Today we were able to put the brakes on SB 315, a bill that requires gun dealers and pawnshops to share info with the Feds about used guns they have taken into their inventory. The original intention of this bill was to allow gun stores and pawn shops who acquire used firearms to report those acquisitions to local police via email rather than regular mail, as is now mandated.
The existing law makes no sense. Police make no use of this info currently and police departments we have spoken to did not even know the law existed. Some pawn shops and gun dealers we spoke to also had no idea this was existing statute. The statute is pointless and outdated and the better answer to amending this law is to simply repeal it. We have requested that this be done. The bill was not moved out of committee, but is by no means dead.
The one of interest to most gun owners is HB 3093. This is a very limited reciprocity bill and, as you might expect, already has the anti-gunners in a complete tizzy. They are trotting out the same tired, disproven and comical lies about blood running in the streets if people from other states are allowed to carry firearms here.
The bill requires the exact same requirements of non residents to carry as we have here in Oregon. The anti-gunner’s arguments are, of course, hysterical nonsense.
We believe this bill may be used as a vehicle to add provisions to the recently passed universal gun owner registration bill, SB 941. We’ll know tomorrow.
There are MANY deals being proposed behind the scenes on gun legislation and we are not done yet by a long shot.
Today, unelected Democrat Governor Kate Brown, who replaced disgraced Democrat Governor John Kitzhaber, ignored the will of the people, the counties, and the sheriffs and signed into law SB 941, the universal gun owner registration bill.
Today we also received an email from another sheriff who said he will not enforce it.
As you know, the bill contains so many dangerous provisions, we cannot possibly list them all. The parts of the bill outlawing the private transfer of guns, storing firearms for friends, neighbors or persons in need of safekeeping, along with the prohibition on providing firearms to persons who are in danger, take effect 90 days after today’s signing.
If you store a firearm for a friend, or lend one to a neighbor without first taking the gun to a gun dealer and asking for police permission, you will be a criminal.
Yes, this is a tremendous setback for gun owners. We cannot deny that. However, please do not think this is over.
We urge you to defy this sinister attack on your rights. We urge you to refuse to comply.
In the coming days we are going to ask for your most generous support in our fight to respond to this unconstitutional outrage. Please stay tuned.
My friends, this battle has only just begun.
Don’t despair. Subvert.
As you know there are recalls underway for three of the people who helped pass this attack your rights. There will be more in the future. Please do all you can to support these efforts.
When SB 941, the universal gun registration bill, passed on Monday we told you to expect more gun legislation. Now we have it.
House Democrat Rep Brian Clem has introduced HB 3553. This bill is the result of the “concessions” he claims to have extracted from leadership to buy his “yes” vote on the worst gun bill ever passed in Oregon. Clem told us that he agreed to vote to destroy your liberty, your privacy, and your rights in exchange for these important changes in the bill. (Clem had originally signaled that he would vote “no” on the bill.)
So Clem teamed up with Democrat House Rep Paul Evans and introduced this “compromise.” It is nothing short of comical.
(Keep in mind, Evans, who many were deluded into thinking was “pro-gun,” has called for universal gun registration and also blatantly lied about the registration portion of SB 941. )
So what did Clem get in exchange for selling out the gun owners of his district and the state? He got a pathetic joke of a bill that gives Oregonians a “tax credit” for the fees they will be forced to pay the state in order to register their firearms, enter their personal info in a state police database and further the goal of future confiscation.
Clem and Evans seem to think that Oregonians are so stupid that they will see this absurd insult as a “pro gun” bill. Sorry guys, your transparent effort to rehabilitate yourselves after bowing to the Bloomberg money isn’t fooling anyone. If this is the best you can do after being slapped around by the Speaker, give it up. We all know whose side you play for.
SB 941 has passed the Oregon House. That was the last stop before it goes to the Governor who will sign it.
Today’s debate was very long. The House Republicans gave it all they had. We are indebted to them, but, in spite of mountains of evidence that this bill will do nothing but hurt the law abiding, the House Democrats just continued to parrot the same tired lies they have been telling since the bill was introduced. Oregon will soon have one of the worst background check requirements in the country.
