02.02.16

That’s how Floyd Prozanski described his own vendetta driven, anti-gun bill after he and other legislators received thousands of emails and calls opposing it.

Proving that your activism really does matter, Prozanski has shelved his Soviet style bill and is saying it’s dead…for now.

Keep in mind, Ginny Burdick has already announced her plans for an even worse bill some time in the future, but for now it looks like your efforts have derailed their plans to use secret accusations from malicious people to crush your gun rights. Great job and thank you.

Now we really need to double down on our efforts to kill HB 4147. This is Jennifer Williamson’s bill that will use the errors in the background check system as a way to deny gun rights to Oregonians. Under her bill if you are delayed on a purchase, no matter how qualified you are, a dealer may not allow you take possession until, (and if) the OSP gets around to giving you permission. And they can take literally forever.

Ironically, Williamson has publicly acknowledged that the system is flawed and “there’s nothing we can do about it.” She has also expressed her “shock” at how many background checks are run, clearly displaying her disdain for lawful purchases.

Williamson’s bill would eliminate your ability to get a gun if the State Police cannot accurately conduct a background check, which is all too often a reality. If they cannot do their jobs, you lose your rights with no recourse. Naturally, that’s the goal. Williamson does not approve of people buying guns at all, so she hopes to use the flaws in the system to prevent you from exercising your rights.

To Williamson, every right is a “loophole” that must be closed, and every attack on your liberties is “common sense.” It’s the perfect leftist scam, build a system that doesn’t work, force people to be subjected to it and then punish them when the system fails.

Williamson has claimed that “only” 1800 people are going to have their rights taken away but even then admits that (according to her)only about 500 would actually be prohibited persons. But the Oregonian has reported that last year over 8000 people had their 2nd Amendment rights put on hold and of those 95% should not have. Even those numbers seem low.

So we have to stop this. As you know, HB 4147 is currently scheduled for a hearing this Thursday at 3pm in the House Judiciary Committee. UPDATE. THIS MEETING HAS BEEN MOVED TO ROOM 50 IN THE BASEMENT OF THE CAPITOL

The Chairman of the committee is Jeff Barker who has been pro-gun in the past so it is troubling that he is hearing this dangerous and disingenuous bill. Please contact him and the other members of the committee and demand that they not use a broken system to take away your gun rights.

If you can come to the hearing to testify, please do. If you cannot, you can send testimony in PDF format to committee assistant Catherine Heaton catherine.heaton@state.or.us

Chairman Jeff Barker can be reached at 503-986-1428 or by email at Rep.JeffBarker@state.or.us

Contact info for all the House Judiciary Committee members is available here.

The message is simple,

Dear Representative,

The Oregon background check system is faulty. Every year thousands of people’s rights are infringed as a result of the inability of the OSP ID unit to accurately complete the mandated “check.”

It makes no sense to further punish those people by removing the one small safeguard the law allows for people who are the victims of a broken system.