Category: OFF Alerts

03.20.18

Oregon’s new gun confiscation ballot measure has been filed. You can read the language here.

Get ready for the fight of our lives.

03.01.18

Lies, Platitudes and Cliches.

Yesterday’s gun control summit with Donald Trump and members of Congress was a frightening display of ignorance, arrogance, and deceit.

You would be hard pressed to find another example of so many people in positions of power expressing so little knowledge of the facts and so much willingness to ignore them.

Donald Trump said “Take the guns first, go through due process second.”

 

He promised to violate the law and the Constitution with an executive order banning “bump stocks”, encouraged Diane Feinstein’s new ban on modern firearms, pushed for an increase in age for long gun purchase, spoke approvingly of a national firearms owner’s license, called for an expansion of the failed background check system, and repeatedly (and incorrectly) noted that the reason more draconian gun control language had not passed before was because he was not President then.

(Elsewhere Feinstein said of a bill she is sponsoring with Jeff Flake:

“If you can’t buy a beer, you shouldn’t be able to buy a weapon of war. While we need to do much more to reform our gun laws, ensuring teenagers can’t legally buy weapons of war is a commonsense step forward.”

She made no mention of the fact that 18 year olds can vote and are issued “weapons of war” and sent into battle by the same people who want to deny them the right to own a rifle.)

Trump endorsed the “Extreme Risk Protection Orders” that passed in Oregon thanks to Republican Senator Brian Boquist who also believes that “due process” is an unnecessary intrusion on the state’s ability to confiscate firearms.

Trump said he “had lunch” with the NRA and “thinks they’re on board.”

In short, Trump is now promoting virtually everything Hillary Clinton campaigned for and is shoving a large knife in the back of the people who elected him.

Trump repeatedly stated that he wanted a “big,” “strong,” “beautiful” bill. But only one “comprehensive” bill.

Many, even some in the gun rights movement, believe that this may be a masterful ploy by Trump. That he is playing “three dimensional chess.”  They think that by insisting on one massive bill it reduces the chance of passage because there will be something in the bill for everyone to object to. But when Congressman Steve Scalise suggested that national reciprocity be considered as part of this “comprehensive ” bill, Trump brusquely dismissed the idea saying it would prevent the bill’s passage.

So while Trump did state his support for allowing school employees to be armed if they were permit holders, he also made clear how little regard he has for them.

Gun owners now face staggering risks to their rights and property because numerous government agencies refused to take action, either intentionally or through mind-boggling incompetence, and did nothing about a dangerous, violent, felon who posted his intentions to “become a professional school shooter” on the internet.

Because of their failures and those policies of ignoring reality, Trump, and many members of Congress, want to eviscerate your rights.

He cannot be allowed to get away with this.

Call Trump today at 202-456-1111 or 202-456-1414 and tell him that you do NOT support one word of the gun control measures that he’s promoting. Tell him that he was elected because he promised to oppose everything he is supporting now.

You can also contact the White House via webform at https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

You can cut and paste the suggested message below or modify as you like:

I am a law-abiding citizen, and I am contacting you to voice my strong opposition to any of the gun control schemes currently being discussed. This includes banning “bump stocks, “  or raising the minimum age for firearms purchases,  so-called “universal background checks” or reinstating the unconstitutional and failed ban on modern firearms.

Stop listening to the ignorant and deceitful nonsense you are hearing and work on real solutions. You don’t stop evil people by stealing the rights of good people.

I demand that you end this talk about gun control.  I will be monitoring your actions on this matter through alerts from The Oregon Firearms Federation.

 

02.19.18

Bloomberg /Brown Confiscation Bill Fast Tracked

HB 4145, the Bloomberg/Brown gun confiscation bill will get a hearing and work session tomorrow at 8am in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

If the past is any indication, the anti-gun organizations have been alerted to the timing of the hearing long before it was officially posted and are no doubt already planning to bus in rent-a-mobs to fill the room.