The carrier of the bill willfully mislead the chamber about what the bill did, but it really didn’t matter. The minds were made up.
Three Democrats joined all the Republicans voting no. They were Jeff Barker, Brad Witt and Caddy McKeown. We appreciate their support.
Two Democrats we thought we could count on folded. They were Debbie Boone and Brian Clem.
We think at this point we will see more legislation related to this issue before the session is over, but that could turn out to be another false promise, or it could make things worse, but no matter what, we will keep you informed.
We want to say to each and every one of you who worked tirelessly and against the odds, that we are truly and deeply thankful. Your efforts were heroic in the face of a very deceitful majority. We also want to say the battle does not end. As you know, many counties and sheriffs are on record opposing this and we believe there are still opportunities to throw up roadblocks. We will be exploring all of them.
Now that the bill is passed, the clock is no longer ticking and we can take our time in planning responses.
But one thing won’t wait. As you know there are recalls underway for three of the supporters of this bill. There may be more in the future. Please do all you can to support these efforts.
The peddlers of fear are ratcheting up their screeds and pulling out all the stops. New York megalomaniac, Michael Bloomberg, has made a giant media buy in Oregon to spread his freedom smashing agenda to our state.
If nothing changes, the final vote on SB 941 is Monday. We have very little time to drive a stake through the heart of this evil piece of legislation.
There are a handful of Democrats in the House who are on the fence. We need five to stop this atrocious gateway to gun confiscation. Don’t stop now. Bloomberg is trying to buy our state and our rights. He has a handful of zealous mercenaries but a boatload of money. Please make one more push to let the swing voters know that a vote for this bill will be a mistake. We have listed the House Reps who are in play and a sample message below.
As you consider your vote on SB 941, scheduled for Monday, please keep a few things in mind.
Every day another sheriff voices his opposition to this dangerous and counterproductive bill. Most recently the Sheriff of Curry County expressed his opposition. 23 counties oppose it. The City of Turner just went on record opposing it.
You are, no doubt, being bombarded with the false statistics of the Bloomberg lobby who lie and tell you “81% of gun owners” want their name on a government database. Have you heard from any of them? They also tell you that in states where there is universal gun registration “48% fewer on duty police officers are shot and killed.” But in 2014 in Oregon, exactly NO police officers were shot and killed. What is 48% less than zero?
This bill is dangerous, polarizing and opposed by more than half of the state. Please carefully consider the real ramifications of this bill on the people who elected you to protect their liberty.
The Capitol rumor mill is in overdrive, and while it’s true that Salem is the place where truth goes to take a vacation, one thing is certain, the fight to stop universal gun owner registration is far from over.
As we told you, it looked like SB 941, the gun owner harassment act of 2015, might be on the House Floor as early as today. While things can change at lightning speed when gun grabbers want to bend the rules, as of right this minute the bill is not even scheduled for a “Second Reading” which usually happens the day before it’s voted on. What does this mean for us?
It can only mean one thing. They don’t yet have the votes to ram it through. As you know, this bill has been fast tracked from the beginning. Bypassing all normal scheduling, the anti-rights zealots have done all they can to race this bill forward. Now it looks like it might be as late as Monday before it is voted on. It could even be later.
This means that your tireless efforts are having an effect and some Democrats are having second thoughts about their career futures should they vote for this deranged attack on your rights.
To be sure, there are plenty who continue to parrot the mindless lies about “dangerous loopholes” and “internet gun trafficking” even when they know what they are saying is false. Michael Bloomberg continues to throw vast amounts of money on a media onslaught against liberty, but… if Val Hoyle had this nailed down, they would have voted on it already.
That’s why now is the time to turn up the heat. If you’ve been working hard at contacting legislators, we are going to ask you to do it again. If you’ve never made your voice heard, now is the time to do it.
As we told you on Monday, there are a handful of Democrats who we think need to hear from you now.
