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Pro- and anti- gun activists flooded a hearing room at the Oregon Capitol on Wednesday for a hearing on Senate Bill 941. The bill would add background checks for private gun sales.

(Ian Kullgren/Staff)

By Robert Yuille

Should we close the loopholes in our state's laws that let dangerous people buy guns without a background check? Or should we protect those loopholes?

As our representatives in Salem debate legislation that would expand background checks on gun sales, that's the choice before them. And with not every gun sale in Oregon currently covered by a background check, and someone killed by a gun in our state every 21 hours, I think the responsible choice is obvious.

This is why I was disappointed to read Sen. Betsy Johnson's recent guest column ("New Oregon gun law will accomplish nothing") outlining her opposition to this common-sense bill. She said what defenders of these background check loopholes almost always say: that because this law won't stop every dangerous person from getting a gun, then we shouldn't try to reduce the number of dangerous people who get their hands on a gun.

As a proud Oregon native, a hunter, a Navy veteran, and someone whose wife was murdered with a gun in Clackamas in December 2012, I feel a duty to speak out and say that Sen. Johnson is wrong.

Let's start with what serious debates like this should always start with - facts: Background checks are required for only some gun sales in Oregon, but not all. This loophole allows people who are prohibited by law from buying or owning a gun - people like convicted felons, domestic abusers and the dangerously mentally ill - to get one with no questions asked through private sales, including through the Internet.

The bill before the Legislature would simply close that loophole. The result? No matter where or how you chose to buy a gun in Oregon, you would have to pass a background check. In other words: Dangerous people who know they can't pass a background check would no longer have the option of going to the one place where they know they can get a gun without one.

This is common sense, and it's why Oregonians are firmly on the side of expanded background checks: Recent research found that 87 percent of Oregonians - including 83 percent of gun owners - think that closing the loopholes in our gun laws is a good idea. The legislators supporting this bill are squarely in line with their fellow Oregonians. Those, like Sen. Johnson, who oppose it are far out of step with what most Oregonians want.

Another fact: There are more than a dozen other states that have closed these loopholes and expanded background checks, and they are less dangerous places to live. In those states, there are 46 percent fewer gun homicides of women by intimate partners, 48 percent fewer firearm suicides and 48 percent fewer gun murders of law enforcement officers.

Responsible policies like expanded background checks don't affect the ability of law-abiding Oregonians to buy and own guns. These simply recognize what many gun owners know: that with rights come some serious responsibilities, and we need to make sure people who own guns are responsible, law-abiding citizens.

This approach to responsible gun ownership is why thousands of Oregonians are supporting the work of organizations like Americans for Responsible Solutions, which was founded by former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, retired Navy combat veteran and astronaut Capt. Mark Kelly.

Sen. Johnson is right on one point: Stronger gun laws, including this proposal, won't prevent every single act of gun violence.

But arguing that, because a small change to our laws won't completely end gun violence means we shouldn't do anything to reduce it, is irresponsible at best. This is akin to saying we shouldn't crack down on drunk driving because some people will still drive drunk.

To me, that argument doesn't make a lot of sense - and I don't think it does to most other Oregonians, either.

I hope our leaders in Salem listen to the overwhelming majority of Oregonians who support this approach and do the responsible thing: Pass this common-sense bill and close these dangerous loopholes.

With this change to our laws, there could be fewer tragedies.

There could be fewer families ripped apart.

And Oregon could be a safer place to live.

Robert Yuille lives in Northeast Portland.