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05.13.09 Legislative Update. |
There are three gun related bills that have had action you should
be aware of.
Yesterday, the Senate passed a bill we requested (SB
603) to define the term "readily accessible" for
the purposes of having a handgun in your car. As you know, if
a person does not have a concealed handgun license, there are
restrictions on how they may transport a handgun in a vehicle.
In most (but not all) places, a loaded handgun can be carried
in a vehicle if it is either not concealed, or "not readily
accessible."
The problem is, Oregon does not define what that term means.
We requested and wrote a bill to answer that question. The bill
was amended heavily from our original language. Some of the
changes were quite good and incorporated language that we had
requested in other bills. Those changes would address conflicts
in existing law.
Unfortunately, the re-written definition for "readily accessible"
created new ambiguities.
We are working to correct those problems when the bill gets
to the House. We believe it will go to the House Judiciary
Committee, but because of the late date, it is possible that
the bill will go to another committee. Wherever it goes, we
will let you know and tell you who you need to contact to request
that the language be corrected to eliminate the uncertainties
created by the amendments. The bill passed the Senate
with 29 "aye" votes and one Senator excused.
HB 2853 was heard in the House Rules Committee late today. This
bill was amended once again and the amendments were only available
at the very last minute at the hearing. They are not yet available
on line. The purpose of the bill as amended, is to make
Oregon comply with the Federal bill HR 2640, the gun control
bill promoted by the Brady Campaign and the NRA after the Virginia
Tech killings.
The bill would create a system whereby the Oregon State Police
would share mental health records of Oregonians with the FBI
and the NICS system.
OFF has opposed this legislation from the beginning and we continue
to. We believe that the background check system is already not
only a prior restraint on your rights, but so riddled with errors
that unwarranted delays and denials are commonplace. We oppose
dumping a whole new batch of records into a failed system. Beyond
that, the bill places enormous power in Oregon's "Psychiatric
Security Review Board" to decide if you are "mentally
defective" ( to use the Fed's term) and they testified
today that they currently would not likely have the resources
or manpower to handle the new responsibility. Beyond that, we
are not convinced they are necessarily qualified. Keep in mind,
the shooter at Virginia Tech had long exhibited signs
of mental illness and aberrant behavior, all of which was ignored
by the "mental health professionals" who will be given
so much power under this bill.
The committee members expressed reservations with the bill as
amended, so your communications have been having an affect.
Please don't stop now. This bill is far from dead, but
your efforts have created doubt about the wisdom of expanding
the failed Brady Check system.The bill DID NOT move out of committee
today. Please contact the Rules
Committee and express your opposition to HB 2853.
For more info please see our previous alert.
Finally, HB 2727, which in its original form protected the privacy
of concealed handgun licensees, has gone to the Senate Judiciary
Committee. The amended bill provides virtually NO protections
for license holders. So we are hoping to have those protections
put back in while the bill is in the Senate Committee. For more
information see this alert.
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