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Anti-gun Ballot Measure Explanatory Committee Announced

07.15.2022

Today the Secretary of  State announced:

“For each ballot measure to be voted on at the General Election, the explanatory statement committee is responsible for preparing an impartial, simple, and understandable statement explaining the measure, not to exceed 500 words. Upon completion of this task the statement is filed with the Secretary of State Elections Division, so that a public hearing on the statement may be scheduled. If a statement receives comments during the public hearing, the explanatory statement committee must meet to review comments and consider revisions to the statement.”

For ballot measure 17, the gun ban ballot measure, the committee will include Elizabeth McKanna, Margaret Olny, and HK Kahng.

McKenna is one of largest donors and lenders to the measure. (The ACLU also donated $10,000.00)

Olny is a lawyer who regularly works for left wing causes. Kahng’s Linkedin page lists him as “Web developer and infrastructure wiz, eager to create, launch and nurture applications that help build organizations and communities by facilitating collaboration , streamlining processes and sharing knowledge.”

UPDATE 07.20.2022 A 5th “neutral” member of the committee was picked from a list provided by the Secretary of State: Judge Lynn Nakamoto.

The first meeting for the anti-gun ballot measure IP 17 committee is scheduled for this Monday at 2pm.

The legislative website currently has all of the committee’s meetings listed at the following URL:

https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/citizen_engagement/Pages/NonLegislative_Video.aspx

After the meeting, video of the meeting will be available in the Archive section of the Oregon State legislative website.

According to the Secretary of State: “The committee is not required to take public testimony at each meeting, the Secretary of State’s Office will hold a public comment meeting on Wednesday, August 3, 2022, from 1 – 3 p.m…. Additional information will be publicized when information is available.”

We have been in contact with numerous police departments and Sheriff’s offices. All have agreed that complying with this measure will either be exorbitantly expensive or impossible. None have said they will be offering the “training” required to apply for the permit to purchase that sheriffs and local police will be tasked with administering.

In addition to all the more well known provisions of the measure, most people are unaware that it will ban the new purchase of most shotguns because of the definition of “high capacity magazines.” (Almost all modern tubular fed shotguns are capable of holding more than 10 “mini-shells.”)

Tune in if you can and be prepared to provide comments when that opportunity becomes available.

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Racist Ballot Measure Moves Forward

07.09.2022

Yesterday the sponsors of IP 17 turned in signatures for an overtly racist ballot measure. On the same day, a newly appointed Yamhill County Judge invalidated a local ordinance protecting gun owners.

Out-of-state, paid signature gatherers were reportedly telling signers that the ballot measure was about “background checks.”

IP 17 will ban modern firearm’s magazines, outlaw most modern shotguns, and create a “permitting” system designed to prevent low income minorities from purchasing firearms.

With crime skyrocketing in Portland and the poorest residents most at risk, “Lift Every Voice Oregon” is pushing a permit system that will require anyone trying to purchase a firearm for home defense to take a live fire class from local police.

Ironically, the same people who are pushing this measure are working overtime to defund and abolish police.

In addition to the added background checks and fingerprinting, IP 17 requires a class, which can only be taught by instructors “certified by law enforcement.” The class requires instruction on state and Federal law, the impacts of “suicide on the country as a whole,” and live fire.

It also requires instruction on storage, transfer, and purchase of firearms.

The measure does NOT require any police agency or “authorized” instructor to actually provide classes and it does not define or explain who would be qualified to teach the class or how a person becomes qualified to instruct on state and Federal law and suicide. The measure does not indicate where, when, or how often classes would be available, if at all.

The measure does not address who must, or can, provide live fire shooting facilities or what they may charge for their use.

The Multnomah County Sheriff has stated they areunable to speculate or comment on what MCSO will or will not be providing if this initiative becomes law.” 

So people in the most crime ridden parts of Portland will now have get (and pay for) the permission of the undermanned police (if they can find a police agency willing) simply to get permission to then ask the STATE POLICE for permission to purchase a home defense firearm. After an applicant completes the required class, he will have to wait 30 days before the first permit is approved. Under the measure he can then wait literally forever for the State Police to provide the second approval.

Because of the way the measure is crafted, the future sales of most shotguns will be banned and existing ones will no longer be allowed to be transferred or taken outside of your property unless disassembled.

But urban minorities will not be the only people who will find the legal purchase of a firearm almost impossible.  Many smaller police departments and sheriffs do not have their own shooting facilities and rely on private gun clubs to train. Most rural sheriffs are grossly underfunded and undermanned. There is nothing in the measure that defines what is required to be “authorized” by law enforcement. But no matter who is approved, they will need access to a firing range to even begin this process.

The personal information of anyone attempting to purchase a firearm will be collected in a publicly available database.

Oddly the same people who regularly point out that minorities are arrested and jailed in disproportionate numbers are creating a whole new class of victimless crimes, sure to incarcerate more minorities.

Meanwhile in Yamhill County, Judge Ladd Wiles has thrown out the county’s Second Amendment Sanctuary Ordinance stating “The Ordinance is declared void in its entirety.”

Wiles just replaced Judge Cynthia Easterday on June 30th.  It’s not clear why Easterday’s term was not renewed. However it is interesting to note that Wiles is, or was, married to Amanda Marshall.

Marshall, you may recall, was the US Attorney who worked tirelessly to imprison the Hammonds, ranchers in eastern Oregon. The Hammonds were accused of arson on federal land for starting fires which they hoped would stop invasive plants.

After receiving their sentences, Marshall, then US Attorney for Oregon, appealed their sentences demanding more time in prison.

