05.10.19
Author: OFF
Senator Knopp Sells Out
05.08.19
Today Senator Tim Knopp sold out his fellow Republicans and returned to the floor in an effort to give gun grabbing Democrats the quorum they need to pass devastating legislation.
Yesterday the “Oregon Catalyst” ran a glowing puff piece on Knopp praising him for walking off the floor with other Republicans. Today Knopp folded.
The Senate needs two Republicans to abandon their principles and Knopp gave them half of what they need.
If the grossly understaffed Oregon State Police are pulled off our roads to hunt down the other Republicans who have refused to participate in this side show, and they can locate and arrest one more Republican and force them back to the floor, the Democrats can pass ANYTHING. So bills like the gun grabbing SB 978 are almost sure to become law.
Please contact Knopp and let him know how outraged you are at this betrayal.
Republicans Have Had Enough
05.06.19
We have been reliably informed that Oregon Senate Republicans have had enough and will be absent from the floor tomorrow.
This is one of the few tools they have at this time to slow down the train wreck Oregon Democrats are determined to impose on our great state.
Make no mistake. Senate bill 978 is a key reason for this walk out.
Please, take a moment, (really this won’t take long) and send a note of thanks to Senate Republican leader Herman E. Baertschiger Jr. and thank him for standing up. These are very dangerous times for all of us and his courage needs to be acknowledged.
Where We Stand
05.01.19
As of now (and this can change at any minute) SB 978 is still on hold in the Senate Rules Committee. Senators Thatcher and Linthicum have introduced a “minority report” which is basically a proposed replacement for the language in 978.
If the bill is passed out of committee, it will almost certainly pass on the floor since Senate President Courtney typically does not allow bills to get that far unless he has twisted enough arms to make sure they pass.
The fate of this bill is still in the hands of Senator Arnie Roblan. If Roblan votes no in committee the bill dies there. (Which is not to say the same language could not be stuffed into some other bill.)
Roblan has been telling people he “must” vote for it in committee but plans to vote “no” on the floor. This is a ruse. As we said, if it gets to the floor it passes, and Roblan knows that. Please keep up the pressure on him.
Three other gun bills were kept alive when they were sent to the House Rules Committee. So they are not dead yet.
HB 2505 is a lock up your safety bill.
HB 3299 is a “placeholder” bill designed to have anti-gun language stuffed into it sometime in the future.
HB 3329 allows gun dealers to discriminate against young Oregonians attempting to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights.
The drama has begun in the Capitol where House Republicans are finally digging in their heels to slow down the freight train of damage the Democrats are doing to this state by demanding that every bill be read word for word before it’s voted on. We hope to see similar action by Senate Republicans and encourage you to urge them to do so.
Stay tuned.
Roblan’s Game
04.18.19
Gun owners have been deluging Senator Arnie Roblan with calls and emails telling him to vote against SB 978.
What follows is a typical response from his office. A careful reading reveals his game plan.
We are currently receiving over 1,000 emails a day regarding this issue, and that is not taking into account the phone calls as well. We are doing our best to work through and respond to everyone but you’ll have to understand that we just don’t have the capacity to respond to everyone in a timely fashion; this is why we advise folks to reach out to their respective Legislator.
Arnie is planning to vote no on this measure when it goes to the floor. Folks’ time and effort regarding this issue is a bit wasted on us and would be better spent trying to persuade a third democrat to vote in opposition.
Thank you for reaching out to our office, and don’t hesitate to reach out with any further questions or concerns.
Note that they say he is going to vote against it “on the floor.” But his office is also telling people that he plans to vote “yes” in the Rules Committee when the bill gets a “work session” there. The bill has to move out of that committee before anything can happen on the floor. If Roblan joins the Republicans on that committee, the bill is dead. If he votes yes, the bill goes to the Senate floor where it will almost certainly pass even if Roblan votes “no.”
The plan is to vote it out of committee and then vote “no” on the floor so when this demented attack on your rights becomes law, and most of us become felons, Roblan can say “But I voted against it.” Classic bait and switch.