We’ve listed them below but want to add one more to our previous list. Please also contact Rep. Paul Evans. His phone number is 503-986-1420, email Rep.PaulEvans@state.or.us
Evans is no friend of gun owners. His rant in the hard left blog “Blue Oregon” shows just how extreme he is. In it, he calls for registration of “automatic weapons,” (which he defines as “hand guns as well as rifles,”) with the county sheriffs.
Aside from how much he demonstrates his ignorance of firearms and current law, he also calls for amending the US Constitution to redefine the Second Amendment. However, we have reason to believe Evans would like to portray himself as pro-gun. So he’s wavering. Please contact Evans, and the legislators below, with a message that your rights are not negotiable. Sample text follows after the contact info for the other House Reps who need to hear from you.
The supporters of SB 941 have made it clear that this bill will not stop criminals. In fact, the Oregon State Police report that they virtually never take action against prohibited people who try to buy guns. So who does this bill actually affect? People like me. People who obey the law. People who want to be able to safely store a firearm for a friend or neighbor. People who want to be able to protect someone whose life is in danger. People who vote.
I am outraged that the promoters of this attack on my rights continue to lie about this bill. They continue to parrot the disproven claims about how many people want to have their privacy invaded and their names put in a government data base. They continue to repeat the lies about “unregulated internet gun sales” and they continue to call my rights “a loophole.” I am not a criminal and will not be treated like one.
My rights, my privacy and my property are not “loopholes.” Vote no on SB 941.
The Oregon Senate, on an almost party line vote, today passed Senator Mark Hass’s ivory ban bill. (Republican Brian Boquist voted with the Democrats.)
SB 913 will, with limited exception, ban the sale of ivory. While the bill purports to save African elephants from Al Qaeda terrorists (no really, that’s what Hass stated on the Senate floor.) what it actually does is destroy the value of property that may have been in your family for generations or that you acquired perfectly legally. Seems the Democrats are determined to steal as much of what you own as possible. While pretending to protect endangered species, the bill also outlaws the sale of mammoth tusks. We have it on good authority that the mammoth is no longer on the endangered species list. Apparently Senator Hass is unaware of this.
The bill allows for an exception if the ivory makes up less than 20% of a gun or knife by volume. and you can document that the gun or knife was manufactured before 1976. Of course this means that the amount of ivory in question is immaterial, only how much of the “volume” of a gun or knife it makes up.
Senator Alan Olsen asked Senator Hass a few questions about the bill. We’ll share them in reverse order.
Olsen wanted to know how a person “documents” that the item in question was manufactured before 1976. For example, could you write a letter to yourself saying this was so?
Hass replied this was “up to law enforcement.” But the far more astonishing answer was when Hass was asked how one determines the “volume” of a firearm.
Olsen simply asked “How do you measure the volume of a gun?” Hass’s response after a long pause was: (not making this up) “By weight…or volume.”
There you have it folks. You measure volume… by volume. You are forgiven if you think we are doomed when people making laws reason this way.
The bill also makes exceptions for some musical instruments. Just for a laugh someone should ask Hass how to measure the volume of a piano. The bill now moves to the House.
But while lunacy reigns in Salem, there is some hope on the local front.
Traci Brumbles and Ray Biggs will be on the ballot being mailed tomorrow, 4/29/15, for the Saint Helens School Board in District 502 of Columbia County.
Both Traci and Ray are supporters of the Constitution, the 2nd Amendment and are friends of OFF. Ray is an incumbent and was instrumental in the repeal of the District Policy that refused to allow staff and volunteers to carry concealed handguns on school grounds though perfectly legal under state law.
Both of these candidates could use your support and. if you live in the district, please consider casting your vote for them. If you have questions for them, Traci can be contacted at idoliquor@msn.com (liquor agent) and Ray can be reached at 503-397-6061 .
The House vote on the liberty smashing, privacy invading, woman attacking SB 941 will happen any day. It could be as soon as this Wednesday.
Republicans plan to introduce alternatives (minority reports) and this might slow it down, but not by much.
We are heading into the home stretch on one of the worst anti-gun bills in the country. If 941 passes, it will make it illegal for someone to leave a firearm in your safekeeping unless they first conducted a background check on you.
