Search Results for: and now we know

1.30.2023

The Oregon Legislative session is rolling on. We are now monitoring about 25 bills that would affect gun owners.

As always, the Democrats are hard at work attempting to enable violent criminals and endanger law abiding Oregonians.

As an added bonus they are working to pass legislation to allow criminals to vote FROM JAIL.

Now, you don’t suppose the truly captive audience in lock up might get some “assistance” filling out their ballots, be offered incentives to vote a certain way, or trade ballots for extra meals or privileges do you?

Oregon’s cartel media is busy spreading stories that are either misleading or patently false about OFF.  What is now published or broadcast in “mainstream” “news” sources is often comically and obviously fake, yet the hacks who churn out this garbage will never miss an opportunity to post nonsense if they think it can demean the people they hate. Like hunters for example. Of course, then it’s up to you to go seek out the truth.

The people in charge are corrupt or blatantly partisan.

These battles are not about differences of ideology, they are about facts versus lies, about freedom and integrity versus corruption and tyranny.

As you can imagine, We have a lot of work to do.

First an update on the lawsuit against Measure 114.

As you know, in a case brought by Gun Owners of America, a state judge in Harney County put a hold on all of measure 114. So, none of it is legally in effect.

However, the promoters of the measure have managed to do much of the damage they were hoping for anyway.

There are still tens of thousands of law abiding Oregonians being denied their rights and property because the “Firearms Instant Check System”, run by the Oregon State Police under the direction of the Oregon Governor, is in chaos.

While some transfers are taking place many thousands are in limbo waiting for a resolution.

If the OSP takes more than 30 days to issue an approval, the buyer is back to square one and the background check has to be done again. And again the buyer is stuck in a Soviet like experience simply trying to exercise a right.

Many distributors are refusing to ship products to Oregon because of their concerns about Mz 114, and, as you know, Oregon’s Attorney General, an anti-rights extremest has asked the Oregon Supreme Court to overrule the Harney Judge’s decision.  The Court could issue a decision on that at any time.

Meanwhile our Federal lawsuit is moving forward at the glacial pace they all do.

The Judge in the Federal case refused to put a hold on Mz 114 except for the permit to purchase part, which the state was forced to admit  (as we all knew) was impossible to implement.

But even that hold is temporary.  However, the judge did offer to skip a hearing on a preliminary injunction and go directly to a trial on whether 114 is Constitutional.  She noted that the measure is on hold as a result of the state injunction.

This was not a deal the lawyers in our combined cases agreed to. Clearly, the state hold could disappear tomorrow if the Democrats who are in charge have their way and then countless Oregonians and gun dealers would be shafted.

So the next step in the Federal case will be a hearing on a preliminary injunction in Federal Court.

Don’t feel lonely if you’re confused. That hearing is scheduled for late February.

There is no timetable for when the hearing to determine whether the law is constitutional or not would happen. These cases can drag on for insane amounts of time. We are very grateful for your continued support in this very expensive battle.

And of course, there are other cases winding their way through the courts that could impact ours and the actions of our own legislature could change everything.

Senator Floyd Prozanski, who worked side by side with Ginny Burdick for years to strip Oregonians of their rights is carrying on her work after she left for a better paying government gig.

Floyd has announced his intentions to implement Mz. 114.  He can use any one of many anti-gun bills (or even some “pro-gun” bills) as a vehicle for this, but there are some that were clearly introduced as “place holders” to be gut and stuffed later. HB 2373 looks like a prime candidate.

As we have pointed out, the Democrats have the usual collection of anti-gun bills including one to make gun owners criminals if they come to a rally near the Capitol while lawfully armed. In fact, if the Democrats have their way, concealed handgun license holders could be arrested merely for driving past the Capitol if in possession of a firearm. But not only the Capitol. Gun owners could be breaking the law simply because they were too close to any government building. SB 686. 

If the Democrats are successful, picking up a family member at the airport while armed would get you a year in jail. Think about that.

So, given the fact that the Democrats have not only a burning desire to attack law abiding Oregonians, but they also have a majority of both Houses, the Governor’s Office, the Secretary of State’s Office and the Attorney Generals Office, what options do gun owners have to hang onto their rights, property and freedom in Oregon?

Well even though Oregon Republicans gave up their right to walk out without a whimper, they still have a card to play should they break with recent practice and grow a spine.

Democrats no longer have a “super majority.”  They cannot pass new taxes without Republican votes. And the Democrats are salivating to pass even more taxes to soak Oregonians to pay for new programs to address the massive problems they created with their previous programs.