Some people are being told by his office that if he does not promise to vote “yes” in committee, the Senate President can pull him off that committee for that one vote and replace him with another Democrat who will promise to vote “yes.” It’s true, the Senate President has the power to do that. But if Roblan is truly committed to voting “no” there is no reason he should care if he is pulled off the committee for that one vote.
Roblan is playing a game hoping to convince gun owners he is not trying to turn them into felons while at the same time doing what he can to get this bill passed.
Please contact his office and tell him you don’t care how he votes “on the floor” if he does not use his power to kill this bill in committee.
Roblan’s Phone 503-986-1705
Roblan’s Email Sen.ArnieRoblan@oregonlegislature.gov
Omnibus Anti-Gun Bill Sent To Rules Committee
04.17.19
It’s official. SB 978, the omnibus anti-gun bill, has been referred to the Senate Rules Committee.
This means the fate of this malicious attack is in the hands of one Democrat Senator, Arnie Roblan.
Roblan has stated that he does not support the bill, but he will be pressured by other Democrats to vote it out of committee. We have to do everything we can to counteract that pressure and urge him to vote NO and keep hundreds of thousands of Oregonians from becoming felons overnight.
Please contact Roblan and strongly urge him to join the Republicans on the Rules Committee and vote NO on SB 978.
Roblan’s phone 503-986-1705
Roblan’s email Sen.ArnieRoblan@oregonlegislature.gov
Please use the points below to explain how dangerous SB 978 is.
SB 978 would create a patchwork of back alley gun control laws and eliminate Oregon’s pre-emption statute.
SB 978 would make you a felon if you traveled anywhere near any public building that chose to prohibit firearms, even if you had a concealed handgun license.
It would allow school districts, colleges and universities to make up policies concerning firearms in buildings they did not even own.
It would make traveling to and from an airport with a firearm, even with a concealed handgun license, a felony.
It would mandate that guns be locked up (already declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court) and allow you to be charged with a crime even if they were locked up and stolen.
It would make possession of many firearms made before 1968 a felony.
It would make possession of any gun you made yourself a felony. There is no provision for adding a serial number to a firearm you made yourself.
It would eliminate or severely restrict youth firearms programs.
It would require that all firearms “transferred” be equipped with cable or trigger locks and hold you responsible for crimes committed with any firearm that you transferred without such locks.
It would ban possession of “unfinished frames or receivers” which are so poorly defined the term could mean anything.
Ready To Rumble?
04.12.19
Things are heating up and it’s because of you.
Senate Republican Leader Herman Baertschiger told NRA TV (starting at 16 minutes) that the Republicans have had it and are ready to dig in their heels.
Democrat policies are bankrupting Oregon and their efforts to turn good Oregonians into felons have just gone too far.
Now is the time to really turn up the heat. If the Republicans stand up, we can still beat the worst gun control bills, or at least go down swinging.
Please make every effort you can to contact Oregon legislators and tell them to stop wasting time attacking your rights and fix some of Oregon’s real problems.
Please contact Senate President Peter Courtney and tell him that gun owners are not the problem. Failed government agencies are the problem. Oregon is falling apart and all the Democrats are doing is harassing the state’s most law abiding residents.
Then please use the button below to send a message to all Oregon Senators.
Now is not the time to relax.
Showtime.
04.10.19
Our backs are against the wall. If SB 978 passes almost all of us are at risk of becoming felons. It is that simple.
SB 978 was created to turn as many of us as possible into criminals.
Virtually all Democrats support this bill.
There is one tool to stop it. The Senate Republicans have to take a courageous stand, and WALK OUT.
Period. That is the only hand they have to play. If they don’t, your gun rights will be gone, end of story.
You will be a criminal if someone steals your gun.
You will be a criminal if you own an older firearm that never had a serial number.
You will be a criminal if you don’t lock up your guns.
You will be a criminal if you DO lock up your guns.