Wikipedia described her actions this way:

“In what was described by one source as a “rare” action, the government (represented by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon, led by U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall) successfully appealed the sentence to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. It upheld the mandatory-minimum law, writing that “given the seriousness of arson, a five-year sentence is not grossly disproportionate to the offense.” The appeals court vacated the original sentence and remanded the defendants for re-sentencing. The Hammonds filed petitions for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, which the court denied in March 2015.

More recently Marshall was involved in efforts to recall Yamhill County Commissioner Lindsey Berschauer. Coincidently, Commissioner Berschauer was one of the two Yamhill County Commissioners that passed the ordinance that Judge Wiles invalidated.

This apparent conflict of interest was ignored by those seeking to invalidate the ordinance, though they were outraged when the county hired attorney Tyler Smith to defend it. Their outrage stemmed from the fact that years ago, Commissioner Berschauer was married to the cousin of Smith’s wife. It’s unclear if Judge Wiles and Marshall are still married but their connection certainly seems far less tenuous than that of Berschauer to Tyler Smith.

While we do not yet have a copy of Judge Wiles’s decision, we believe his reasoning was sufficiently flawed and convoluted to create grounds for an appeal. It certainly creates guide posts to craft new and better ordinances for any county with the courage to stand up to an oppressive state.

Given Secretary of State Shemia Fagan’s open hostility to gun owners, we fully expect the signatures for IP 17 to be approved and the measure to be on the ballot.

We are committed to doing all we can to expose what this ballot measure actually contains. We have reached out to numerous organizations whose members or customers will be seriously affected by this dangerous and misleading measure and look forward to hearing back from them.

IP 17 contains elements that are clearly unconstitutional. However, that can’t be litigated until and unless it becomes law.  It is our hope that with your help we can prevent that from happening.

You can support what will, no doubt, be a costly effort here.

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Ballot Measure Will End Gun Sales

07.01.2022

As we prepare to celebrate Independence Day, let’s not forget what we are celebrating.

The blood of countless patriots was spilled to free us from a tyrannical and unaccountable government determined to control and oppress us.  Sounds familiar doesn’t it?

The recent Supreme Court Decision striking down New York’s unconstitutional ban on self defense outside the home is reverberating across the country.  As you may have heard, this decision is poised to impact multiple other 2nd Amendment cases nationwide.

We believe that, long term, we will see many local restrictions overturned as a result of the ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association vs Bruen. The key words here being “long term.”

In the short term we are facing a challenge whose severity cannot be overstated.

Almost immediately after the decision came out, New York started crafting language to create as many obstacles and impediments to the court’s ruling as they could. Other states are sure to do the same.

At a time when crime is skyrocketing and Soros funded DA’s are making sure criminals are not punished, places like New York are not only doing all they can to prevent people from having self defense firearms, they are also trying to outlaw things like body armor.

It has never been more clear that the state is doing all it can to keep the populace defenseless in the face of rising mob violence.

And Oregon is following suit.

The sponsors of gun ban initiative  IP 17, believe they have enough signatures to put this measure on the ballot. Oregon’s Secretary of State, who will verify the signatures, is a rabid anti-gun extremist who has never hidden her disdain for gun owners and OFF in particular, so we have little doubt the measure will be approved for the ballot.

If that happens you can rest assured that the cartel media will promote and misrepresent what it actually does.

While the proponents of the measure will probably receive massive influxes of cash for media buys, they will certainly be getting most of it for free from the controlled establishment press.

As such, it is essential that people know what this measure actually does so they can share this information with others.

It is not an overstatement to say that, for many, this measure would essentially ban the future purchase of firearms.

That is NOT an exaggeration.

Section 2 of the measure calls for the “regulation of sale, purchase, and otherwise transferring of all firearms.”

Section 3 creates a mandate for a “permit to purchase” a firearm. Any firearm.

As you know, Oregon already requires the permission of the Oregon State Police before a person can purchase a firearm. Firearms may not be purchased or transferred without approval of the State Police through the Oregon background check system.

Oregon State Police have no statutory time limit on how long they can take to conduct a background check. There are many cases of people waiting over 2 years for the completion of a check. Requests for information or corrections from OSP are routinely ignored.

While current law allows a transfer to take place after 3 business days if the OSP has not completed the check, in practice that virtually never happens because dealers fear retribution from the ATF. (This ballot measure removes even that one small and rarely used safeguard.)

IP 17 creates a second and far more onerous “permit to purchase” that will be required before you can even start the often frustrating process of getting permission from the State Police.

Under the proposed “permit to purchase” you must apply for the new permit from the police chief or Sheriff of your jurisdiction.

That will require an additional background check and fees.

The applicant must provide any information the “permitting agent” demands.

The applicant must complete a “firearms safety course.”  (Keep in mind this is required just to ask for permission from the sheriff, to then ask permission from the State Police to simply buy a firearm. Not to carry one.)

  Here is how the “safety course” is described:

8) As used in this section, “proof of completion of a firearm safety course” means the following:

(a) Proof of completion of any firearms training course or class available to the general public that is offered by law enforcement, a community college, or a private or public institution or organization or firearms training school utilizing instructors certified by a law enforcement agency, and that includes the components set forth in paragraph (c) of this subsection; or

(b) Proof of completion of any law enforcement firearms training course or class that is offered for security guards, investigators, reserve law enforcement officers, or any other law enforcement officers, and that includes the components set forth in paragraph (c) of this subsection;

(c) A firearms training course or class required for issuance of a permit-to-purchase must include:

(A) Review of federal and state laws in place at the time of the class and other safe practices related to ownership, purchase, transfer, use and transportation of firearms;

(B) Review of federal and state safe storage laws in place at the time of the class and other safe practices related to safe storage, including reporting lost and stolen guns;

(C) Prevention of abuse or misuse of firearms, including the impact of homicide and suicide on families, communities and the country as a whole; and

(D) In-person demonstration of the applicant’s ability to lock, load, unload, fire and store a firearm before an instructor certified by a law enforcement agency. This requirement may be met separately from the other course requirements in subpargagraphs (A), (B) and (C) of paragraph (c), which may be completed in an on-line course, provided the on-line course has been conducted by a trainer certified by law enforcement.