Our new governor is already talking about spending MILLIONS on more failed policies to address the homeless crisis Democrats created. And since Oregonians voted for guaranteed “appropriate” health care for ALL with no plan for who was going to pay for it, you can rest assured that Kotek and the other leftists will be doing all they can to fund this boondoggle with more of your money.

But, they cannot do it without the Republicans helping them.

That means, quite simply, that Republicans have the power to put a stop to all anti-gun legislation if they dig in their heels, show some courage and refuse to go along with the Democrats tax madness if the Democrats insist on screwing Oregon gun owners.

This power is now in the hands of the Republican Senate Leader, Tim Knopp, and the Republican House Leader, Vikki Iverson.

Knopp is already saying he plans to stand up to the Democrats.  But remember, Knopp was the ONLY Republican Senator who refused to walk out when the Republicans, under Herman Baertshieger, walked out and controlled the agenda.  Knopp stayed behind with the Democrats.

Iverson’s husband attacked OFF in an email to candidates in the last election saying OFF was a “fringe group” and failing to mention the thousands of dollars our PAC gave to Republican candidates in the previous election. (Hilariously, Iverson sent a letter to OFFPAC after her husband attacked us… asking for money.) So the new Republican “leadership” has a way to go before we’ll assume they actually will stand up. But the point is, they CAN. And they must.

Knopp and Iverson are the only thing standing in the way of the Democrat’s plans to steamroll Oregon gun owners. We have to hold them to it.

Knopp and Iverson were not elected by anti-gunners. Both have said they will stand up for gun rights.

Please keep their contact information. The ball is in their court. We are looking forward to reporting that they did the right thing for gun owners and all Oregonians.

Senator Tim Knopp

Representative Vikkie Breese Iverson

One more thing.  Many of you have supported us through the charitable donations policies of Fred Meyer and Amazon Smile. While the Fred Meyer program is still functioning, Amazon has terminated its charitable donation program and no longer makes donations to non profit organizations when you purchase through them.

You can support our efforts to protect gun rights here.  https://oregonfirearms.ejoinme.org/MyPages/DonationPage/tabid/70447/Default.aspx

10.04.2022

The Media Is Lying And Losing

We have what we hope will be good news on Ballot Measure 114.

In spite of massive spending by the leftists who are promoting the measure, a poll published by the Oregonian shows support from only 51% of Oregon voters.

Why would that be good news?

Well, if you read the whole story the Oregonian published, it’s clear, that just like the rest of the cartel media, they are doing everything they can to deceive Oregon voters about what the measure does.

It’s safe to say that the poll is as slanted as the article was and even with grossly biased polls, massive spending, and endless deception by the media, there is not overwhelming support for the measure. And with a margin of error of 4%, it looks even worse for the extremists who are attempting to destroy civil rights.

In spite of gifts of $100,000.00 from Gabby Giffords, $50,000.00 from the Oregon Raindrop Fund, $48,000.00 from the “Oregon Alliance for Gun Safety”, $20,000.00 from the “Nurses United Political Action Committee”, $10,000.00 from Kate Brown, $10,000.00 from ACLU and others, they have still not been able to fool most Oregonians.

But make no mistake. The media is completely in the tank to pass this measure and they are not going to let up any time soon.

This quote from the article demonstrates how misinformed people who answered the poll are:  “Mark Magee, a voter in Southeast Portland who participated in the poll, said he supported the measure because he feels there are too many “over-the-top weapons” out there.”

Unless Magee considers common sporting shotguns to be “over the top” weapons his comment makes no sense when discussing this measure.

After a lengthy interview with the Oregonian “reporter” who wrote this article, even after she was fully informed that the new “rules” were impossible to comply with, that the police oppose this measure, that there is NO cap on the cost for required “classes” (that virtually no one will be able to give) that this will have a devastating effect on low income communities, destroy youth shotgun competition, and put countless small shops out of business, she absurdly stated “Opponents call the measure an overreach that doesn’t guarantee adequate funding from permit fees to pay for the required classes and the database, among other objections.”

And that highly biased comment does not even make sense.  “Permit fees” won’t pay for the required classes.  People trying to exercise their rights will pay for the required classes. That is if any are even available.

The pattern is clear and has been since this measure made the ballot.  The legacy media has, and will continue to, do all it can to hide what this measure actually does. It’s so extreme even the Oregon Democrat Party has refused to endorse it.

Police from across the state oppose it and with every new court decision it becomes undeniably clear that it will, if passed, be declared unconstitutional. Eventually.

But that fight will take years and millions to battle through the Kate Brown controlled courts.  So it’s essential that we beat this atrocity at the ballot box.