Consider the implications. Your friend or neighbor is suddenly faced with the critical need to remove a firearm from her house. Perhaps she is experiencing a mental health crisis. Maybe she suddenly finds herself having to care for someone who should not have a gun available. You’re willing to store the gun in your safe, but you are forbidden from doing so until you pass a background check which could take months !
Or, the opposite happens. Someone you know is in fear for her life and has no way to protect herself. You cannot provide a firearm to her unless she passes a check by the Oregon State Police. Because the system so often fails, for some this could be a death sentence.
Want to lend a friend a hunting rifle? Sorry that’s illegal. What if you have a firearms trust? Can those guns be transferred? No one knows.
23 counties have opposed this bill. Many sheriffs have come out in opposition. Even its sponsors and supporters admit it won’t stop crime. But the vast majority of Democrats in the legislature have chosen to ignore them, and you, to ramrod this bill through as another building block towards complete registration and confiscation. They have continued to read from a discredited script like mindless drones.
We have little time to defeat this, so please contact the Democrats listed below. These are the people who can kill this bill. (Democrat Jeff Barker has already made it clear he will oppose this terrible bill.) The Bloomberg funded anti-gunners have pulled out all the stops with media campaigns and email blitzes. Time to double down.
Please send the message, “SB 941 does nothing to stop criminals but endangers the law abiding, especially single women with no protection against predators. The promoters of this bill have put a bull’s eye on the backs of the most vulnerable. Vote no on SB 941.”
Yesterday the House Rules Committee held a marathon hearing on SB 941, the universal gun owner registration bill.
While the anti-rights side provided the usual collection of lies and misrepresentations, we were very gratified and proud to have had powerful testimony for the rights of Oregonians by panels of informed, thoughtful advocates.
Joining OFF and the NRA on the first panel were Sheriffs Tim Svenson of Yamhill County and John Hanlin of Douglas County.
They both provided compelling testimony against this bill. We are deeply grateful that they took a stand. Residents of those counties are lucky to have them as Sheriff.
County Commissioners also came from as far away as Wallowa and Wheeler Counties to oppose this dangerous and outrageous attack on liberty and safety.
Commissioner Paul Castilleja came from Wallowa County, and Judge Chris Perry came from Wheeler County. Commissioner Tootie Smith came from Clackamas, Kevin Cameron came from Marion. Commissioner Stan Primozich came from Yamhill County.
Commissioners Chris Boice and Tim Freeman came from Douglas County.
Each and every one of them made very powerful statements against this bill. We are indebted to them for standing up against the tyranny of the Democrats in the legislature.
We also want to thank Lee Richeson of Rich’s Guns in Donald and Karl Durkheimer of NW Armory in Portland for representing gun dealers. Keep them in mind when you are shopping. These folks went to bat for gun owners based solely on their principles and commitment to our rights. Also providing excellent testimony was Joe Dula representing the Canby Rod and Gun Club. If more clubs and ranges took the stand that CRGC did, this battle would be far easier to win.
Ironically, at the same time the committee was hearing this bill that will prevent you from lending a firearm to someone in danger, or storing a firearm for a friend, one more city, Mollalla, passed a resolution opposing the bill!
Today, the Rules Committee voted on the bill after refusing to consider a number of proposals that would provide greater penalties for criminals, protect victims of crime, and fund mental health services. The Democrats on the committee voted down every one of these proposals. Democrat Dan Rayfield responded to each proposal with a parrot like mantra of “dangerous loophole.” We lost count of how many times he used the phrase.
Along party lines, the Democrats on the committee also voted down a proposal to remove the “emergency clause” from the bill.
The “emergency clause” is a tool used by legislators to make sure that citizens cannot block a bill by referendum. The Democrats are so determined to ram this through they are doing everything they can to prevent you from stopping it.
This is the most dangerous anti-gun bill to have ever gotten this far in the legislature. Your rights, your privacy and your guns are truly in the crosshairs. The liars who are pushing this bill will stop at nothing and their pockets are filled with Bloomberg money. They bussed in school children to use as props and flew up a “gun dealer” from California (Joe Deaser) who claimed (falsely) that he just came on his own because “he heard about the bill.” This was provably false. He was on panel of invited testimony, something he lied about when questioned. He bragged about how he could cash in on mandatory background checks. He had appeared as “invited testimony” when the bill was heard on the Senate side.