You will be a felon if you drive NEAR a “public building” with a firearm.
You can go to prison for 5 years for picking up a friend or family member at an airport.
You will be a criminal if you have ever built a firearm at home.
In short, you will be a criminal if you do virtually all things normal law abiding gun owners do.
The time is short. If Oregon Republican Senators don’t walk out and deny the Democrats a quorum we will have very little chance of saving any gun rights in Oregon.
Please take a moment to demand Oregon Republican Senators take a stand to keep their supporters out of prison.
Take action NOW.
SB 978 The Felon Factory
04.09.19
SB 978 was passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party line vote today.
The bill was “gut and stuffed” with the “dash-5”amendments which were not available to the public until 5PM last night.
As passed the bill will:
Force you to keep your firearms locked up. (The US Supreme Court has already ruled this to be unconstitutional.)
Hold you strictly liable for crimes committed if your gun is lost or stolen (even if you complied with parts of the mandatory lock up regulation.)
Greatly restrict youth shooting programs and events.
Make you a felon if you possess an “unserialized firearm”. (Serial numbers were not required on firearms until 1968.)Updated 04.14.19 Make you a felon if you possess an “untraceable firearm”. (Serial numbers were not required and did not meet federal regulations required by SB 978-5 until 1968)
Ban so called “80% lower receivers” (the bill calls them “unfinished receivers”) unless they had the manufacturer’s name and serial number engraved on them. If you’ve made a firearm out of an “80%” lower there is no provision for adding a serial number yourself. The possession of any of these finished guns will be a felony. If you currently possess any 80% lowers each one is a Class C felony.
Increase fees for concealed handgun licenses.
Allow you to be charged with a felony for simply being NEAR a “public building”or airport with a firearm even if you have a concealed handgun license. How many “public buildings” do you pass on your hunting trips?
Picking up your spouse at the airport could make you a felon. Picking up your kids at school could make you a felon unless you picked them up in a parking area.
Before the vote, the committee members were told by staff that the amendment corrected the airport issue. It did not. Whether willfully or not, the committee members were misinformed.
The language on lock ups and “unfinished receivers” is hopelessly convoluted and confusing. It will be virtually impossible for Oregonians to know when they are in compliance. The lack of any realistic definition of “unfinished receivers” will put thousands at risk for felony charges based on the whims of DA’s and judges.
There is no longer any question that Oregon’s elected Democrats are determined to turn Oregon gun owners into felons any way they possibly can.
The bill now goes to the full Senate floor. Please contact Oregon Senators and demand they vote against this.
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING
04.08.19
In the still of the night, (12 .16 am this morning to be exact) Floyd Prozanski introduced yet another 44 page amendment to SB 978. This would be the “Dash 4″ amendment. It makes changes to several provisions of previous amendments including definitions of “untraceable” and “undetectable” firearms and the new prohibitions on being near a public building or airport with a firearm.
Although the bill was scheduled to be voted on in the Senate Judiciary Committee today, it was moved to tomorrow’s schedule. They may very well sneak in more proposed amendments in the middle of the night before then.
SB 1040 was also moved to tomorrow’s schedule. So far one amendment has been introduced to that bill. More could be coming.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will meet tomorrow to move these bills at 8.15 am .
HB 2013 was scheduled to be heard today in the House Judiciary Committee. That bill was also postponed until tomorrow awaiting amendments which have not been posted as of the time of this alert.
Stay tuned. The fight goes on.
Anti-Gun Monday Is Coming
04.06.19
Monday April 8th will be a busy day in Salem because of impending deadlines.
SB 978 will have a work session in Senate Judiciary at 8am. Currently there are three amendments to the bill. No doubt you have already seen the Dash 1 amendment but after the public hearing started last Tuesday morning, Chair Floyd Prozanski posted two new amendments, the Dash 2 and Dash 3, both 44 pages long, with no opportunity for people who were there to testify, to read.
There is nothing to prevent him from adding more for the coming work session and once again he can do this with no notice.