Please share the https://stop114.com/ website with everyone you know. Whether they are gun owners or not, voters need to be informed about how dangerous and extreme this deceptive measure is.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this fight with donations and volunteer efforts. You are making a difference.

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.

Republicans…stand up, or go home.

01.25.2022

Our inboxes are overflowing with emails from Republican Legislators asking for money and votes in the coming elections.

With no records to stand on, some are making absurd claims about their “courage” or taking “credit” for Democrat bills.

It’s officially a circus, and the clowns have center stage. But Oregon simply cannot survive another disastrous session like the last one.

In 2021, under the horribly failed control of  Senator Fred Girod and House Rep Christine Drazan, the Republicans surrendered every single battle to the Democrats with barely a whimper.

Now, Drazan, running for Governor, is actually, and hilariously, campaigning on how “tough” she is, and claiming she’s a “fighter” who stood up to House Speaker Tina Kotek.  Apparently Drazan’s definition of “standing up” is when you roll over and vote for your opponent’s bills,  and then claim some kind of demented victory because those dangerous bills passed.

Now, as you know, Drazan has stepped down from her House seat so she can devote full time to raising money for her governor’s race. We are thankful she is no longer turning the House Republicans into doormats, but the danger is far from passed.

Last session, under Drazan, the House Republicans capitulated and allowed the passage of rules in the House that prohibited them from walking out. We continue to be horrified that they would willingly give up the only tool they had. But now, in a surreal twist, Drazan is bragging about having walked out in the previous session, a tactic that worked and one she and the other House Republican abandoned in 2021 in exchange for $2,000,000.00 each from the feds.

If they agree to cripple themselves again in the coming February session there is not a single reason any of them should show up for work. They will, once again, get flattened by the Democrats. And the Democrats have made no secret of their plans for this session. It ain’t pretty.

So, once again, it’s up to us.

The new Republican House Leader is Vicki Breese Iverson.  [ https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/breese-iverson ]

Iverson must not agree to any rules that prevent the minority from exercising their constitutional right to deny a quorum.

That means that if the rules they vote on at the beginning of the session contain that provision (which we fully expect they will) the Republicans must walk out on that vote. Period. Anything else is a complete surrender to the extreme agendas of the left.

Thank you for your activism.

01.17.2022

And the winner is… the white guy.

House Democrats have chosen the almost certain next Speaker of the House, Dan Rayfield.
Dan Rayfield

Rayfield is a far left lawyer from Corvallis and staunch supporter of restrictions on gun rights. Rayfield is also.. white.

Rayfield won over Janell Bynum who has sought the position before, challenging outgoing Tina Kotek.
Janelle Bynum

Bynum’s campaigns for the speaker’s role have been largely based on her position that she should have the job because she is black.

“I issue this challenge to the Democratic Party: Commit to mentoring, stepping aside, and creating pathways for leadership development,” Bynum said. “These are the ways qualified Oregonians of color will enter into these halls of power. We are capable of so much more than the opportunities that are open to us.”

Bynum’s expectation that white Democrats “step aside” has twice now led to disappointment as her liberal colleagues, once again, chose a white person to control the House. Her quote is telling however. Bynum makes no secret that her “public service” is about power, not the best interests of Oregonians.

The Democrat’s vote for their next speaker candidate was held this past weekend by secret ballot. So Bynum does not currently know who cast their votes for Rayfield but the final vote does not occur until the session begins in February. Then there will be a vote of the entire House, so Republicans will get to vote as well.

Typically the Republicans will nominate one of their own for the job. That person would lose and then the Republicans would change their votes so the Democrat nominee would have a unanimous victory.

(The Democrats will almost certainly vote in lockstep for their nominee on the floor.)

But this could still get interesting. Bynum challenged outgoing Speaker Tina Kotek in the past based on her belief that she deserved to be speaker because of her skin color. Kotek is white but has established liberal credentials because she’s a lesbian. As you can imagine, this challenge presented quite a conflict for liberals.

Bynum, who has an MBA and owns several McDonalds restaurants, is the leader of the “BIPOC caucus.” The BIPOC caucus is made of up legislators who are not white or who identify as non white. The BIPOC caucus controlled the agenda in Salem last session where they passed legislation to ban ropes with loops, outlaw Columbus Day, change the state song because it included the words “free men”, forced private corporations to include a certain number of transexuals on their boards, and neuter the police, among other things.  So it’s interesting to hear her complain that “doors” have not been opened for her.

“I know just like in corporate America, it takes people to open doors, it takes people to train and mentor. I didn’t have those and I got really far. I was taken seriously.” she said.

So somehow, while not having anyone to “train or mentor” her, or open doors, she was “taken seriously” and “got really far.” Far enough to become a powerful member of Oregon’s House and challenge the House Speaker.

