GUN BILL HELD OVER. STARBUCKS UNDER THE GUN. FRIENDLY SHERIFF NEEDS HELP.
SB 1008, a lengthy, confusing and poorly drafted bill was held over until Monday’s meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee. As you know from previous alerts, this bill reverses the gains we made last year with SB 603. Now, the man primarily responsible for SB 603, Senator Floyd Prozanski, is claiming he did not understand what he did when he asked that it be amended into its final form.
Discussion of the bill has made it obvious that there is still tremendous confusion on the part of legislators about what SB 603 was intended to do and what it did. One thing is clear however. If changes do need to be made, this short, rushed session is not the time or place to do it. Given the level of confusion, it would be very unwise for the legislature to overturn in February, a bill that took effect in January. (A bill that passed without a single “no” vote in either House and was signed by the Governor.) We will keep you posted.
On a separate note, the Brady Campaign against gun ownership has a new target. Starbucks. In a recent e-mail the Brady bunch expressed hysteria that Starbucks allowed lawful carry in their coffee shops. “We need to tell Starbucks to bar guns in its stores. These individuals who have been carrying guns into Starbucks have all the firepower of a SWAT team, and none of the law enforcement training.”
If you want to let Starbucks know you appreciate their support for your rights, here is their contact info:
Customer Relations: 800 235-2883
Finally we have a bit of news we’re happy and eager to report.
You know that we make every effort to keep our requests for donations to a responsible level. Yes, we need funds to operate, but the weekly pitches that you get from other groups are not our style. But, we are asking that you consider making a donation of whatever amount you can afford to help an Oregon Sheriff who is a true friend to gun owners.
Since the legislature has been incapable of expanding our CHL program to visitors from other states (you may recall our efforts to do that last year were shot down by Representative Judy Stiegler,) Sheriff Glenn Palmer of Grant County has decided he wants to make it as easy as possible for non-residents to apply for Oregon CHL’s. He hopes to actually travel to gun shows in adjoining states and take applications there.
Palmer has been a strong advocate of gun rights, but he has a small budget and he needs some help. The sheriff would like to purchase a digital fingerprint device so he can take applicants’ prints with less chance of them being rejected as unreadable.
OFF is sending him $1000.00 towards the purchase. Anything you can do to help would be appreciated. You can send him a donation directly.
In an e-mail to us yesterday the sheriff said “If they want to send it to me at 205 South Humbolt Street Canyon CIty, Or. 97820 with a note for fingerprint machine I will put it into our monthly turn over with a line to a specific account that is and will be used for the upgrade on the equipment….what ever you can come up with would be wonderful too!!!!”
Or if you prefer to donate by credit card, you can make a donation to the Oregon Firearms Educational Foundation and we will forward it to him. Be sure to note that your donation is for Sheriff Palmer. You can do that safely on line here. Use the drop down menu to indicate your donation is for the Foundation and any field to note it’s for the Sheriff. Thanks for helping.