The bill now moves to the full House for a vote. That will be our last chance to stop it. The other side has unlimited funds. All we have is you.
Please keep up the pressure. At this point we believe no Republicans will vote for this bill, so please concentrate on the House Democrats when you contact them.
If you want to send a personal note to your House Rep, especially if they are a Democrat, you can find them using this link.
On the right side of that page use the “Find My Legislators” link to find your Oregon House Rep. Call and email them.
Should this bill pass, you will become a criminal if you lend a firearm to a hunting buddy, provide a gun for a woman facing a predator or store a gun for a friend.
You will be forbidden from transferring a gun to another person without going through a dealer, paying high fees and facing the notoriously failed Oregon background check system.
Because of the behavior of legislators who are determined to undermine your rights and ignore the wise counsel of law enforcement, several recall campaigns have begun.
There is one against House Rep Val Hoyle, who hid her anti-gun agenda well enough to get an endorsement from the NRA and became the chief mover of this bill in the House, and another against Bloomberg lacky Chuck Riley in the Senate and a House Rep within his district, Susan McLain.
We believe these efforts are important and urge you to support them in any way you can, especially if you live in those districts.
SB 941, the mandatory gun owner registration bill is scheduled for its House hearing this Wednesday at 3pm. Invited testimony starts at 1pm. You can sign up starting at 11.30 am.
Please come, especially if you have been the victim of the failed background check system.
This hearing is very important. The counties oppose this bill, the sheriffs oppose this bill. We need you to come and oppose it! If you want to send written testimony please use this address hrules.exhibits@state.or.us
Today we picked the winning ticket for our rifle raffle. The rifle was an AR, generously donated by our friends at RRC Firearms.
As we told you, the rifle comes with one high powered 30 clip assault bullet holder clip and a shoulder thing that goes up.
RRC AR Rifle
We transferred the rifle to the winner today. It was everything the anti-gun zealots fear. The weapon of war, the self animated killing machine, was transferred directly from the trunk of car, in an obscure location with no background check!
It’s this very kind of transfer that will no longer be “easy” if the Democrats pass SB 941. 941 will require that the two parties to the transfer find an available gun store that agrees to deal with the transfer of a firearm that’s not even theirs. A large fee will have to be paid and the parties are now subject to the frequently failed Oregon background check system. If there is an unjustified delay or denial, well tough luck for you.
So, here is where this all becomes cosmically ironic. You see, the rifle was won by State Senator Alan Olsen. Under the Democrats’ bill we would have actually been forced to subject him to a “background check” to see if he was lawfully allowed to have a rifle. You cannot make this stuff up. The ticket was chosen by Traci Hensley, a member of the Canby City Council. She is pictured below with the winner.
Thanks to everyone who participated and congratulations to Senator Olsen. The battle continues.
Even as the Democrats in the legislature continue their efforts to ram through SB 941 by rigging the system and lying about the bill, resistance is mounting. We have just received a notification from the City of Myrtle Creek (Douglas County) that they have passed a resolution opposing SB 941. You may recall that the City of Myrtle Point in Coos County passed a similar resolution in March. The City of Port Orford is scheduled to vote on one tomorrow.
It’s becoming painfully obvious that the people of the state oppose this attack on their rights and the Democrats in the legislature are determined to shove this bill through in spite of the fact that most counties have expressed opposition and more and more sheriffs want nothing to do with it.
House Majority Leader Val Hoyle is promising to fast track the bill through the House. It’s safe to assume that the deck will be stacked against gun owners when hearings are held in that chamber.
