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OFF Alert 04.21.07
Mayhem, Collaboration and New Gun Control Bills |
(Some
links in this alert may require registration)
This week has shown us, with astonishing clarity, the ugly failure
of the gun grabbers' agenda.
Over thirty innocent people, young and old, are dead as a result
of the arrogance and stupidity of college administrators and
legislators in Virginia.
As horrifying as the events at Virginia Tech were, gun owners
will be equally horrified to learn that the largest "gun
lobby" in America supports the policies that cost those
students and teachers their lives. The following quote
is not from Sarah Brady. It is not from Nancy Pelosi. It is
not from Charles Schumer. It is from Wayne LaPierre,
"First, we believe in absolutely
gun-free, zero-tolerance, totally safe schools. That means no
guns in America's schools, period ... with the rare exception
of law enforcement officers or trained security personnel."
Both the Washington
Post and the New
York Times have reported that the NRA is "negotiating"
with the gun grabbers to expand the already onerous and intrusive
"instant check" system, which is anything but.
Representative John Dingell is quoted as saying “The
N.R.A. doesn’t have objections. There are other gun organizations
on this that are problems.” As well they should
be.
In Oregon, the State Police have been delaying and denying qualified
gun buyers in tremendous numbers. In many cases they have informed
buyers they must wait weeks or more to take possession of purchased
guns. This is something they have no authority to do as we have
reported in previous alerts.
Many of the delays are imposed on people with concealed handgun
licenses. Some have much more extensive government security
clearances, yet the Virginia Tech killer passed quickly through
the system in spite of his well documented history. And now
the gun grabbers, with support of the NRA, want to expand and
extend this failed system.
Waiting three weeks or two months to take possession of a firearm
is an annoyance and inconvenience to a gun owner merely seeking
to add to his collection, to a woman being stalked,it could
be a death sentence.
If you are an NRA member, please let the NRA know that you DO
NOT support the disarming of the innocent. Please tell them
to repudiate their long standing policy of making people in
schools the favored targets of killers and NOT to support any
more expansions of a failed and dangerous "background check"
system. (To contact NRA-ILA call 800-392-8683) And please use
GOA's Legislative
Action Center to contact your representatives in Congress
to express your opposition to more failed anti-gun policies.
Back here in Oregon, gun owners are facing hearings on numerous
bills that affect gun rights. Three bills are scheduled for
hearings next week.
The first is scheduled for Tuesday, April 24, in the House Judiciary
Committee. That bill is HB
2415.
This bill makes it illegal to sell guns, explosives, cars or
gasoline to people who are "visibly intoxicated."
It's doubtful that any rational person would support the idea
of selling these items to people who are drunk, but it still
seems hard to believe that this problem is so pervasive that
it requires a new law. The bill also creates twice the penalty
for selling a gun to a drunken person than it creates for selling
them explosives. The punishment for selling a gun to a drunk
is 12 times the punishment for selling them a car. Given that
cars are used to kill more people than guns are, this seems
bizarre.
We are also concerned that this bill would be used to entrap
both FFL and private dealers who make sales, since neither are
trained (like bartenders) to determine when a person is "intoxicated"
and the term is never defined.
In addition to our belief that this law is simply unneeded,
we are watching to make sure it is not amended to become an
attack on all gun owners' rights.
On Wednesday, the same committee is scheduled to hear HB
2334.
This bill is a particular concern as we have warned
you in the past.
The bill contains new restrictions on CHL's and is so badly
drafted that it could create serious problems for license holders.
We strongly urge you to contact the committee and tell them
that the language in the bill is dangerous and vague and needs
to be amended or eliminated.
Suggested text of a message, and the contact for the committee
members can be found here
Even if you have contacted the committee about this before,
please contact them again and let them know you are very concerned
about the unintended consequences of this bill.
As you know, your efforts have derailed a bill that would expand
the police powers of the law-breaking Port
of Portland.
Because of your rapid and overwhelming response, HB
2852 seems to be dead
this session. (Although nothing is certain.) However, we have
been reliably informed that the Port of Portland Police are
pulling out all the stops to achieve the same ends, perhaps
in a different bill.
It is possible that the POP may try to use a procedure called
"gut and stuff," (where the language of an unrelated
bill is totally removed and replaced with new language) to expand
their powers in spite of their continued refusal to obey Oregon's
clear preemption statute.
Although we cannot know for certain what bill they may use,
it is possible that they will try to "gut and stuff"
HB
2327 or HB
2890, two bills that appeared to be going nowhere and then
were suddenly scheduled for hearings next week. 2337 on Thursday
and 2890 on Friday.
We will be watching both bills carefully and ask that when you
contact the members of the House
Judiciary Committee to express your opposition to HB 2334,
you also urge them not to vote for any bill that is "stuffed"
to expand the Port's Police powers as long as they insist on
breaking the law.
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© 2000 - 2008, Oregon Firearms Federation. All Rights Reserved.
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