The Official Oregon HB 3200 Bill Thread

[CharonPDX]

Ahhhh.........political suicide, gotta love it.

Yeah, this one is so extreme it doesn't have a chance in hell. They LOST Democratic co-sponsors from the last one.

Here's what I sent to Senate Judiciary Committee chair Floyd Prozanski:

And of course, now I hear about HB 3200. I believe the term "facepalm" is appropriate here.

Please remind your esteemed colleagues Sens. Burdick, Dingfelder, Hass, Monnes-Anderson, Monroe, Shields, and Steiner-Hayward that there *ARE* plenty of Democratic gun owners, and they *DO* vote in the primary. As I'm sure you know full well, this bill has as much chance of passage as Mitt Romney had of winning Washington DC's vote. This is a pointless statement that only serves to draw fire on the Democratic Party, and drive *AWAY* convince-able voters.

As the newly elected chair of the Multnomah County Democrats said last night, Oregon is lucky to be one of only 7 states that have a Democratic-controlled congress and all elected Executive positions, as well as having two Democratic federal Senators, and an 80% Democratic federal congressional delegation. Yet of those 7, Oregon has the CLOSEST Democrat/Republican voter registration margin. Driving the public view of the party as "extreme" will *HURT* us, not help us.

We *JUST* re-won the majority in the state House - don't guarantee that we lose it in 2014 please.

(I had literally an hour earlier sent him my opinions on the "four remaining" firearms bills.) Yes, I wrote it as a "party insider letting you know that supporting this would be committing political suicide" point of view. Never hurts to remind them that they do still have to win primaries.

 

[iGun]

Good letter Charon.

 

[drew]

Personally I believe that any politician who tries to attack the constitution should be tried for treason. Also since they have an apparent lack for support for the constitution they took an oath to uphold, they should not benefit from any of the legal protection granted within the constitution.

It doesn't fall under the narrow definition of treason in the state or federal Constitution.

I would support amending the OR Constitution to include something about criminalizing proposing legislation that is unconstitutional. Make legislators accountable.

 

[Ralgha]

Would it be better to compile all my arguments and problems with this bill into a long letter/email or break it up into shorter ones sent over the course of a few days?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus that ate your iPhone.

 

[Zoltan]

Maybe there should be a recall effort. Might refocus them a little.

 

[tkdguy]

Sadly I do not believe it will ever stop until we vote these people out of office.....

I plan on contributing against these "nutjobs" in a big way.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

I plan on contributing against these "nutjobs" in a big way.

All Oregonians have a tax credit of up to $100 for political contributions. You can give up to $100 to a primary opponent's campaign and get it all back at tax time, even though you might not be able to vote in someone like Ginny Burdick's district election. You can support their challengers financially and it costs you nothing. I think if a few thousand gun rights proponents did that it would get their attention. 5000 x $100 = $500,000. That's a sizable campaign donation.

 

[DMax]

Has anyone given any thought to a law suite brought against any politician that introduces laws that break the constitution and we start with the list who introduced this bill. These *** clowns only respect and take action on one thing and that is power and control. Running there attacks on our rights up the flag pole of courts is the only thing that will get results as that is how we get serious public attention in the face of these constitutional criminals.

 

[PMKN_PI]

Burdicks home address needs to be posted so we can picket outside her house on public property. Make an example out of her.

 

[drew]

All Oregonians have a tax credit of up to $100 for political contributions. You can give up to $100 to a primary opponent's campaign and get it all back at tax time, even though you might not be able to vote in someone like Ginny Burdick's district election. You can support their challengers financially and it costs you nothing. I think if a few thousand gun rights proponents did that it would get their attention. 5000 x $100 = $500,000. That's a sizable campaign donation.

I think its a great idea.

Monnes Anderson won by about 4,000 votes. The rest of the sponsors I saw had much larger margins.

Curious to see how their primaries went. A lot had would have had more of a fight there and would be more vulnerable where voters basically require the D to vote for someone.

 

[df662]

Burdicks home address needs to be posted so we can picket outside her house on public property. Make an example out of her.

You might want to do some surveillance prior to the protest and make sure it is the right person lol

YP.com

 

[Stomper]

God I hope this does die...I have used the auto mailer from OFF and contacted all my firearm friends to do the same.

IF...IF...this insane bill did pass...well...time to leave Oregon. How is Idaho? Maybe Washington!

I considered the same thing, but then said TO HELL WITH THAT!! Take back this state and drive these facist bubblegums out!

 

[beavertonbuck]

I just wrote to my reps. One was a nice letter but unfortunately Senator Hayward is a sponsor to the bill. I had written her previously and got a generic say nothing, while saying something statement. I expressed my displeasure at her lack of courage to really explain to me what her stance would on the issues we were facing. For her I just made it clear that I would oppose her and campaign for her opponent when she came up for reelection.