Last time Bynum sought the speaker’s office she threatened to challenge Kotek on the House Floor where there would be an open, recorded, vote and the world would see who the racists were.  But then, according to Bynum, and backed up by Akasha Spence, a deal was made to avoid a floor fight. (Spence was just appointed to the seat vacated by Ginny Burdick, who left her role as the legislature’s most extreme and shrill gun banner to take a much better paying and cushy government job.)

The deal, according to Bynum, was that she would drop her bid to unseat Kotek in exchange for, among other things, a promise of endorsement for that job in the future.

As the very naive House Republicans learned, making a deal with Kotek is the sign of being truly out of touch with reality. And now it appears that Kotek reneged on her deal with Bynum just as she reneged on her “deal” with former Republican House Leader, Christine Drazan.

Drazan had the football swiped away from her when she agreed to fold and give the Democrats every demented thing they demanded in exchange for the meaningless gesture of equal representation on the redistricting committee. After rolling over and handing the Democrats a free pass to turn Oregon into a socialist cesspool, Kotek told Drazan that she was only kidding and backed out of the deal.

But now, once again, Bynum has had her dreams of consolidating her power dashed by the racists in her own caucus. She was shunned for another rich white guy.

It’s interesting, and not a little appalling, that members of the Democrat caucus actually consider Bynum TOO MODERATE!

We can only assume that’s because Bynum owns McDonalds restaurants which signals she may harbor some secret capitalist sympathies. They picked Rayfield because he is actually further to the left than Bynum. 

There is nothing to stop Bynum from making another play for the job by challenging Rayfield on the House Floor. If she does, the House Democrats won’t have the benefit of a secret vote to hide their racist tendencies. And the Republicans get to vote.

One Republican vote Bynum won’t be getting is Greg Smith’s.
Greg Smith

Smith is the longest serving House Rep. He comes from a conservative Republican district. But he has long been a reliable servant to the Democrat leadership.

Smith is the co-Vice Chair of the powerful Joint Ways and Means Committee. And if Smith knows anything, it’s where his bread is buttered.

Smith has lately racked up more absences from his job as a House Rep than anyone, but let’s face it. He’s a busy guy.

When former Republican House Leader, Christine Drazan, called for a vote to censure Tina Kotek for welching on her redistricting deal, Smith beat feet for the exits to avoid going on record against the all powerful Kotek, who of course, picked committee assignments.

And now that Rayfield looks like the heir apparent, Smith is already cooing his praise for the radical leftist.

“Rayfield is considered more liberal than Bynum, but has also won respect among Republicans. Rep. Greg Smith, a Heppner Republican and the longest-tenured House member, told OPB this week he is “doing everything I can to support Dan Rayfield as speaker.”

“There’s only a handful of people who know more about the budget better than I do,” said Smith, who chairs a budget subcommittee. “In his six years, he knows it better. He’s the real deal.”

There may well be some interesting times ahead in the opening days of the February session. Will the new House Republican leader, Vicki Iverson, roll over and allow the House to institute rules that forbid a walkout like her predecessor did? Will Bynum call out her racist colleagues and demand to be enthroned as speaker, because she is, after all, not white?

We will soon know. But what we do know, without question, is the new House Speaker will be every bit as extreme and anti-gun as the last. Stay tuned.

01.11.2022

As you know, in the last legislative session the Oregon Legislature passed SB 554.

This bill required that you keep your self defense firearms locked up and useless, held you responsible for the misuse of stolen firearms, prohibited your trained minor children from defending themselves in your home and banned the licensed carry of firearms in the Capitol, the Portland Airport, and any school that wanted to bar you from their property.

Now, we have learned that Oregon House Rep. Greg Smith is introducing a bill to repeal SB 554.

Greg Smith

That’s the bad news.

The fact is, Smith’s proposed bill has a zero percent chance of passing. That’s zero with a “z.”

But it has an enormous chance of being turned into another anti-gun monster.  That’s because the “relating clause” of the bill says “Relating to Firearms.”

While the final version of a bill must still comport to its relating clause, every single word can be stripped out and replaced with completely different language.

That means that this bill, whatever it says now, can be completely rewritten into whatever the Democrats want, as long as it still relates to “firearms.”  Just imagine the damage they can do.

But why introduce a bill with no chance of passage when it can be abused by the people in power?  Well, because this is a “short” session, legislators will be limited to how many bills each one can introduce. Whatever Smith’s intentions, this bill becomes a free extra bill for the anti-gun Democrats to “gut and stuff” and turn into another anti-gun nightmare.