Public testimony will not be taken at this “work session” so if the bill is dramatically altered again the only opportunity you will have for input will be contact with your legislators.
Prozanski is notorious for these kinds of sneaky moves.
Here is the schedule for Senate Judiciary for the 8th. To follow last minute changes to SB 978 use this link.
If you cannot attend the work session you can watch it live using this link.
You’ll want to scroll down to the link for the Senate Judiciary Committee. The work session will be held in Hearing Room C if you can attend.
Also scheduled for a work session is SB 1040. As of right now, this is a very narrowly crafted bill to address one location where unsupervised people allowed rounds to leave the property and hit homes across a river. In its current form it is not a dangerous bill, however people have requested it be expanded greatly and if it is it could become a real problem for gun clubs and ranges. We will be watching for potentially dangerous amendments.
In the afternoon in House Judiciary there will be a work session for HB 2013.
This is one more in a seemingly endless parade of bills to deny firearms to those who have been accused of domestic abuse. Year after year new legislation is drafted to restrict guns from those so accused, yet every year there seems to be one more “loophole” to close.
At no time is legislation ever introduced to empower the victims of abuse, only to force greater reliance on a state that clearly cannot take care of its most vulnerable.
Thank you for your continued activism. Please keep up the pressure especially if your representatives are Democrats.
ANTI GUN BILLS MOVING
04.03.19
Hundreds of Second Amendment supporters flooded the Capitol yesterday to oppose SB 978, a 44 page assault on the gun rights and common sense. Gun owners greatly outnumbered supporters of this complex, unenforceable attack on civil rights.
We want to thank everyone who came whether you had an opportunity to testify or not. Far too many gun rights supporters showed up to fit in one room and multiple “overflow” rooms were required.
As is typical for the Chair of the Judiciary Committee, Floyd Prozanski, two amendments were posted after the hearing started. SB 978-2 and SB 978-3.
It appears the main change in the “Dash 2” amendment is to place more firearms restrictions on foster parents. (See Section 10b on page 9) Given Oregon’s critical shortage of foster parents this provision just proves once again how determined Democrats are to crush this state.
The only change we found in the “Dash 3” amendment seems to be a minor technical change. (See line 21 on page 35.) But with both these new amendments being over 40 pages long, it’s possible there are other changes.
Please keep in mind the magnitude of this bill. Its provisions are so sweeping it could literally make you a felon simply for leaving your home with a firearm, even to go on a hunting trip. Some provisions are not even possible to comply with. The whole purpose of this bill is to attack law abiding gun owners. Far from addressing crime, it will create a vast new class of criminals. People like you.
It is critical that you do everything you can to express your opposition to this insanity, especially if your Senator or Representative is a Democrat. Call them. Email them. Go to their offices. We understand how difficult it is for working people to do this, but if you don’t you will have a choice of simply giving up your guns, or becoming a criminal.
If you don’t know who your Oregon Legislators are, use this link to find out: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/FindYourLegislator/leg-districts.html
Just type in your address in the search box at the top of that page. Your local Oregon legislators will be the first two people listed. Do not click on the tab that says “Congress”, those are federal legislators who have nothing to do with this bill.
You will see contact info for your legislators. If they are Democrats, request a meeting. Demand to know why they are attempting to turn you into a criminal.
We are at a critical turning point. If SB 978 becomes law, you may well consider moving TO California.
You may still provide written testimony (until 5pm tomorrow) at this address sjud.exhibits@oregonlegislature.gov
Once again, thanks to every one of you who traveled and showed up in the early hours of the morning to stand up for liberty. The battle continues. Click below.
<
It’s Coming Down
04.01.19
This is not an April Fools joke. Tomorrow the Senate Judiciary Committee will be hearing SB 978. Or more accurately the “Dash 1″ amendments to SB 978.
Those are the amendments we have so far. There could be more at the last minute. This bill could be the most extreme attack on gun rights in Oregon history.
