06.01.15

Today the Senate Judiciary Committee passed HB 3093 and HB 2357.

HB 3093 is a limited “reciprocity”bill sponsored by Bill Post. HB 2357 is a bill that gives retired police the same protections when carrying concealed that CHL holders have.

Both bills are limited in scope and were amended with pointless changes, but both are a step forward. To no one’s surprise, Ginny Burdick voted against HB 3093. She also insisted on, and got, amendments to HB 2357 that basically say, if a retired cop is a criminal he can’t carry a firearm. Ludicrous? Yes, but that’s how they roll in Salem. These bills now move to the Senate floor having both passed in the House.

The House Judiciary Committee heard and passed SB 525. This is a “domestic violence” bill that serves exactly no purpose. It has had the worst provisions removed but is one more bill promoted by lies. Supporter after supporter provided testimony with the exact same talking points and the lie that Oregon police may not enforce the Federal law this bill copies. Even our top lawyer, Attorney General Rosenblum, repeated this nonsense. Her ignorance of the law is breathtaking and she would like to be our next Governor.

House Reps Bill Post and Sherrie Sprenger courageously voted no.

The House Committee also passed SB 173, a fairly nonsensical bill, but did amend it to remove the most offensive and unconstitutional language.

Current law says if you are in a public building you must allow a police officer to inspect a firearm you are carrying to determine if it is loaded.

This makes no sense. If you have a CHL, you may carry a loaded firearm. If you don’t have a CHL, you may not carry a firearm loaded or not, so what purpose does this serve? The bill would have allowed you to show a CHL instead of handing over a loaded gun in a public place but would have made you a criminal if you did NOT show a CHL. This was absurd. You become a criminal because you did not show ID even though you are not suspected of a crime? The bill was amended to remove that provision, so now there is no criminal penalty for not showing a CHL. The current law should simply be repealed, but this was a big improvement.

Tomorrow the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold work sessions on two bills it held over from today. SB 913, the ban on privately owned ivory and SB 315. 315 is another bill that should never have seen the light of day but now promises to get far worse. The intent is to use the bill to further complicate the universal background check bill. The proposed amendments are bizarre. There is no guarantee that either of these bills will actually move tomorrow, but we’ll be watching them.

Tomorrow, Lane County will be voting on a resolution to refuse to expend county funds to enforce SB 941, the universal gun owner registration bill. The anti-gun crazies are already mounting an effort to derail the resolution. Please send the commissioners a note saying “Stand for liberty and support a resolution opposing SB 941.” You can contact the commission here.

On Wednesday night, the Canby City Council will be voting on a similar measure. If you live in or near Canby, please come and make your voice heard in support. The Council meets in City Hall at 7.30 PM