Smith is the longest serving member of the House. He is not a newbie. He is not a freshman. He knows how this game is played. Smith MUST immediately demand that the bill draft be corrected so the relating clause cannot be used to turn this into another fiasco, or he MUST withdraw his bill.

He has the power to direct the lawyers who write the drafts and the relating clauses to fix this. NOW.

Please contact Smith and tell him to correct the relating clause to eliminate the chance for it to be gut and stuffed, or withdraw this pointless legislation.

Greg Smith:

Rep.GregSmith@oregonlegislature.gov

503-986-1457

Please tell Smith to demand a change in the “relating clause” to LC 111 or withdraw it immediately .

10.07.2021

Second Amendment Sanctuary Update

We want to send a big and sincere thank you to everyone who is supporting our battles to protect local Second Amendment Sanctuary ordinances.

Our recent victory in Columbia County could not have happened without you. But, as you know, the leftist Oregon establishment is furious, vengeful, and well funded. These will certainly be our most expensive battles to date.

We recently informed you that the State of Oregon, backed by billionaire bucks from Bloomberg’s “Everytown,” has declared war on counties with Second Amendment Sanctuary ordinances.

They started with Columbia County and when they failed there, set their sights on Yamhill and Harney County.

When we defeated them in Columbia County they immediately appealed. So there we are facing not only the State of Oregon as adversaries, but also two duplicitous County Commissioners who are suing to repeal their own ordinance.

Now the Oregon Department of “Justice” has filed against the ordinances in Yamhill and Harney counties hoping to intimidate all the other localities that have established rules to protect their citizens from the extreme agendas of Kate Brown and the liberal legislature.

We believe the counties are the last line of defense against Brown and her cronies.  As we learned in the last legislative session, Republican office holders in Salem will not stand up for your rights even when they have a virtual guarantee of victory.

Under the failed “leadership” of Fred Girod in the Senate and Christine Drazan in the House, the Republicans ran away from every fight, leaving Oregon in far worse shape than when the session started.

So, if Oregonians are going to preserve any shred of freedom, we must take these fights to the counties.

But many counties are not well funded and they are fearful of Brown and her henchmen (and women.)

We are concerned that the commissioners in Harney County will be bullied into submission by these lawsuits.

While counties have their own legal counsels, all too often those lawyers lack both the skill and the courage to take on big fights. In many cases, these lawyers are actually trying to undermine the will of the people and the commissioners, as we saw in Columbia and Yamhill County.

So we have to get to work.  Harney County is a long way from Portland. If the leaders of Harney can be bullied and intimidated by Kate Brown and Mike Bloomberg, the rest of the state will be next and what few rights we have will soon be gone.

We already know that Brown’s Department of Justice plans to lie and misrepresent what these ordinances do, just like they did in Columbia County. 

We know they are testing the waters to see where they can get a victory after their defeat in Columbia.

We know that the “elite” in Salem consider the residents and commissioners of Harney County to be rubes and bumpkins they can batter into submission.

“These actions will hopefully send the message that we are prepared to preserve the rule of law across our state..” said Oregon’s anti-gun Attorney General and candidate for governor.

But we think they are messing with the wrong cowboys.  Please let the commissioners know they must stand up to Brown and defend their counties.

It makes no sense to create ordinances to protect your citizens from the crushing boots of the state and then fold when the state threatens you. Especially when the state tried that once and failed.

When several counties declared emergencies because of looming shortages of first responders due to vaccine mandates, the governor told them they are “on their own”.

According to “The Salem Reporter”:

“The state Office of Emergency Management maintains that cities and counties are responsible under law to provide emergency services for their citizens, and the state should only step in when local governments are overwhelmed. Spokeswoman Chris Crabb wrote in an email that the office will evaluate requests for help from local governments, but they should try first to solve their own problems. “

So when counties face crises because of state mandates, they are “on their own” but when they create protections for their residents they are sued by Brown. This is outrageous.

Please contact the Harney County Commissioners and tell them to stand up to Brown and her foot soldiers.

Please remind them they work for the people in their county.

Thank them for having the courage to write, and enforce, an ordinance that defends the constitutional rights of Harney County residents and visitors.

Let them know they are the last line of defense against the failed and deadly politics of Portland and Salem.

And remind them that the rest of the state is looking for their leadership.

Rural Oregonians are regularly the victims of dangerous Portland dictates. This has to stop.

The Harney County “Court” (commissioners) are:

Pete Runnels, County Judge
450 N. Buena Vista #5
Burns, OR 97720
Phone: 541-573-6356
FAX: 541-573-8387
Email: pete.runnels@co.harney.or.us

Kristen Shelman, County Commissioner, Position 1
Email: kristen.shelman@co.harney.or.us
Phone: 541-589-4384

Patty Dorroh, County Commissioner, Position 2
Phone: 541-589-1898
Email: patty.dorroh@co.harney.or.us

Here We Go Again.

