MAYOR DOES HIS PART TO KEEP PORTLAND WEIRD.
After a short hiatus tending to important government affairs,(sorry for the commercials) Portland’s Mayor, Sam “the tram” Adams has released his proposals to combat “illegal gun crime” in the Rose City.
His proposed ordinances can be viewed here. (Please pay special attention to “Exhibit 2, page 1 of 1.” If you can make any sense of it, we would like to know how you did it.)
Sam’s proposals come on a day when the city he so artfully runs had some bad news, which came a few days after some other, well let’s say “troubling” news.
Sam’s proposals are at best, pathetic and incoherent, but the two parts that are of particular interest to gun owners are his attempt to regulate storage of guns (clearly illegal) and his attempt to “require” that stolen guns are reported to police. (Clearly stupid.)
It’s hard to imagine what they are thinking in City Hall. What legitimate gun owner wouldn’t report a stolen gun, and what illegitimate gun owner gives a rip about one more regulation?
We, of course, are struck by the somewhat inconsistent application of government intervention here. Apparently, Sam plans to put the full force of his dynamic political machine behind defending these brilliant policies, but has no plans to question why pot growers are arming themselves. Hey, we’re live and let live, but whether we like it or not, persons who consume weed are forbidden by federal law from owning guns. So why are law abiding gun owners looking at new and probably unlawful restrictions on their rights without one word from Adams about the arms buildup in the ganja community?
As much as Portland has become a place for people too weird for San Francisco, we remain concerned for the many good residents of Portland who deserve better than another fiscal incompetent with an affinity for underage playmates who wants to attack gun owners for the failures of his administration.
Adams has scheduled a hearing on his proposals for November 18th. We’ll keep you posted.