Two Anti-Gun Bills Moving in the Oregon Legislature!

House Bill 2852 would give the Port Authority more control over where law-abiding citizens can carry a firearm and Senate Bill 1012 would undermine Oregon’s firearm preemption law.  These bills would greatly impact all law-abiding gun-owners in Oregon.  We need your help to stop these anti-gun bills!

Last Friday, March 23, House Bill 2852, sponsored by Representative Jeff Barker (D-28) on behalf of the Port of Portland, was discussed before the House Judiciary Committee.  This bill greatly expands the Port Authority’s powers at Portland Airport and includes an amendment that was offered to expand that authority to ALL properties under the Ports Jurisdiction, including many waterfront and dock facilities. 

There has been an ongoing attempt to get the Port of Portland to rescind its ordinance prohibiting Concealed Handgun License Holders from exercising their right to carry within non-sterile areas of the Portland Airport terminal.  Oregon Legislative Counsel (the Legislators Lawyer) has agreed with our assessment that the Port has no authority to issue any rule regarding firearms.  Still, the Port of Portland has refused to rescind its rule.

Any entity that refuses to obey the law should not be granted additional authority until such time as they comply with the law.

We need to make our voices heard on this issue.  There is still time to contact Judiciary Committee members who in the past have been strong supporters of our Second Amendment rights.  The following is a list of members of the Judiciary Committee, who have been pro-Second Amendment supporters (several are NRA members).  Please be polite, but send a strong message that we again need them to step up and support the Second Amendment.  These calls and emails need to be made Monday, March 26 or Tuesday, March 27, at the latest.

Representative Jeff Barker   
Party: D  District: 28
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1428
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., H-476, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: rep.jeffbarker@state.or.us
Website: http://www.leg.state.or.us/barker

Representative Kevin  Cameron  
Party: R  District: 19
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1419
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-383, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: rep.kevincameron@state.or.us
Website: http://www.leg.state.or.us/cameron

Representative Linda Flores   
Party: R  District: 51
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1451
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., H-287, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: rep.lindaflores@state.or.us
Website: http://www.leg.state.or.us/flores

Representative Wayne Krieger   
Party: R  District: 1
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1401
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., H-378, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: rep.waynekrieger@state.or.us
Website: http://www.leg.state.or.us/krieger

Representative Gene Whisnant   
Party: R  District: 53
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1453
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-372, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: rep.genewhisnant@state.or.us
Website: http://www.leg.state.or.us/whisnant

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Below is a sample email message:

Dear Representative XXX:

I urge you to send a message to the Port of Portland that its violation of Oregon's firearms preemption law will not be tolerated by voting “NO” for HB 2852.  I further ask that you maintain this position until the Port of Portland rescinds its unlawful order. 

Sincerely,

    _____________________________________________________________________

Please take the time to call and email the above Judiciary Committee members and please pass this information to your family, friends, and fellow gun-owners today!

SB 1012 would allow counties and cities to regulate, restrict, or prohibit the discharge of firearms on a public or private shooting range.  SB 1012 would also require a shooting range to keep records of your arrival time, the date, your name, your address, and make and model of all firearms brought onto the premises of a shooting range. What makes this bill even more dangerous is that it has been assigned back to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is chaired by Senator Ginny Burdick (D-18), a determined gun control advocate.

At this time SB 1012 has not been scheduled for a hearing.  We will immediately inform everyone when a hearing has been scheduled and will be giving out contact information for those Senate committee members that will need to be contacted to vote “NO” on SB 1012.

Please keep checking www.NRAILA.org for updates on Second Amendment issues in Oregon and around the nation.