09.13.2021
As you know, we had a significant victory recently defending the Second Amendment in Columbia County.

When the County, with the help of radical anti-rights groups, attempted to overturn Second Amendment sanctuary ordinances in place in the county, we fought them and won.

None of that would have been possible without your help. Unlike the county officials who  count on the backing of New York billionaires, all we have here at Oregon Firearms Federation is you.

But now they are back with a vengeance and a big bankroll.

The county, the Oregon Attorney General, and Everytown For Gun Safety are all separately appealing our victory.  This is not a surprise even though county officials and their legal counsel falsely claimed the were not trying to overturn the will of the people.

Please note, one County Commissioner, Casey Garrett, has opposed these attacks on our rights but the county lawyer and Commissioners Henry Heimuller and Margaret Magruder have joined forces to reverse the sanctuary ordinances passed by the people.

Now these enemies of the Second Amendment have the backing of not only Mike Bloomberg’s billions, but your tax dollars which will be used by our own Attorney General to try to strip away the rights of Columbia County residents and visitors.

This is a case with national implications and that’s why Gun Owners of America has stepped up to help, but we are still facing a new round of very large legal bills.

One thing we have learned in the last year is that in spite of the self serving and phony claims of our elected officials, we can expect no help from politicians. Their greed and cowardice is no longer a matter of debate.  We are on our own.

As much as we prefer NOT to have our battles in courtrooms, in this case we simply have no choice.  With your help we won the first round.  The anti-gun forces faced a humiliating defeat that reverberated across the country and now they will stop at nothing and spare no expense to get revenge.

So we have no choice but to ask you once again for the most generous support you can give us to defeat them one more time.

If we lose this fight, Second Amendment Sanctuary Ordinances across Oregon and the country will be at immediate risk and we could very well see the end of local resistance to the demented policies of Salem and Washington DC.

Please consider whatever contribution you can afford to help us pay these legal bills.

Thank you for your help and all you have done to get us this far.

Secure online donations can be made at this link:

https://oregonfirearms.ejoinme.org/MyPages/DonationPage/tabid/70447/Default.aspx

For those who prefer to use PAYPAL, there is a PAYPAL “Donate” button in this link:

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

For those who prefer to donate by check our address is:

PO Box 556

Canby OR

97013.

You can donate to either OFF or our foundation, Oregon Firearms Educational Foundation, since it all goes to the same fight. Donations to “OFEF”, our foundation, are tax deductible.

06.17.2021

As we enter into the last days of the most destructive legislative session in Oregon history, the pace of the destruction is not slowing.

The Oregon Legislature is passing bills that will cause incalculable damage to our state for many years to come. And, as has become their custom, elected Republicans are rolling over like whipped dogs and watching the state crumble, pausing only to play dead or offer their paws to the majority party while waiting for a command to “fetch.” 

Anything to make sure their payoffs are not endangered.

The Republican House “leader” continues to have delusions of relevance with pointless, theatrical “demands” that the governor open our wounded state while the Senate Republicans demonstrate a complete disconnect from reality with endless requests that people sign “petitions” to stop the Democrat juggernaut, and hey while your at it, will you please send them more money.

To call all this an embarrassment would be to understate it immensely.

Yesterday the entire Portland Police riot squad resigned from that detail making the Rose City one step closer to the goal of its elected leaders…turning Portland into Mogadishu.

As we previously reported, OFF is now in a legal fight to uphold the Second Amendment Preservation Ordinances twice passed by the residents of Columbia County.  The Columbia County Commissioners joined forces with Bloomberg’s “Everytown” to challenge the ordinances and now we are faced with a costly battle to defend them.  But this fight is absolutely critical as it might well set a precedent for Second Amendment protection ordinances across the state and country. Unfortunately the main ingredient in court battles is money. And we’re going to need a lot of it.

Meanwhile, another of the “gang of six” sellout cowards in the Republican Senate Caucus is facing a recall.

Lynn Findley, who never met a surrender he could not embrace, is the latest target of completely disgusted voters.

As you know, Senate Republican ‘leader” Fred Girod is also facing a recall.

In his defense Findley said:

“I chose to stand and fight and put stuff on the record,and by staying in the session, I was able to work hard for the constituents. And that’s what I’m supposed to do.”