(d) Proof of successful completion of a training course in order to meet the requirements for a concealed handgun license issued under ORS 166.291 and 166.292 may be submitted for a permit as a substitute for the requirements in paragraph (c) of this subsection, provided the completed course included each of the components set forth in paragraph (c) of this subsection.

(9) The department may adopt rules to carry out the provisions of this section.

The required course must be taught by “instructors certified by law enforcement”, not NRA certified instructors.

There is no requirement that these classes actually be made available anywhere. There is no definition of who is qualified to “review state and federal laws.”

There is no limit on what you will be charged for the “safety course.” The “instructors” will be required to have a range for live fire.

There is no time limit on how long the “permitting agent” can take to issue the “permit to purchase” as long as the “permitting agent” says he needs more time to determine if the applicant is qualified.

A person attempting to purchase a firearm could wait forever to get permission from the sheriff to then ask for permission from the State Police, which could also, literally, take forever.

In any location where law enforcement does not, or will not provide live fire training, a firearm’s purchase would be impossible.

The measure also requires a published database of persons attempting to purchase firearms lke that just released to the public in California.

The database can include any information the State Police decide to include. That means your name, date of birth, physical description, and home address and phone number.

The measure also outlaws the possession, sale, manufacture, or transfer of new firearm’s magazines over 10 rounds (the kinds most common in modern firearms), and the prohibition of having existing magazines outside your home unless they were transported locked up in route to a range.

In light of recent court decisions, the magazine ban will almost certainly be found unconstitutional. However, if enacted by Oregon it will be law until challenged in court where our anti-gun Attorney General will certainly defend it at your expense.

The magnitude of this ballot measure simply cannot be overstated.  If you think Oregonians would never pass something this dangerous, keep in mind what kind of government the residents of Portland keep reelecting.  Keep in mind that Oregon voters overwhelmingly approved a measure to legalize hard drugs which has resulted in unprecedented crime and overdose deaths.

Voters often don’t read what is actually in ballot measures and rely on the emotional and inaccurate, but well funded campaign pitches by their sponsors. This measure will be no different.  Please be prepared to help us fight this insanity or the things our forefathers died for could become a memory.

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Scappoose School District Backs Down

Scappoose Backs Down

06.28.2022

On June 21st we informed you of the Scappoose School District’s planned consideration of a policy that would ban law abiding, concealed handgun license holders from being anywhere on school property while legally armed.

This meant that parents and guardians who had the means and will to protect children from attack would be legally prohibited from doing so.

In the wake of the Uvalde, Texas debacle this was clearly an insane policy consideration.

We asked you to take action and you did.  The school board has concluded that there is no rational basis to change a policy that has been working safely for over 30 years.

We thank you for taking time to help the school board come to a sensible conclusion.

We want to thank the people who took the time to track down the contact information for school board members, which was not available on the District’s website that we were later able to add to our alert info.

Thanks also to radio talk show host Lars Larson who responded to our last alert and helped get the word out so we could put the brakes on this dangerous proposed change.

School boards are passing these restrictions one at a time, and it’s only because of alert citizens who are monitoring the agendas of Oregon’s many boards that we are able to stop some of these very bad decisions.

Thanks again to everyone for your activism.  Scappoose children are safer because of you.

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One Step Up… Two Steps Back.

Gun owners had a few brief hours of elation after the release of the Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association vs Bruen.

They were quickly whipsawed back to reality mere hours later when the Senate passed sweeping new gun restrictions.  The US House joined the Senate the following day to send the legislation to Joe Biden for his signature.

The left immediately, and predictably, lost its collective mind and declared the ruling the end of the world. It was only the decision on Roe v Wade, released the following day, that distracted them from their hyperbolic hyperventilating on guns and how blood would run in the streets.

(They quickly promised that indeed, blood would run in the streets.)

The new attack on gun rights is S 2938.  The bill was cheered by Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer as a victory, but, as he has been saying for about 40 years, is only a “first step.”

Republican Senator John Cornyn, one of the masterminds behind this latest attack on your rights and the US Constitution would have cheered the passage of the bill, but his lips were glued to Schumer’s backside and hence he was silenced.

Once again, Republicans have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. At a time when the Democrats are panicking about coming elections because their policies have America teetering on the brink of total destruction, the Republicans throw them a life line and spit in the face of the people who elected them.

It’s as predictable as congressional sex scandals. 

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell called the bill a victory and claimed it protected the 2nd Amendment. Clearly the Senate bar is still open and free.

The bill bribes states to impose unconstitutional, “pre-crime” red flag laws which, in spite of the flaccid assurances to the contrary, will be misused against people who have committed no crime.

It further complicates failed background checks. In Oregon, the State Police, who are tasked with conducting background checks, do such an abysmal job that many have come to conclude it is the single role of OSP to prevent law abiding people from legally obtaining guns.

The bill also creates new obstacles for 18-20 year olds when trying to purchase firearms.

It adds new and confusing regulations on who must now obtain an FFL.