While there are countless terrible provisions to the amended bill, the one that will effect ALL gun owners is the change in the definition of “Public Buildings” and the provision that would allow virtually any public entity to create rules about firearms in “public buildings” . Under the amendments, a school district could create a policy that could make you a felon simply for being NEAR a public building. You don’t even have to be on their property.
In essence, it would be almost impossible for you to leave your home with a firearm without the risk of committing a felony.
The hearing and work session on this outrage is tomorrow at 8AM. You should be there. If you would like to testify against it, come very early to sign up. But even if you don’t plan to testify you should come if you can.
The hearing will be in Room 50 which is in the basement of the Capitol building. If you are a concealed handgun license holder you may lawfully carry in the building . (At least for now.)
If you prefer to send written testimony you can send it here: sjud.exhibits@oregonlegislature.gov
You should also call Senate President Peter Courtney and express your opposition to this terrible attack on your rights. He can be reached at 503-986-1600
This is for all the marbles folks.
If you cannot be there, please take action with the button below.
SB 978 Turns Into Monster Anti-Gun Bill
03.28.19
SB 978 has it’s first “amendment”. It’s 44 pages long and turns the bill into a nightmare anti gun bill.
We told you about SB 978 yesterday and assured you that this harmless looking bill was going to be gut and stuffed with draconian anti-gun language, and it has.
Here is a link to the “Dash 1″ amendment to the bill. And of course we use the word amendment quite loosely.
The “amendment” is 44 pages long. The “bill” was a few paragraphs.
After our first review of the bill here are the elements we noticed immediately. No doubt we missed a few.
If this “amendment” is adopted, the bill will:
Allow gun stores to refuse to sell firearms and ammunition to young adults (As Bi-mart, Walmart and Fred Meyers have done in violation of the law.)
Exonerate gun dealers who violated our anti-discrimination laws, even if they did it before this bill was passed. (Get out of jail free card for corporations that broke the law.)
Require that your self defense firearms be locked up. Under this bill you can be prosecuted even if you did lock up your guns with a cable lock if someone has “access” to a device to defeat the lock. Which of course, is anyone who has access to almost any tool.
Hold gun owners responsible for two years for guns they “transferred” unless they could prove the transferred gun had a trigger or cable lock. (This is one of the most inane ideas we have ever seen.)
Hold gun owners responsible for crimes committed with guns that were stolen from them.
Treat “80 % lowers” as complete guns requiring background checks and registration. If the lower is transferred and has no serial number, the police need a “detailed description: or the lower.
Ban “undetectable firearms.”
Ban “untraceable firearms”
Increase CHL fees.
Allows cities, counties, metropolitan service districts, airports, schools, colleges and universities to ban CHL holders from “public buildings.” Please note. The bill does NOT say buildings owned by those entities. It says “public buildings.” Under this bill a school in John Day could forbid you from carrying your firearm in a public building in Troutdale.
Ban CHL holders from airports. No, not just the terminal. But the parking lots and grounds “adjacent” to parking lots. Picking up your spouse at the airport? Go to jail.
This “amendment” is insane. If you can come to the capitol on April 2nd to testify against this please come. The sideshow hearing starts at 8am with sign ups to testify starting at 7.30 am in room 50 in the Capitol basement.
If you cannot be there in person please upload testimony to sjud.exhibits@oregonlegislature.gov
You can contact the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee here.
The Senators who support your rights on that committee are:
Kim Thatcher, Cliff Bentz and Dennis Linthicum. The rest are opposed to your rights.
The person allowing this outrage to go on is Senate President Peter Courtney. You can, and should, contact him here.
This is not the end of it. Floyd Prozanski is planning another anti-gun bill to be heard on April 8th where, no doubt he plans to take away whatever he missed on this bill.
It’s essential that you get involved. NOW.
SB 978 Turns Into Omnibus Anti-gun Bill
03.28.19
SB 978 has it’s first “amendment”. It’s 44 pages long and turns the bill into a nightmare anti gun bill.
We