New Year New Threats
01.23.2026
The 2026 legislative session starts February 2nd. Here is what we know so far.
The Democrats have announced their “priorities” for the session, and where they claim to want to spend most of their energies is a pitched battle with the Trump administration.
So far, you have helped them fund over 50 lawsuits against the feds. While the fight getting the most attention is the Democrats’ efforts to protect criminal illegal aliens from detection and prosecution, our Attorney General has an army of taxpayer‑funded lawyers fighting almost every program Trump attempts to implement.
While it would be nice to think this focus will keep the Democrats busy, there is no reason they won’t be using the short session to ram through more attacks on gun rights. States across the country have been successfully ignoring the unambiguous ruling of the Supreme Court in Bruen and enacting draconian new restrictions on our rights, and Oregon never misses the chance to implement policies that have been destructive elsewhere.
So, while it’s always dangerous to predict what the far left has up its sleeve for February, it would be wise to assume the worst.
As of today, the Oregon Supreme Court has not ruled on the constitutionality of MZ 114. So for right now, none of its provisions are in effect. Last year’s SB 243 created an implementation date for MZ 114 but only if the Supreme Court approves it, which is likely.
One thing is undeniable: the Democrats have proven they have no interest in what the people of Oregon want, and they have no concerns about using every trick they can come up with to subvert the people’s will.
When public opinion was massively opposed to new gas and vehicle taxes, the Democrats ignored the people and repeatedly delayed votes on the bill until they could arrange to have sick and dying members on the floor to force it through.
When House Rep. Ed Diehl announced that he and others were mounting a ballot measure to oppose it, the governor (who insisted the measure was an emergency) stalled and delayed signing it until the last minute in an attempt to deny the measure sponsors much of the short time they had to gather signatures.
When, with the help of an army of dedicated signature gatherers, the measure broke all records for speed and number of signatures, the governor announced her plans to simply have the legislature repeal the measure.
When she found out that that was almost certainly illegal, she and the Democratic legislators announced their plans to move the election date for the measure from November to May. When questioned about this obvious, transparent, and shifty attempt to keep the measure off the same ballot she would be on, she stammered like a five‑year‑old caught stealing candy and blamed it on the legislature.
But she demonstrated what we all knew. The Democrats know they have the power to pass anything, and they will stop at nothing to impose their will, no matter how unpopular their plans are.
So, once again we are faced with the question: how much abuse are the Republicans willing to take before they stand up and refuse to play the Democrats’ dirty game?
In the legislature the Democrats hold all the cards. They can humiliate the Republicans at will. And so far, the Republicans have demonstrated a willingness to stand down and accept it, all in the name of keeping their jobs. But while they may be interested in maintaining their offices and titles, the people of Oregon keep getting stepped on. And while the stunning success of the anti‑tax ballot measure demonstrated that Ed Diehl has formidable organizing skills and deserves congratulations for a job brilliantly done, it’s simply not feasible to counter every bad bill with costly, time‑consuming, and energy‑draining ballot measures. Although Oregonians of all political stripes opposed a new gas tax, we certainly cannot rely on the voters to protect our gun rights. Ballot Measure 114 proved that. (It should be noted that after the Republican House caucus reneged on its promise to help fund a lawsuit against HB 2005, Ed Diehl broke ranks and donated $1,000.00 to the Oregon Firearms Educational Foundation.)
We cannot dodge the fact that the only hope Oregonians have is to elect representatives who care more about the people than their own egos.
Elections are coming. The cartel media will join forces to denigrate any candidate that does not bend the knee to their leftist agenda.
While there is still time to file to run, we can only hope we do not see a repeat of the last election where the Republican Party stood by and allowed the field to become crowded with unqualified and underfunded vanity candidates, leading to the nomination of Christine Drazan. Another win for Drazan will be another disaster for Oregon.
Irrespective of who wins the governor’s race, the Oregon legislature will still be dominated by far‑left radicals. And if the recent disruption of a Portland City Council meeting by Marxist agitators is any indication, the thugs who really run things in Oregon are not even satisfied when open communists are in control.
Please pay close attention to the candidates in the coming elections. Do not rely on their statements or promises. Ask the tough questions. Oregon cannot survive much longer with legislators who refuse to stand up for us.