Tomorrow at 8am the Senate Judiciary Committee will be hearing another attack on your rights, SB 945. 945 will require that you keep firearms locked up. The Chief Sponsor is Senator Elizabeth Hayward whose comments on the floor debate yesterday for the universal gun registration bill (SB 941) demonstrated she has no idea what the law actually says or is willing to lie about it. It tells you all you need to know about the Democrat’s agenda that while Hayward is demanding that you keep firearms locked up, she voted for a bill that would make you a criminal if you locked up firearms for a friend or neighbor!
In the midst of this battle, you can rest assured that some will use it to cash in. Today we received a fundraising letter from “Oregon Gun Owners“. This group is using their name to convince real gun owners that they are protecting gun rights in Oregon. OGO is run by Paul Phillips. Phillips is a contract lobbyist who runs PAC/WEST Communication and has testified in favor of anti-gun bills. In fact, OGO has had virtually no presence in Salem during the major fights including the battle against universal gun registration. OGO has endorsed Floyd Prozanski and Peter Courtney as well as contributing to them and anti-gun politicians Val Hoyle, Arnie Roblan, Dave Hunt, Phil Barnhart, Alan Bates, Lee Beyer, and Martha Schrader.
Oregon Gun Owners was responsible for HB 2535 in 1999, the first, failed effort to end private sales of firearms at gun shows.
A quick look at their website shows they have made no efforts to battle gun control in 2015 and in fact have done nothing but report on events well after the fact. Don’t be fooled by “Oregon Gun Owners.”
With no surprises, the Oregon Senate today passed SB 941, the universal gun owner registration bill.
Republicans made numerous motions to act on bills that would actually have a positive effect on the lives of Oregonians.
These included bills that would provide funds for improving mental health treatment, protecting the victims of sex trafficking. and aiding law enforcement in counties crushed by regulations that prevent them from generating revenue from natural resources. Every Senate Democrats voted against every single motion.
Senator Diane Rosenbaum used a procedural move to shut the Republicans down and force immediate consideration of the bill.
In the course of the floor debate it became clear that the chief sponsor of the bill, Floyd Prozanski, either had no idea what was in his bill or was willing to openly lie about it. He answered numerous questions with answers that were patently false.
The usual false statistics were trotted out by the anti-gunners. The truth about what this bill will do was hidden. The complications and contradictions contained in the bill were lied about.
Senator Elisabeth Hayward, who has admitted to an inability to function without psychiatric medication, made a bizarre rambling speech about mental health and openly lied about current law saying that now, people who conduct background checks have no protection from liability if they transfer a gun. Of course, this is false.
While Democrat Betsy Johnson voted “no” on the final bill, she did vote with the rest of the Democrats on two procedural motions to move the bill forward.
When asked what would happen if a person wanted to store his guns in a friend’s safe (since this would be illegal under the bill) Prozanski said that maybe the local DA would just “choose not to prosecute.”
This bill now allows you to transfer a firearm to the spouse or gay lover of a family member if you KNOW the family member is a felon, but not to a heterosexual girlfriend or boyfriend you live with.
Although Prozanski lied about it on the floor, the bill completely outlaws transfers of handguns to persons 18-21 years of age if they are not a relative. Of course, there’s plenty more that makes this bill a nightmare.
The fight now moves to the House. And it will move very fast. Expect it to be assigned to the House Rules Committee instead of the Judiciary Committee where it would face opposition. And keep fighting. This is not over by a long shot.
Brett Webb is a Councilman in the City of Port Orford. He is also a Port Commissioner. Mr. Webb will be proposing a city wide resolution in opposition to the universal gun owner registration bill being rammed through the legislature.
If his resolution passes, Port Orford will join over 20 other counties and cities standing up to the Prozanski/ Hoyle gun grab.
You can see a copy of the resolution here. Councilman Webb will be introducing this resolution this Thursday at 3:30pm.
You can help. Please send a note in support of Councilman Webb’s pro-rights resolution to the members of the City Council.
Sample message follows: ______________________ Dear Council Member,
I strongly support Councilman Webb’s proposed resolution in opposition to an expansion of Oregon’s failed background check system to private transfers between friends and family members. As you know, over 20 counties have voiced their opposition to this terrible idea and I am proud to see that you are considering joining them. The current system regularly denies transfers to qualified buyers and there are practically no examples of these denials actually being used to stop criminals. This bill racing through the legislature would even forbid me from safeguarding a firearm for someone who had to be out of town. Clearly, this benefits no one. Please approve this resolution and send a message to Salem that you want to protect the rights of your residents.
