Senate Bill 1551 was sent off to the Senate Rules Committee today.
The Senate Judiciary Committee, (chaired by Floyd Prozanski, who promised to pass it out of committee and onto the floor) did not vote on the bill itself. The vote was only to move it to the other committee. Pro-gun Senators Jeff Kruse and Betsy Close both voted “no.” The Rules Committee stays open after other committees have closed, so keep watching this. Anything can happen.
There have been reports that Senator Arnie Roblan did not want the bill to go to the floor where he believed it would be defeated. Roblan voted in favor of a similar bill in committee last year. There is the distinct possibility he does not want to vote on the bill at all. If this is the case it is because of your relentless pressure. Don’t stop now.
The Senate Rules Committee includes extremist, anti-rights Senators Diane Rosenbaum and Ginny Burdick so we have to assume the intention is to keep the bill alive.
Yesterday we told you about HB 4035 which allows some corrections officers to keep guns in their cars when they go to work.
That bill passed out of House Judiciary today with “no” votes from Representative Andy Olson and Carolyn Tomei. Olson’s apparent objection was that he preferred if the Department of Corrections would supply gun lockers so guns were not being secured in cars. We think this is a mistake. Until the DOC agrees to something like this, Corrections Officers should not be easy prey on their way to and from work.
Tomei’s objection was her guaranteed “no” on any bill that includes the word “gun” but does not include the word “ban.”
We think this bill does not go nearly far enough since language was added that said:“Section 2 of this 2014 Act applies to employment contracts entered into or renewed on or after the effective date of this 2014 Act.”
We think this language has the potential to cause problems down the road.
Another bill we told you about yesterday, HB 4068, will allow persons who have been convicted of minor marijuana violations in other states to have the same access to CHLs that people who had similar convictions in Oregon have. It will also grant this to persons who had minor marijuana convictions prior to 1973. Once again, Tomei voted “no.” All other committee members voted yes.
In other news there was an interesting court decision today regarding California’s restrictions on carrying firearms. You can read it here.
What follows is the contact info for the Senate Rules Committee which now has Floyd’s gun registration bill. Below is a sample cut and paste message to them.
Diane Rosenbaum
503-986-1700
Sen.DianeRosenbaum@state.or.us
Ted Ferriolli
503-986-1950
sen.tedferrioli@state.or.us
Lee Beyer
503-986-1706
Sen.LeeBeyer@state.or.us
Ginny Burdick
503-986-1718
sen.ginnyburdick@state.or.us
Bruce Starr
503-986-1715
Sen.BruceStarr@state.or.us
________________________________________________________
Dear Senator,
It’s clear that SB 1551 is nothing more than an effort to expand gun registration. The very records the State Police claim to be destroying are required to be kept by private parties. Failure to keep these records is a crime and there is no provision for a person who has legitimately lost them. Why should I be required to keep records (perhaps forever) the State Police are required to destroy?
Even the Oregon Sheriff’s Association recognizes this serves no legitimate law enforcement purpose.
Vote NO on SB 1551
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