This is, of course, complete and utter hogwash. The Republican Senators who stayed on the floor for the vote on SB 554, were the servile enablers of their Democrat overlords. But Findley also shines as one of the Republicans most likely to vote for any demented legislation the Democrats beat him over the head with. (Although Hansell, Knopp, Kennemer, Anderson and Girod are doing their best to keep up.)

You may recall that Findley is one of the two bootlicks who turned on the new leaders of the Republican Party to assist the left in doing as much damage as they could to anything rational. Findley is a detestable laughing stock who should be removed from any job with any responsibilities that do not require a mop and dust cloth.

A measure has been filed to refer SB 554 to the ballot. This will be another costly and risky fight. In the event the voters do reject 554 (and given the make up of voters in Portland this is quite the hill to climb) nothing prevents the legislature from simply reinstating another version of it the next time they are in session.

To date, none of the Republicans who we helped elect, who then turned their backs on gun owners, have offered a single dime from their coffers to help in the effort. Of course many of them were eager to remind us that refusing to walk out to stop 554 was no big deal since gun owners could expend massive amounts of money and time to refer it to the ballot. No real need for them to do their job since the people could do it for them. And no need for them to offer any financial assistance either because seriously, they have to get re-elected.

The chief petitioner on the referral to stop SB 554 is Mike Nearman who was recently expelled from the legislature for actually doing what the others only talk about.

Ironically, the other two petitioners are House Reps who voted to expel Mike, so don’t hold your breathe expecting any help from them. And by all means, pray they are never in your foxhole. No way they are risking their payoffs.

You can learn more about the referral and get petitions and offer help here. https://responsibleresponse.com/

But wait, there’s more.

The “faith fakers” of Portland are back with two new anti-rights ballot measures.  Both have been approved to receive “ballot titles.”

In their past incarnations we have been able to hold them at bay with legal challenges. But, the impulse to crush liberty never rests so they are back.

Ballot measure 17 will require that you obtain a “permit” to simply purchase a firearm.  The permit will require “training” and a hefty fee. Ballot Measure 17 also bans most firearms magazines.

Full info on the measure and its sponsors is here.

Ballot Measure 18 bans virtually all modern firearms. The “people of faith” who are pushing this will allow you to keep firearms you already own if you jump through a complex set of hoops. But nothing new or off to jail you go. It’s interesting to note that the folks behind these measures are also big supporters of anti-cop efforts and apologists for the friendly folks who are burning down Portland.  To date we have not seen a single word of condemnation from them for the gun toting thugs who now rule the streets of Bridge Town, but they are quite determined to make sure you white supremacists are disarmed.

Full info on the measure and its sponsors is here.

As you can see, gun owners have a full plate right now. We are battling on multiple fronts, we have virtually no support from the people we helped elect and the cavalry is NOT coming.

All of these efforts are going to be very costly. That’s just the way it is.    Writing and calling your legislators is not going to matter.  Few of them have the courage or the willingness to help anyway.  This is going to come down to money. Pure and simple.

As you know, OFF does not include a request that you “chip in” with every alert we send you. We don’t tell you that we are “tragically short of our goal for the week” or that we need to raise “$10,456.00 tonight to meet the deadline.”  But let’s face it.  We really have our back to the wall now.

We gave generously to candidates who walked away from the fight. That’s money we could have spent on these battles. But the fight did not walk away.  We need your help.

Anything you give will be an investment in your rights and property. Anything you can afford will be used to put the brakes on the blood thirsty leftists who are determined to crush liberty and sanity in our state.

Thanks in advance for your generosity.

You can use either of the following links to contribute to this battle.

https://oregonfirearms.ejoinme.org/MyPages/DonationPage/tabid/70447/Default.aspx

If you prefer, there is an orange button on this page to donate through PAYPAL.

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

04.01.2021

Gun Theft Victim Liability Bill Advances.

HB 2510, which will hold gun owners liable for crimes committed with firearms stolen from them, received a “second reading” today and is now scheduled for a “third reading” tomorrow on the House floor.

“Third reading” is the term used for that part of the process where a bill is actually voted on, on the floor of the House or Senate.

While it is scheduled for a vote tomorrow, that is unlikely.  The House Republicans have slowed down the process of ramming through legislation by requiring that all bills be read in their entirety before being voted on, a process usually waived with consent of the legislators.

As a result, progress on voting on bills has slowed tremendously in the House. And this is a good thing.  So unless something really out of the ordinary happens, the bill will not receive a vote tomorrow, but because it has been scheduled, it will receive a vote at some point.

Given the Democrats supermajority in the House, there is no question the bill will pass.

In addition to holding theft victims liable for the crimes committed with guns stolen from them, the bill requires that your self defense firearms be kept locked up and useless.