“But I can tell you that if I go two days without taking my medication, I can’t walk in the door of this building. I can’t get up in the morning. I can’t take a shower.”
These are the words of Senator Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, who says she suffers from “major depression.” Hayward also claims that both she and her husband “own weapons.” Certainly this has the potential to be a volatile combination and it is our hope that Hayward is getting adequate treatment and that the “weapons” she keeps in her home are not accessible to her. (Based on her comments she almost certainly would be denied a concealed handgun license anywhere in the state.) But apparently Hayward believes that her disability should be projected onto gun owners in Oregon.
Dr. Steiner Hayward
Hayward is the chief sponsor of SB 945, a bill that would send you to prison if a minor were to access a firearm you owned. The bill is scheduled for a public hearing and work session on Thursday, April 16th at 8am in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Given Hayward’s admission of her own inability to “function as a normal human being” without her medication, it seems odd and hypocritical that she would limit the punishments created in the bill, to guns acquired by minors. Why not punish people who allow access to firearms by people who suffer from depression and “can’t take a shower” without medicine?
It is also disturbing that while attempting to stigmatize gun owners, Hayward ignores all the other things that a child, or mentally unsound adult, could acquire in a home and hurt themselves or others with.
Ironically, Hayward is a physician. One would think she would be more concerned about deaths by overdoses of drugs, especially the kind of drugs the she herself is authorized to prescribe.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drug overdoses were the leading cause of injury death in 2013. Among people 25 to 64 years old, drug overdoses caused more deaths than motor vehicle crashes.
Of the 43,982 overdose deaths in 2013, over half of them were related to prescription drugs, a vastly larger number of deaths than caused by minors’ access to firearms. According to a Washington Post story, (no friend to gun owners) in 2011 there were a total of 591 accidental gun deaths. A tragically high number to be sure, but dwarfed by the number of deaths caused by doctor prescribed drugs.
Add to this the staggering number of people who die every year as a result of mistakes made by doctors and it becomes clear that Hayward has little interest in reducing deaths, only in attacking gun owners.
A simple change to the bill would require that, in addition to firearms, people should be prosecuted if they do not lock up drugs. Of course, this same logic could be extended to people who don’t safeguard knives, hammers and the keys to their car. How many juveniles die every year after gaining access to their parent’s vehicles?
Hayward is also a sponsor of SB 941, the “universal background check” bill due to be voted on on Tuesday in the Senate. This is another ironic twist. You see, under that bill, it would be illegal for you to safeguard a firearm for a friend who is experiencing an episode of the very kind of depression Hayward claims makes it impossible for her to “go to work” without medication.
If a friend came to you one night and asked if you would please put his gun in your safe until his mental state improved, you would be forbidden from doing so unless you conducted a background check on yourself. Of course, it better be before 10PM or that would be impossible, and if you were a victim of one of the Oregon State Police’s many delays or denials, you would have to tell your friend that the law prohibited you from helping them.
Hayward’s struggle with depression and her reliance on drugs to function “normally” is serious and tragic, but her focus on attacking the rights of gun owners is misguided, counterproductive and clearly the result of a political agenda far more than a desire to reduce deaths.
Please consider contacting Senator Hayward and suggesting she concentrate on solving the problems of prescription drug overdoses and doctor errors, which cause far more deaths than accidents with firearms.
It is troubling that, while seeking to punish gun owners when minors access their firearms, you have made no effort to force people to safeguard prescription drugs, tools, knives or their cars, all of which are responsible for far more deaths than firearms acquired by minors.
If you are really interested in saving lives, why not address the countless deaths caused every year by doctors’ mistakes?
Why are you also promoting SB 941, which would make it illegal to safeguard a firearm for a friend who was suffering from a bout of depression?
Your policies are driven by agendas rather than any desire to reduce deaths. I urge you to reconsider these dangerous positions.
