donjohnson.jpg.png

Lake Oswego Police Chief Don Johnson promotes gun storage legislation in a video ad for Americans for Responsible Solutions, a group started by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

A bill that would make it a crime to endanger minors by allowing them unsupervised access to a firearm could be the subject of the next big gun debate in the Oregon Legislature.

Senate Bill 945, which is aimed at spurring gun owners to lock up their guns if minors are in their homes, was introduced Wednesday by Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, D-Portland, and Rep. Barbara Smith Warner, D-Portland.

Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, the Legislature's most prominent advocate of tighter gun laws, is also a sponsor.

Last year, Burdick suggested the parents of the teen shooter responsible for the killing of a Reynolds High School student should face criminal liability because their son obtained a semi-automatic rifle kept by the family.

The measure says gun owners would not be liable if their firearms were kept locked or if a gun gets in a minor's hands after being stolen in a break-in.

"We have nothing against responsible gun ownership," Steiner Hayward said Thursday. "We're just saying that adults are responsible for keeping guns out of the hands of kids."

At this point, legislative leaders are focused on pushing through a bill that would expand background checks to cover virtually all firearm transactions in Oregon.

That measure, Senate Bill 941, was scheduled for a work session Thursday but was held over by Senate Judiciary Chairman Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, until Monday. Republican leaders in both the House and Senate on Thursday said sponsors of the bill should provide more time for hearings before moving it through the Legislature.

"There is no justification for the rushing of any piece of legislation in this building," said House Minority Leader Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte, in a statement.

Outside the Legislature, a group formed by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, launched a digital advertising campaign supporting gun bills dealing with background checks, storage and domestic violence.

Giffords, who survived severe head wounds after being shot in 2011, started Americans for Responsible Solutions in 2013. The group said the cost of the Oregon advertising campaign will be in the "strong six figures" and would involve a mixture of videos and other interactive elements.

"With this campaign, we're drawing on emerging technologies to allow Oregonians to speak directly to other Oregonians about commonsense changes to their laws that will make their communities safer from gun violence," said Mark Prentice, a spokesman for the group.

Here's the group's ad featuring Lake Oswego Police Chief Don Johnson:

-- Jeff Mapes

503-221-8209

@Jeffmapes