Once again, due to the large anti-gun crowd expected, the hearing will be in Room 50 in the basement of the Capitol building. If you can possibly attend, please do.

 If not, please consider emailing your testimony in opposition here:  sjud.exhibits@oregonlegislature.gov  

HB 4145 is not designed to protect victims of domestic violence. It is designed to do one thing, disarm the law abiding.

In the House, anti-gun zealot Jennifer Williamson said that existing law “protects” those who are falsely accused. Well it certainly did not “protect” Shane Morgan of Bend.

Shane was the subject of horrible stories like this and this. There was only one problem. Every single accusation was a lie.

Was the women who made these false allegations prosecuted? No. The DA said he did not want to “discourage” people from coming forward with these kinds of allegations.

This is an outrage and sadly not an isolated incident.   

So far, Knute Buehler, who represents Bend in the House and wants to be your next Governor, and who supports this dangerous legislation, has been silent about this travesty.

We have very little time. The Democrats are fast tracking the bill and hoping to peel off a few weak kneed Republicans.

If you can be at the hearing please come. But if not please submit testimony and take action here.

 

02.14.18

HB 4145, Kate Brown’s gun confiscation bill, was scheduled to be voted on today in the Oregon House.

However the bill has been pushed back to tomorrow’s floor session.

While this is potentially bad news since it’s possible they delayed it to have time to make it worse, it does give us at least one more day to voice our opposition to this dangerous legislation. 

We told you about the dangers of this bill in a previous alert. 

Please take a moment to express your opposition to HB 4145 one more time. 

Take action here. 

Today in the Senate Judiciary Committee, SJM 202 was passed on a party line vote. We told you about this pointless but expensive attack on gun rights here. It was sent to the Rules Committee in an apparent procedural move to prevent Republicans from offering substitute language. We still urge you to voice your opposition to it. You can do that using this link.

Bad things are happening fast in Salem. Please make your voice heard now.

02.13.18

HB 4145 is scheduled to be voted on tomorrow in the Oregon House.

If passed, this bill would allow anyone you have ever had an “intimate relationship” with to demand that your firearms be confiscated.

As you know from a previous alert, people who make false allegations of abuse face very little chance of being prosecuted for their crimes. That’s what makes this bill so dangerous. If you are accused, you are guilty.

Republicans Richard Vial and Andy Olson joined the gun grabbers and voted for this bill in committee assuring it would go to the floor for a vote.

You may want to take a moment to express your outrage that they would vote to attack the rights of the people who elected them to appease the anti-rights left that controls the Oregon Legislature.

You may also want to urge Republican Leader Mike McLane to do all he can to assure that no more Republicans abandon their constituents and vote for this nonsense.

But please take just one moment to send a message to the whole House that you oppose this senseless and dangerous assault on your rights, your freedom, and common sense.

Take action here.

2.12.18

One Wednesday, Feb 14, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing for SJM 202 at 8AM. (This is the same day the full House will hear HB.4145, the Governor’s confiscation bill.)

This “memorial” urges the US Congress to “regulate rapid fire enhancing accessories, such as bump stocks, in the same manner as fully automatic weapons.” It is the work of Senate President Peter Courtney.

As anyone with any knowledge of firearms knows, a “rapid fire enhancing accessory” could be an aftermarket trigger or even your finger. Of course it could also be a rubber band.

With a bit of practice a shooter can learn to “bump fire” a firearm with no accessories.

The “memorial” also calls on Congress to regulate 80% lowers as though they were actual complete firearms.  It calls on Congress to require background checks on “partially completed firearms kits” and  prohibit the transfer of a “completed firearm without a serial number and background check,” something already prohibited under Federal law.

This memorial is clearly the work of people who have no idea what they are talking about.

The “memorial” has no force of law, but it certainly is a roadmap for what we can expect from the legislature in the future.