That’s what the Democrats got. In exchange for their fealty, the Republicans, and America’s gun owners got… nothing.  Another brilliant deal expertly negotiated by the brain trusts wearing the Republican Jersey.

But at least gun owners got some good news in the Supreme Court decision on gun rights. Right?

Well SCOTUS did strike down one element of New York’s arcane, byzantine, elitist, and incomprehensible pistol license law.

They said New York’s rule that licenses to carry would only be granted to those who could successfully bribe a NYPD official was unconstitutional.

In the brief moments before the next day’s Roe v Wade decision was made public, the taking heads and idiot politicians were calling the ruling “seismic” and predicting that it would have unimaginable effects on gun laws in many states.

Tina Kotek, the Democrat candidate for Oregon Governor, was apoplectic. 

“Just weeks after 19 children were murdered in an elementary school in Texas, the Trump-dominated Supreme Court has issued a ruling that will increase the number of guns on the streets in cities and towns across the country. It will make communities less safe.”

Her comments were bizarre even for her. According to Kotek, the ruling will “make communities less safe” by requiring New York to have concealed handgun license laws that are more like…Portland’s.

While the two other “leading” candidates for governor, both of whom have pretended to be “pro-gun,” did weigh in on the abortion ruling, they were nowhere to be found on the SCOTUS decision about firearms.

 

 

New York’s Governor immediately promised to do all she could to undermine the ruling by crafting legislation that would create insurmountable obstacles to getting a permit in New York, or to put it another way, continuing to do what they are doing now.

New York’s mayor declared that his town was not the “wild, wild west.”

“We’re still analyzing the bill, but it’s clear New Yorkers and Americans are unsafe due to gun violence because of that ruling,” he said.

Oh. It’s because of “that bill.”  It wasn’t a “bill”  but in deference to his limited attention span we’ll let that go.

But he wasn’t finished.

“When you are in an environment such as New York City — highly densely populated, 8.8 million people — simple disputes can elevate into gunplay.”

Yes we know. That was actually known to happen before the court’s ruling. From time to time.

State and city overlords are seeking to turn as many places as possible into “sensitive locations” where they hope to ban concealed carry, within a thousand feet.

That would include government buildings, schools, bars, libraries, restaurants and even cemeteries, which across the country have regularly been the scene of shoot-outs between people with concealed handgun licenses. Of course, they also want the subways to be off limits. Because we certainly don’t want people to be fearful in now bucolic NY subways.

While certainly welcomed, if for no other reason then to watch the earth-scorching melt down of the leftist bed wetters, gun owners should not consider this court ruling a massive victory.  The courts made it clear that states can still keep a long list of restrictions on concealed carry licenses.  The decision essentially validates the entire concept of prior restraint on a fundamental right.

While the court  commented on the fact that no other right comes with a requirement for prior government approval, its validation of the permit process undermines the very concept they promoted in the ruling.

And by making clear that impediments like training requirements, fees and “sensitive location” restrictions were allowed, they created a road map for tyrants, like the governors of New York and New Jersey, to continue to make the right of self defense unattainable by most people.

If the state says a permit is $1000.00 a month, requires 100 hours of training by police and live fire, in a city where that is all but impossible, the court’s ruling will have little practical effect on the disarmed and endangered serfs of New York. 

Here are the Senators who sold out.

  1. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO)
  2. Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)
  3. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)
  4. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
  5. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
  6. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)
  7. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA)
  8. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
  9. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
  10. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
  11. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH)
  12. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT)
  13. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC)
  14. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA)
  15. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN)
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If We Save Just One Life

If We Save Just One Life


UPDATED 06.22.2022
06.21.2022
The fight to protect kids in schools is a district by district battle.

While some school districts in liberal enclaves have predictably voted to put a big target on the backs of the kids in their “care,” other districts have heard you loud and clear and backed off of the foolish policy of disarming the good guys.

Now the Scappoose School District is considering a policy to prohibit staff and parents from being legally armed on their property.

The most recent revelations about what happened in Uvalde, Texas have demonstrated beyond any doubt, the lunacy of disarming people who would protect kids from attackers if only it were allowed.

We have all seen the videos of police preventing parents from attempting to save their children, even as armed, trained police waited outside of the crime scene doing nothing while kids died.

This is not acceptable.  The best intentions of the police will never beat an armed citizen already on the scene.

But now, incredibly, the Scappoose School District wants to disarm responsible, armed, adults as a response to the acts of deranged criminals. It simply makes no sense.

The Scappose School Board is scheduled to vote on this inexcusable policy on June 27th.  They need to hear from you.  Your efforts in the past have made a difference so please make your voice heard again.

As of the time of this alert, the Scappoose School District has no contact information for individual school board members, not even their names! Oddly, they have a gallery of photos, but zero identifying  information.

The school establishment is trying to make this debate about “arming teachers” and “increased insurance.”  Both arguments are fabricated straw men.

No one is talking about “arming teachers.”  That should be their decision. And the insurance argument is another bit of slight-of-hand.  All that responsible people are requesting is that they leave the policy the way it is. No change, no insurance issues.

No one should be denied the ability to pick up their children, attend a school function, or meet with a teacher simply because they have accepted the responsibility to protect kids.

Please contact the School Board and let them know that you strongly oppose this change and urge them to protect the kids and not bow to the woke mob.

Scappose School Board

schoolboard@scappoose.k12.or.us

A suggested message follows that you can modify if you choose.