The Oregon Democrats have chosen an interesting time to make sure you are defenseless. Violent crime is surging to terrifying highs and the police admit they can’t handle it.

Make no mistake, none of this is an accident.

Once the bill passes in the House, it will go to the Senate where the Senate Republican “leader” has vowed not to walk out to stop this madness.

He and the five other Republicans who stayed behind on the Senate floor, to assure that SB 554 (go to the library go to prison) would pass, insist it would “look bad” for them to walk out, in some cases actually citing Democrats disapproval of a walk out.

It seems like we should not have to point out that Democrats did not elect them, or in almost every case, reelect them, after the last walkout which successfully killed dangerous legislation in the last session. They are also claiming that it would be “impractical” to walk out now when there is so much time left in the session.  This is particularly inane since they did not walk out for the entire session last time, only until their demands were met.(Senator Tim Knopp, who has made a career of staying behind to help the Democrats when others walked out, actually excused his betrayal of gun owners by telling one voter “Independents and Democrats oppose walkouts by 2/3rds or more.”

So the Republicans who refuse to leave, and thereby guarantee passage of extreme anti-gun bills, are now in the business of making excuses instead of protecting your rights.

In emails to voters who question them about their refusal to stand up, they dismiss voters concerns by telling them that they can always spend their own money and time and take the chance that they could repeal these bills by costly ballot measure. They also say “hey we voted against that bill” and ignore that fact that just by being on the floor they guaranteed passage.

While the slow down in place in the House is helping, it is highly unlikely that it will kill any legislation that the Democrats are determined to pass. So the House’s refusal to walk out is every bit as dangerous as the refusal by some Senate Republicans. But at least the House is slowing things down.

On the Senate side, not only are they speeding bills along, but Senate Republican “leader” Fred Girod has actually made motions on the floor himself to speed the process up.

You can still  let the Oregon Republicans know how you feel about their complicity in this outrage by using this link: https://freeroots.com/go/stop-the-attack-on-gun-rights

It’s true that many legislators are now not even looking at your emails so if you prefer to call you can reach the voice mailboxes of House Leader Christine Drazan here 503-986-1439 and Senate Republican Leader Girod here 503-986-1709. 

Some folks have received messages back from Girod saying their email was “deleted unread” so a phone call may be a better bet.

The six Republican Senators who sold out gun owners on the vote on SB 554 are listed in this alert. They are all working overtime to cover their tracks, but the fact remains, they came to the floor knowing the bill would pass no matter how they voted, and now they want you to fix the mess they made.

If the majority of the Republican House members also refuse to walk, gun owners will have very little left at the end of this session.

And Now It’s Pistol Braces

12.19.2020

As you know, the ATF is now coming after “pistol braces.”

The long and tortured history of these devices has had gun owners continually attempting to determine if they are legal and when.

The ATF’s arbitrary and ever changing guidelines have left Americans baffled about exactly what next could land them in prison.

Most recently, ATF seemed to have agreed that pistol braces do not turn pistols into short barrel rifles and were legal to own. Now however, it appears that is no longer the case. Or it is, or it’s not. No one is sure.

Just as we warned that the reclassification of bump stocks into “machine guns” was a bizarre overreach and only the beginning, we can assure you that outlawing or “regulating” pistol braces will not be the end of the efforts to entrap well meaning gun owners.

Currently it appears that ATF intends to make some pistol braces illegal some of the time on some guns. We can predict with great confidence that the rules will be complex, contradictory, and subject to whim assuring that gun owners will always be in danger of criminal penalties no matter how much they attempt to comply.

When the owners of perfectly legal bump stocks were turned into felons with the stroke of a pen, many in the firearms “community” expressed the opinion that we should cave on the issue. That somehow it was tactically sound to refuse to defend what many felt was a toy or a gimmick, as though that capitulation would satisfy the enemy and they would leave us alone.

Clearly that strategy was misguided at best and preemptory surrender at worst.

Nothing will satisfy the forces that call for total civilian disarmament.

So now it’s “pistol braces,” a device that even the Obama administration agreed was not a regulated NFA item.

ATF has plans to regulate pistol braces, but not in any way that can be understood or complied with.  Once again, the intention is to ensnare as many people as possible or simply get them to throw up their hands, throw down their guns and give up.

If you are not one of those people, there is an opportunity to take action.

While the worst is ahead of us, at least now, today, there is still a way to make your voice heard in opposition to the proposed unintelligible and arbitrary regulations.

You can see what ATF has in mind, and take action to oppose it at this link.

It’s easy and extremely important.  At a time when we have been locked out of the legislative process by the people we elected to represent us, we should take advantage of whatever tools are left to make our voices heard.

Thank you for stepping up.