any other state will no longer be accepted since other state’s law enforcement, NRA, or hunter safety classes are not going to teach about an arcane Oregon law.
But the more we looked at the more we see how dangerous it is.
This bill provides that licensed firearm dealers can enter into a “hold” agreement, but makes no provisions whatsoever for them to do it.
An FFL cannot simply have a person walk into their business, sign an agreement and leave a gun there. FFL’s are bound by strict federal rules that Oregon law can’t bypass.
Section 2 of the bill allows the Oregon Health Authority to create the rules for a grant program for storage of firearms.
The bill provides no guidelines or restrictions . There are no protections of any kind for the privacy of the people who signed the agreement.
There is nothing to prevent this information from being abused. Federal agencies are already taking guns away from veterans who they claim are not competent to handle their own affairs.
If a person declares in writing that they are a danger to themselves, they open themselves up to unlimited abuse . There is nothing that would prevent someone from using one of these agreements as a basis for requesting an extreme risk protection order.
And of course once again, the state is focusing on the how people commit suicide and not why.
We all want to address suicide. But this bill doesn’t do it.