UPDATE:  Thanks to several people who ferreted out the email addresses and names of the Scappoose School Board:

Tim Porter (Superintendent):  tporter@scappoose.k12.or.us

Will Kessi :  wkessi@scappoose.k12.or.us

Summer Hoag:  sstutsmanhoag@scappoose.k12.or.us

Phil Lager:  plager@scappoose.k12.or.us

Michelle Graham:  mgraham@scappoose.k12.or.us

Jim Hoag:  jimhoag@scappoose.k12.or.us

Gwen Klobes:  gmklobes@scappoose.k12.or.us

Branda Jurasek:  bjurasek@scappoose.k12.or.us

 

____________________________________________________________________________________

To the Scappoose School Board,

I strongly oppose any effort to deny responsibly armed adults the ability to protect children and themselves while on school property.

We have seen the tragic results of assuming that the police alone will stop an attacker.

This issue is NOT about arming teachers. It is about using common sense and recognizing that people who are licensed to carry firearms do not suddenly become dangerous or irresponsible when they step foot on your property.

Please reject this dangerous and foolish proposal.

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Betsy Goes South

Betsy Johnson

06.11.2022

Betsy Johnson has a long history of standing up to her own party and defending the rights of gun owners.

Now that she is running for governor she has folded up like a Goodwill hide-a-bed.

We have heard from many gun owners who were supporting Johnson because she impressed them as a no nonsense, no BS, straight shooter. Well not anymore.

This kind of disgraceful capitulation is just one more example of craven, self aggrandizing phonies selling out your rights.

She has promised to enforce a ban on “assault weapons” and magazines.

She has parroted the left’s absurd demands for “more intensive” background checks in a state where qualified people are denied gun transfers sometimes for many months.  And we can tell you from personal experience that Johnson is well aware of that.

We now have three liberal women running for governor.

One who has always promised to take your guns.

One who is NOW promising to take your guns.

One who has refused to defend your gun rights.

Should be an interesting election.

 

 

 

 

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Eugene School Board To Turn Children Into Targets

Eugene School Board To Turn Children Into Targets


 

On June 22nd at 7PM, the Eugene 4J School District is planning to place bullseyes on the backs of school kids by banning licensed, concealed carry in their schools.

In the wake of the horrifying debacle in Uvalde Texas, where the failure of police to act, and a ban on lawful concealed carry cost the lives of 19 children and two adults, Eugene school board members are determined to copy that deadly policy.

The meeting will be held remotely to control the agenda and deny as many people as possible the opportunity to oppose this insanity.

If you wish to testify you will need to follow the instructions at this link:

The anti-gun forces are doing all they can to gin up support for this new plan to get more kids killed. There is simply no limit to how disgraceful these people can be.

You can see the Lane County Democrats call to action here:

You can see Bloomberg’s call to action here:

This issue is NOT complicated.  The same people who are working to demonize and defund the police want to make certain that NO ONE will be able to protect children against an attack.  It’s sick, it’s disgusting, and it’s coming.

If you live in the district, or know people who do, and whose children are at risk because of this twisted agenda, please act and share this information.

School Board member’s contact info can be found by scrolling down on this page:

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Democrats Announce 2023 Gun Bans

 

06.08.2022

As expected,  Oregon’s far left wing is already planning a major attack on gun rights in the coming legislative session.

As we watch the current administration and its fellow travelers in congress use the most recent murders to ram through their civilian disarmament agenda and distract from skyrocketing inflation, soaring fuel and food costs, and a critical shortage of baby formula, Oregon legislators are climbing on board.

House Rep Lisa Reynolds has announced  her plans for the Democrats in Salem.

Here are some of them directly from her own office:

Oregon legislature: 2023 session
Two priorities for the 2023 session will be to crack down on ghost guns and close the Charleston loophole (which allows folks to purchase a firearm if their background check is not completed in three days, even if their background check would have blocked them from making the purchase). These measures have momentum behind them, and I’m confident that they will prevent gun violence, protect victims of domestic violence, and help law enforcement do their jobs.

Of course, we are actively considering a variety of additional measures, including an assault weapons ban, raising the purchase age for all guns to 21, regulating magazine sizes and ammunition, and many other steps. I am in conversations with my staff and colleagues, advocates, and constituents every day to pave a path forward for meaningful legislation, and we will continue to keep you posted.

Remember: we need 31 votes in the Oregon House, 16 votes in the Oregon Senate, and a willing governor in order to transform a bill (a concept) into law.

 

ERPO Education
In 2017, the Oregon Legislature passed the “Extreme Risk Protection Order” which allows a family member or law enforcement to petition the court to have firearms removed from a person (a respondent) who is at risk to themselves or others. The respondent can request a hearing to rescind this protection order. 

This law has saved lives, including saving folks from gun suicide. Our challenge is that not enough Oregonians know about this measure or understand how they can protect a loved one. Many of us are looking into ways to better educate on this difficult topic. Here is one program working to spread the word. 

Reynolds closed with a pitch for people to join the militant “Moms Demand Action.”

Reynolds will be running against OFF member John Woods in the November election.

We have already contributed to John’s campaign but if you want to help him and other candidates you can make a donation to our Political Action Committee here.

You can donate directly to John here. 

Please keep in mind, the Republican Caucus has pledged to oppose pro-gun candidates who we support, so any help we can provide to good candidates is going to be crucial.

In November Oregon voters will get to choose among 3 women for governor.

Tina Kotek has campaigned on a platform of banning guns.  Betsy Johnson has abandoned her long time support for gun rights and is now in the  gun ban camp.

Republican Christine Drazan has sided with the Democrats on bill after bill and stood by while they rammed through SB 554. So there is no reason to believe she will stand up to the Democrats if elected.

Republican “leadership” in the Oregon House and Senate have signaled that they have no stomach for a walk out, even if a ballot measure to prohibit walk outs fails.

