1k SHARES Facebook Twitter

Salem — Oregon State Senator Brian Boquist (R-Dallas) and Senator Ginny Burdick (D-Portland) sponsored a bill that will allow family members to have a judge ban someone from purchasing a gun. It would also require the respondent to turn over all guns in their possession. It is supported by Gabby Gifford’s group Americans for Responsible Solutions.

Governor Kate Brown believes the bill would have stopped the Umpqua shooting, as well as many others. But would it have changed the outcome of that horrific situation?

Even one legal gun owner could have stopped the carnage

The shooter in the Umpqua Community College incident, was Chris Harper Mercer. The 26 year old lived with his mother, who had numerous weapons at the apartment. They often went to the range together. Would she have noted his rage or preoccupation with mass shootings? There were no other family members in the area. He isolated himself, which is always a bad sign, but this bill would have had no effect whatsoever on the outcome. Also, the weapons in the apartment were all legally purchased.

When Chris Mintz, an Army Veteran hero, charged at him, Mercer shot him too (he survived). Had Mintz been armed, Mercer would have been dead before harming another person, not after 10 people were killed and 7 others injured.

Due Process

The issue of third parties being allowed to destroy the right to keep and bear arms is a sticky one. Certainly there are people who are dangerous and could harm someone if they have weapons…but if a third party is allowed to make that determination, there is no due process for the person. Even if there is an ex-parte hearing on the matter after the fact, the up front result is loss of rights that may not have been necessary. Especially when those third parties are family members.

The bill, now under SB 719 (originally SB 868), is out of committee and headed to the Senate floor. It was added as 5 amendments to SB 719 in an effort to get it passed.

Reasons

Senator Boquist’s stepson, Sethan Charles Sprague, was a US Navy veteran. He took his own life in February 2016 after being unable to cope with life back in the United States. He, too, brought the ghosts of war home with him. Medical science has yet to discover a way to remove the cache of chemicals within the brain that make life hell for some returning veterans.

It is understandable after such trauma, that this Senator would want to spare others the heartache of losing a loved one. But taking away the rights of others is not the way to go about it.

There are myriads of reasons why people want to institute gun control in an effort to stop the carnage. The best way to stop carnage, however, is to be armed and ready.

Click on the picture to order