Personally Made Firearm Lawsuit Update
12.10.2024
In the last legislative session the Oregon Legislature passed HB 2005 which outlawed the possession and creation of personally made firearms.
The bill was the result of a refusal by the Oregon Republicans to prevent its passage, something they inarguably had the power to do.
As a result, a practice with a long and honorable history is now a crime in Oregon.
Historically some of the greatest innovations in firearms technology have been the work of individuals working on their own. The manufacture of firearms by individuals has always been, and is still now, legal in the US. No permission from the government is required.
The Oregon Democrats, who never address real problems, chose to create one with their invention of the “ghost gun” hoax, the Oregon Republicans went along for the ride.
Now the simple process of building a firearm in your own shop or garage is illegal.
Along with our partners, the Firearms Policy Coalition, we filed a suit in Federal Court against this latest unconstitutional firearms ban. As you would expect (we certainly did) an activist judge immediately ruled against us using the standard baseless arguments that home made firearms are only used by criminals and that somehow, these guns, which are essentially identical to the most common commercial firearms, are “dangerous and unusual.”
On Dec. 6, we filed our latest motion in this important case. You can see it here.
It’s both regrettable and absurd that we need to spend vast sums of money to protect our rights in the courts that are supposed to do that for us. But we are now forced to ask gun owners to do the jobs their elected officials won’t do.
Immediately after helping to pass HB 2005, the Oregon House Republicans, led by Vikkie Iverson, staged a photo op on the Capitol steps holding a cardboard check for $25,000.00 and claiming that money would be used to fund a lawsuit against the bill they just helped pass.
Needless to say, it was all political theater. Aside from the obvious fact that $25,000.00 would be a drop in the bucket to fight a law in court, in reality it was all a scam and was soon washed down the Republican memory hole.
Ironically, the Iversons love to attack OFF for raising funds to fight the laws they help put in place, and for pointing out the hypocrisy of the Republican establishment. At the same time they rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars attacking conservative Republicans themselves.
Of course, in addition to the money they make attacking principled candidates (even when their attacks fail) Vikki’s salary comes directly out of your pocket in tax money. As does the salary for her new “chief of staff” Reagan Knopp. Knopp, you may recall, was the listed director of the sham group “Oregon Gun Rights” which was invented to create the illusion that certain spineless Republican candidates actually had gun owner’s support. Bryan Iverson, Vikki’s husband, took in almost $100,000.00 in tax payer funds as a “legislative assistant” in 2023 alone. Yet these people attack us for raising funds to protect the rights they have helped to destroy.
While we will continue to expose the hypocrisy of the sell out establishment, we will also make note of the ones who stand up. Although the sham photo op was designed to create the illusion that the House Republicans were “doing something”, one Oregon House Rep has made good on that pledge.
House Rep Ed Diehl recently donated $1000.00 from his PAC to the Oregon Firearms Educational Foundation for our endless legal battles. We thank him for his support and for serving as an example of an honest legislator.
While elected hacks and their families continue to attack us for raising funds to fight for your rights, the reality is we don’t have the ability to fleece the taxpayers. Please consider donating whatever you can to help us do the job they won’t do.
You can make a secure online donation here. https://oregonfirearms.ejoinme.org/MyPages/DonationPage/tabid/70447/Default.aspx
Donations to the Oregon Firearms Educational Foundation qualify for a tax deduction.
Thank you.