Every single seat we can pick up in the legislature will be critical.

As Democrat policies continue to drive the US towards third world status, and resistance builds, expect the Democrats to go full speed ahead.  Prepare for another ugly session.

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School Boards Target Children

06.02.2022

School Boards Target Children

As a result of the passage of SB 554, schools in Oregon now have the authority to prevent licensed adults from being anywhere on their property while armed.

In the wake of the Texas school murders, more and more school districts are implementing this policy or are considering it, and the full court press by the media is rattling formerly pro-gun candidates.

While the details of the Texas murders are ever “evolving” most reports now agree that there was no police officer on the scene when the killer arrived, he entered through an unlocked door, and when the police did respond they waited between 40 minutes and one hour to make entry into the room where the killer had barricaded himself with his victims.

What no reports we have seen have mentioned, is that Texas has in place, the very rule that Oregon School Boards are attempting to enact here. Adults with concealed handgun licenses are banned from being armed in Texas elementary schools.

So, while for whatever reason police did not act quickly and neutralize the killer, no one inside the school could have lawfully had the means to take action themselves.

It does not take a Mensa candidate to recognize that this is a policy for future massacres. Especially at a time when liberals in Oregon are making every effort to make sure that even what little police protection a school might have, is eliminated.

In Portland, the public schools have removed  school resource officers so that students could feel more comfortable. 

One school board member, Julia Brim-Edwards, in an effort to justify this policy: “pointed out that in the absence of SROs, PPS is spending millions on school safety improvements, like installing more cameras, hiring more campus safety associates, and installing automatic door locks in schools.”

The events in Texas demonstrate the pointlessness of those feeble and purely symbolic efforts.  And so children die.

The Portland schools are now working on a ban of armed CHL holders on their property. (Portland reportedly will be debating this policy on June 14th.) According to school board member Julia Brim-Edwards, “There’s been an accidental discharge of a weapon somebody brought onto campus, not in a threatening way, but in a purse and just going off…”

We have contacted her to ask where and when this event happened as we can find no reports of it anywhere.
UPDATE. Thanks to an OFF member who found the story here it is:
The person whose gun “went off” was not a CHL holder and was charged with a felony.

For more updates see here and here.

In a moment of sanity, rare in the Portland Schools, KGW TV reported “Director of Risk Management for PPS Joe Crelier said he thought prohibiting responsible CHL holders from carrying on campuses would leave schools defenseless. He said he was especially worried about this since there are no School Resource Officers on PPS campuses.  “Without any perception of armed defense, what is stopping someone who is evil or out of their mind?

This is not complicated. Under no circumstances can the police be expected to be everywhere all the time. Even schools that have resource officers can’t expect them to cover every inch of every school at every moment.  And, as we have learned, the arrival of police to a murderous event does not guarantee that they will take timely action. None of this is debatable.

So, the efforts of school boards across the state to assure unimpeded access to our schools by killers is nothing short of criminal.

These policies are being rammed through in school districts large and small, urban and rural.

School boards, and their importance, have long been overlooked by many voters and even activists. But what is becoming painfully clear is that the decisions and policies of school boards are not only critical, they could well be deadly.

If anyone you love is in a public school it is essential that you know what their school board is doing, or has done. Many school board members will deflect or hide from questions of parents and voters, and many are totally in the pocket of the leftist teacher’s unions, but in almost all cases their meeting schedules and agendas are posted online.

Public schools in Oregon are failing on every metric while continuing to demand more money, but these policies are far worse than the promotion of dangerous leftist ideology, these policies will cost the lives of children.

Please investigate your local school boards and watch for their coming agendas. And if they already have created policies that put your children at risk, take whatever actions you can to protect the kids.

Meanwhile, with wall to wall media propaganda, the most vocally pro-gun candidate for governor is starting to fold.  Unaffiliated candidate Betsy Johnson has been the strongest advocate for gun rights in spite of her long affiliation with the Democrat Party.  But now she is beginning to parrot the talking points of the left. KGW TV reports Johnson as saying:

“As governor, I will support and enforce stronger background checks for gun purchases and raising the age to purchase certain firearms from eighteen to twenty-one. These are both practical ideas to help keep guns away from people who could be a danger to themselves or others.”

One of the left’s most prominent supporters of restrictions on the Second Amendment, former House Rep. Jennifer Williamson, has testified that 95% of background check delays are in error. And we see over and over that criminals often pass background checks.  The single most common call we get at OFF is from qualified people who have be denied firearm’s purchases. (Given how long many “delays” are, even “delays” are really denials.) So it is hard to imagine what Johnson means by “stronger background checks.” 

Of course, the knee jerk, politically correct, response that the purchase age of “certain firearms” should be increased does not address all the many criminals and mass killers who are over 21. If a 36 year old criminal shoots up a hospital or workplace will the answer be to raise the purchase age to 37?

Criminal acts will always be exploited at election time. Each new restriction will fail and be a call for more restrictions. But the real losers will always be the people who are legally denied the ability to protect themselves and others by the irrational dictates of those who work behind metal detectors and a phalanx of State Police guarding them.

Please tune into your local school boards and keep track of what they are planning for the children in your district.

https://ospa.k12.or.us/oregon-school-districts

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The Vultures Are Circling

 

The Vultures Are Circling


05.27.2022

In the wake of the horrific mass murder of children and teachers in Texas, the left wasted no time  dancing in the blood of the innocent.

We have come to expect this kind of repulsive behavior from liberals, be it the incompetent, yet dangerous, fool in the White House, or local mercenaries in Salem.

It does not appear the Republicans want to show any backbone either.