 

[BSG 75]

This is what I emailed to my senator and representative:


Dear Rep. Boone and Sen. Johnson:

I oppose HB 3200 (assault weapons and large capacity magazine ban) for the following reasons:

• It would ban some of the most popular and common types of rifles owned by Oregonians.
• The rifles that would be banned are owned for several legal uses, such as: sport (target) shooting including competition, hunting, self-defense, and collecting. Contrary to the often stated misconception, it is not true that "their only purpose is to kill as many people as quickly as possible". That is flat out false. The top competitors in NRA High Power rifle competitions use AR-15 type rifles of the type that would be banned <broken link removed>
• Despite their popularity and wide ownership, so-called "assault rifles" are rarely used in crimes (most gun crimes are committed with handguns). According to FBI crime statistics, twice as many murders are committed with hands, fists, and feet (728 in 2011) as are committed with all rifles, including all so-called "assault rifles" (323 in 2011). Five times as many murders are committed with knives and other cutting instruments (1,694 in 2011) as are committed with all rifles, including all so-called "assault rifles" Murder Victims by Weapon 2007-2011
• Law-abiding Oregonians who happen to own more than one of these popular firearms would be forced to sell, surrender for destruction, or make inoperable all but one of them. Some of the firearms that would be banned are quite valuable and historically interesting, yet law-abiding Oregonian gun owners who have hurt no one would be forced to give them up, possibly at a significant financial loss.
• The proposed law would force law-abiding Oregonian gun owners to sell, surrender, or dispose of all but three so-called "large capacity" magazines, no matter the financial loss. The law also requires registration of the magazines, which is impossible because magazines don't have serial numbers.
• The bill is illogical and inconsistent because it would ban some firearms based on certain cosmetic features, while permitting other firearms that are identical in function. For example, the valuable and historically interesting M1A1 Carbine, used by American paratroopers on D-Day during World War II to liberate Europe from the Nazis
  
  
  
  would be banned because it has a "pistol grip" and folding stock, while the regular M1 Carbine, also used in World War II and the Korean War, which is identical in every way except for the stock
  
  
  
  would be legal. The two firearms were made by the same manufacturer during World War II, use the same ammo and magazines, and function exactly the same. In fact, the stocks could be easily switched between the two rifles, and the illegal one would become legal, and the legal one would become illegal. Does that make any sense at all?

Two-thirds of deaths from "gun violence" in the United States are suicides, not homicides. You don't need an "assault rifle" or a "large capacity magazine" to shoot yourself, one bullet will do. The proposed law would have zero impact on the #1 cause of deaths from "gun violence" in this country.


Finally, the law would be challenged in court and would likely be found unconstitutional. The United States Supreme Court in United States v. Miller and reinforced in District of Columbia v. Heller held that the Second Amendment protects firearms that are "in common use". With literally millions of these rifles in the possession of law-abiding Americans, they meet the "common use" test. Governments that lose those lawsuits end up paying large sums in legal fees



We tried an "assault weapon" and "large capacity magazine" ban from 1994 to 2004. It had virtually no effect on crime. <broken link removed> found:

• AWs [assault weapons] were used in only a small fraction of gun crimes prior to the ban: about 2% according to most studies and no more than 8%. Most of the AWs used in crime are assault pistols rather than assault rifles.

and concluded:

• Should it be renewed, the ban's effects on gun violence are likely to be small at best and perhaps too small for reliable measurement. AWs were rarely used in gun crimes even before the ban.

Let's not return to the failed policies of the past. Let's not punish law-abiding Oregonians by passing a draconian, unconstitutional law that will have no effect on crime or on the most common cause of deaths involving firearms. I urge you to oppose HB 3200.


Thank you for your attention. If you have any questions or would like some hands-on familiarization with these firearms so you can see for yourself what they are about, please feel free to contact me. I am a member of the Tri County Gun Club in Sherwood and I would be delighted to take time off to allow you to handle and shoot some of these firearms. I guarantee an enjoyable, safe, and educational experience!

 

[xacex]

Very nice! Much more eloquent than my letter to all of my senators and representatives. I hope they planned on retiring early if any of them sign on to this. Voters have a way of remembering hot button issues.

 

[DonovanJay]

I wonder how this will all play out.. at least we know where most people stand.

 

[jimmer5]

Great response BSG 75. I will ahve to include some of your arguments in my own personal response. I already sent the generic OFF response, but I will be crafting a personal response tomorrow.

My only comment would be (if I am reading the text of the bill correctly), that the standard M1 carbine would also be banned for it's "shroud attached to the barrel, or that partially or completely encircles the barrel".

This bill is so draconian that it feels like a bill written to allow the democrats to posture and complain when it doesn't pass. Nevertheless, we can't let our guard down. Great way to start the weekend. Ugh.

 

[Eddywangchang]

aaaaaaaanndddd I'm going to move to Washington.

 

[boarder4life81]

Already got a response from House Representative Val Hoyle. Here is what she sent me.

Dear Mr. xxxxxxx,

Thank you for your email and also for your service.

I have no intention of supporting HB3200. We will keep your email on file and let you know if we hear anything about this bill progressing in the House.

I really appreciate your volunteer hours at xxxxxxxxx. Both of my children went to that school and we have many great memories of those years.

Don't hesitate to contact my office in the future if I can be of assistance.

All the best
Val

Representative Val Hoyle
House Majority Leader
House District 14
West Eugene and Junction City

 

[bikejunkie]

I particularly enjoy the scam that if you do capitulate and allow yourself to be "registered" the only places your evil high capacity magazines will be allowed is in your home, at the range, at the gunsmiths, or traveling between them. So that means every magazine I have for my XDm carry pistol becomes illegal to use for concealed carry. I mean there's so much crap to hate in this bill it's hard to even know where to start...

I have already sent the OFF form response and will try and craft something more personal tomorrow, though that will likely be extremely difficult to accomplish without the series of expletives this bill brings to the fore of my thoughts.

I will not be "registering" any of my weapons. I am not interested in adding myself to the list of "enemy's of the state" to be rounded up in the future. Garbage like this is shameful for Oregon, and reprehensible for America.