The Oregon Democrats are using your money to urge Congress to restrict your rights and they are doing it in your name.

This is an outrageous misuse of taxpayer dollars.

Please take a moment to let the Oregon Senate know how you feel about this.

02.10.18

As you know, the House Judiciary Committee has passed the amended HB 4145 to the full House.

The committee, which is controlled by Democrats, was assisted by two Republicans who voted to move the bill forward.

They were Andy Olson and Richard Vial.

Republicans Sherrie Sprenger and Bill Post stood up for your rights and voted “no.”

Duane Stark was excused, but that counts as a “no” vote as well.

It is hard to overstate the danger this bill presents, just as it is hard to overstate how deceitful or ignorant its proponents are.

The bill as passed out of committee extends the definition of “family member” to anyone you have ever had an “intimate relationship” with in your entire life.

This was done to create a larger universe of people whose gun rights can be taken if someone requests a protective order against them. The bill also calls for firearms confiscation of anyone “convicted of stalking under ORS 163.732”.  This does not mean someone who has violated a “stalking order” this means anyone who had an order sworn out against them no matter what they had done.

Of course, the bill contains not one single word of protection for people who are falsely accused, and there are plenty of them.

The proponents of the bill claim that existing law protects the accused because making a false report is a crime.  Tell that to Shane Morgan.

On Feb. 9 the Bend Bulletin published a lengthy story about the hell he went through when a girlfriend, Kambria Armstrong, created an elaborate web of lies to destroy his life.

The story reminded readers of past headlines. “Bend man accused of forcing teen into sex work” and “Court records detail deranged, illegal relationship.”

According to the Bulletin; “The fallout was swift and severe, he told The Bulletin through his lawyer, Jamie Gerlitz. He lost a job. His roommates kicked him out. He felt scared everywhere he went. But it became clear the stories told by Morgan’s accuser, Kambria Armstrong, were not believable.”

After months of torment and legal nightmares the truth came out.  So what happened to his accuser? What happened to the woman who fabricated these vicious lies?

According to the Bulletin:

“(DA)Hummel said his office considered charges of filing a false police report against Armstrong. He said he decided against it in part because it would have been difficult to prove her misstatements were intentional. He also said he worries doing so could have a chilling effect on survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, who might worry no one will believe their accounts and they’ll be charged with a crime.”

This is an outrage and exactly what we have been warning the legislature about. Domestic violence, like any violence, is a deadly serious issue. People who are victims of abuse or who are genuinely in fear for their lives deserve all the protection they can get. But this bill is a charade. This is not about keeping women safe. And the people pushing this travesty know it.

Time after time we hear stories of the victims of abuse and violence. And time after time it is clear that this bill would have prevented virtually none of it. The backers of this bill keep perpetuating the dangerous fantasy that a piece of paper will keep a woman safe from a dangerous and violent attacker. Yet, from the supporters of this bill, we keep hearing stories of people who either violated protective orders, or were never subject to them in the first place.

Even the Chairman of the Committee, Jeff Barker, justified his support for the bill by recounting an incident of domestic violence he responded to as a police officer. What he did not mention was this bill would have had no effect whatsoever on that incident or its outcome.

HB 4145 protects no one. If the State of Oregon wanted to protect women it would stop squandering millions on fiasco projects and failing agencies and spend more on services and shelters for victims of abuse.

If it wanted to protect women it would not  prohibit them from having the means to protect themselves or subject them to indefinite delays to acquire self defense tools. It would not require them to wait a month and a half to be allowed to be armed when they leave their homes. But the Democrats in the legislature have rejected efforts to provide those tools for at risk women.

What HB 4145 does is create new and more dangerous tools for vindictive people to steal the rights of those who have done nothing wrong. Because there are already plenty of laws to address people who have done something wrong.

Please use this link to contact the members of the Oregon House and tell them in no uncertain terms that you strongly oppose HB 4145 and the damage it will certainly do.