Before virtually any facts were known (and, of course, now there is still much to learn) a disgraceful cabal of opportunistic parasites in the Oregon Legislature sent out a press release demanding policies to get even more babies slaughtered.

These evil frauds sickeningly  bragged “In Oregon, we’ve passed legislation that requires background checks, prohibits guns on public school grounds, makes extreme risk protection orders available, and ensures the secure storage of firearms. We are committed to taking bold action during the next legislative session in 2023 to further prevent these types of tragedies from happening.

Of course, an idiot could see that these absurd policies did not, and could not, have any effect on the kinds of mass shootings the leftists embrace for fundraising purposes.

As we learn more about the events it is becoming achingly clear that the only thing that could have saved lives in that death trap was armed adults, inside the building, prepared and committed to act. And that is the one thing the blood soaked hypocrites in Salem and Washington are determined to stop.

House Rep Dacia Grayber emailed us saying she expected us to now support a “complete ban” on guns in schools, the very policy that cost the lives of those innocent children and teachers in Texas. To call these people ghouls would elevate them.

While the left wing vultures are circling, the local press piles on with a pathetically transparent attempt to promote Tina Kotek’s run for governor.  And where is the “Republican” candidate?  Right where she was when she folded her tent and allowed the Democrats to pass the kind of legislation that has, and will, get more people killed. Nowhere to be found.

As long as politicians keep denying reality, and the unions who control our schools keep demanding these deadly policies, the longer innocent people, some very little people, will be their sacrificial lambs.

Enough is enough. This has to stop.

We thank you for your commitment to standing up to this madness.

https://www.oregonfirearms.org/join-support-off

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The Primary Is Over (almost)

05.20.2022

The 2022 primary election is (mostly) over.

Because of a massive snafu in Clackamas County, there are still many uncounted ballots, but assuming the trends don’t change radically we have an idea of how the election went. (See how our Marxist Secretary of State has responded to this event, which as with every communication from her, includes an infomercial about… her.)

The Democrat candidate for governor is a liberal, anti-police, woman. By contrast, the Republican candidate for governor is… a liberal, anti-police, woman. Both voted to support antifa. Both voted to stock kindergarten boy’s bathrooms with tampons. (As did every Oregon Republican House Rep.)

Oregon’s future looks bright. There is, of course, an additional wild card. Betsy Johnson is running as an independent non affiliated. She will need to get on the ballot by collecting signatures.

Johnson has raised more money than anyone else, and since she did not have to participate in an expensive primary election has plenty to spend.

Johnson served in both the Oregon House and Senate as a Democrat. She is currently campaigning on a platform that both parties are too extreme and her hope is to “bring Oregonians together.”

No one who has witnessed the carnage in Oregon in the last few years can argue that the Democrat Party has become too extreme. You can smell the tear gas far from Portland.  But Johnson’s position that Republican Christine Drazan is “too far to the right” is clearly ridiculous. Drazan is considered a “moderate” by most liberals and was even endorsed by Portland’s far left “Willamette Week” newspaper. And given the left’s jihad to attack, silence, and possibly imprison those who dare disagree with them, the idea of “bringing Oregonians together” seems overly optimistic at best.

Whether this is simply campaign rhetoric or Johnson really believes it remains to be seen. While Johnson votes pro-police and pro-business she is certainly no one’s idea of a “conservative.”  But one thing Johnson most certainly has been, is strongly and unapologetically pro-gun*. Johnson has stood up to her caucus time after time to vote to protect gun rights. She is the target of well funded attacks by Democrat operatives largely because of her pro gun stance. Before she left the Senate to concentrate on her race for governor she was the ONLY pro gun Democrat in the legislature.

Johnson is also very tough and very smart. Now that she will be attacked by both the Republican candidate and the Democrat candidate we are quite sure that the race is going to be very interesting.

In other races the establishment Republican candidates won most (though not all) primary races. This means we will almost certainly have at least two more years of surrender and capitulation to the Democrats. So dig in.  But, in any event, we believe we need to take a moment to thank the people who, win or lose, stepped up to run.

Political campaigns are hard work, expensive and often brutal.  And soon after the election the people who did not win are quickly forgotten. This is unfortunate.  Very often the reason people lose is because they were too principled to cave to the demands of the big money establishment cabal.

This primary election was no different. Republican candidates who showed a willingness to stand up to the failed leadership of the House and Senate Caucuses knew they would pay a price and many did. The Republican establishment made no secret of their intention to punish candidates who answered our survey or dared to accept donations from our PAC.

While many candidates refused to answer our survey out of fear of retribution from the caucus “leaders” many did answer. Simply responding was a risk for them even if their answers did not indicate they were ready to confront the power brokers. And the ones who answered 100% were the bravest of all.

We have a long way to go to replace the sell outs with candidates of conviction. But we owe a debt to the ones who showed it this election cycle.

To track the final outcome of this election or see the results in your district please use this link.

To see the results of our candidate survey see this link.

Below are the candidates who answered our survey. Some won, some lost. Some showed more courage than others, but every one of them showed more courage than the people who refused to take a stand at all.

To the ones who did win, we wish you luck in the general and encouragement to stand up for what’s best for our state instead of the demands of the establishment . To the ones who did not win we are grateful that you showed the willingness to take part and hope you will continue to be a voice for freedom in our state.

To you, and the truly patriotic candidates for governor and county races, we thank you all.

Senate Candidates.

Kevin Christman

Valerie Draper Woldeit

John Verbeek

Ben Edtl

Christopher J Morrisette

Steve Bates

House Candidates

Virgle J Osborne

Sandra A Abercrombie

Ralph Huber

Tyler S Collins

Nicole De Graff

Bill R Ledford

Caleb Clark

Keith Lembke

Beth Jones

Kyler T McNaught

Gabriel Buehler

Bob Niemeyer

Jason Fields

Glenn Lancaster

Sandra Nelson

Todd Morrill

Drew A Layda

Glenn H Gaither

John Woods

Daniel Tooze Sr

Bob (Elvis) Clark

Rob Reynolds

Tim LeMaster

Timothy R Sytsma

James Hieb

Jeff Helfrich

Britt Storkson

Emily G McIntire

* Update 05.31.2022

Not so fast. https://www.wweek.com/news/state/2022/05/31/pro-gun-rights-as-a-state-senator-betsy-johnson-now-open-to-gun-control-in-bid-for-governor/

 

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RINO HUNTING

WHAT IS A RINO? WHY YOU SHOULD STOP VOTING FOR THEM.

Oregon Firearms Director Kevin Starrett discusses the state of Oregon Republican legislators with David Medina of OFA Media.

While the title is “What is a  RINO” it may be time to rethink the term. “RINO” is often used as a pejorative for Republicans that stand for nothing and grease the skids for the left’s agenda.  But are they really “Republicans in name only?”

From Rockefeller to Romney, the Republican party has for generations had liberals pulling the strings.  In Oregon, the Republican “Party” plays almost no part in the selection or control of Republican legislators, and the “Republican” legislators often seem eager to do the bidding of the leftists who control the state.

Maybe the people we call “RINO’s” are the real Republicans and the patriots are the outliers.

In this conversation with OFA media, we talk about the party, the Republican Caucus and frauds like Christine Drazan.
You’ll need fast forward through the first 2 minutes or so of music to get to the actual interview.

 

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Eugene School Board To Ban CHL Holders

05.06.2022

EUGENE SCHOOL BOARD PLANS TO BAN CHL HOLDERS FROM SCHOOL PROPERTY.

If you, or someone you know, has children in the Eugene 4j School District please be warned that the school board is planning, at their May 18th meeting, to prohibit CHL holding parents from being anywhere on their property .

If they adopt this policy parents and friends will be forbidden from picking up or dropping off their children or attending any school function anywhere on school controlled property if they are in legal possession of self defense firearms.

The meeting is scheduled for 7pm, May 18. The address is:

200 N. Monroe Street

Eugene, Oregon 97402 [ map it]

Phone. 541-790-7706

The agenda item is listed as:

XII.1. Consider Revisions to Board Policies GBA – Equal Employment Opportunity; IGBB – Talented and Gifted Program; JFCJ – Weapons in Schools; and adoption of Board Policy KGBB – Firearms Prohibited (10 minutes)

Presenter: Christine Nesbit, General Counsel

Information about addressing the board to oppose this dangerous policy can be found here:

https://www.4j.lane.edu/board/meetings/

At a time when the state refuses to address rising levels of violence, taking away parent’s ability to protect their children is an act of insanity.  Please contact the school board and strongly object to this new attack on common sense.

Contact info for school board members follows.

Judy Newman, 2021-22 Chair. Email: newman_j@4j.lane.edu

Maya Rabasa, 2021-22 Vice Chair. Email: rabasa_m@4j.lane.edu

Keerti Hasija Kauffman  Email: hasijakauffman_k@4j.lane.edu

Alicia Hays. Email: hays_a@4j.lane.edu

Michelle Hsu. Email: hsu_mi@4j.lane.edu

Gordon Lafer. Email: lafer_g@4j.lane.edu

Laural O’Rourke. Email: orourke_l@4j.lane.edu

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VOTE!

05.03.2022

If you have not already reserved your moving truck it’s time to vote.

By now you should have your ballots. (And, as we are learning, some lucky people get more than one.)

We have had the results of our candidate surveys up on our website for some time. In case you missed our April 4th alert, you can see them here.
https://www.oregonfirearms.org/2022-oregon-primary-election-candidate-ratings .

There have been some updates since they were first published.

There is no question that Oregon is facing monstrous challenges and at a time when we need real leadership in Salem, most incumbent Republicans seem far more interested in pleasing the ruling party than standing up for your rights.

So, while in many cases the choices are limited, we encourage you to be engaged and involved.

There are many races that don’t get the attention they deserve but really do matter. For example, once again we see large money from the far left attempting to sway DA races. We cannot overstate how dangerous it would be to elect more leftist District Attorneys like Mike Schmidt in Multnomah County.  The damage he has done is incalculable.

OFF does not have recommendations for all races. However we have suggestions in several.

In Josephine County we recommend John West for County Commissioner.

In Jackson County we support Colleen Roberts and Rick Dyer  for County Commission,

In Clackamas County OFF is supporting Dana Hindman-Allen for County Commissioner Position 5.

In Yamhill County Mary Starrett has been an outspoken voice for gun owners and should be re-elected to the Yamhill County Commission.

For Bureau of Labor and Industries we strongly urge against a vote for Cheri Helt or Casey Kulla, both of whom are vocal opponents of the Second Amendment.

In Congressional District 4 OFF recommends Alex Skarlatos

In Congressional District 5 OFF has endorsed Jimmy Crumpacker.

In Congressional District 6 Amy Ryan Courser has been a consistent supporter of Second Amendment rights, while Ron Noble regularly voted with the gun grabbers in Salem to promote their leftist agenda.

For US Senate both Sam Palmer and Darrin Harbick are strong supporters of gun rights and would be good choices to replace Ron Wyden who is long past his expiration date.

OFF has endorsed Marc Thielman for Governor. Your opinions may vary from ours. But whatever they are, please vote.