CEASEFIRE oregon Advocacy

Ceasefire Oregon worked very hard last year to defeat several dangerous bills introduced by the gun lobby in the Oregon legislature. Many thanks to all our friends and supporters who helped defeat the bills. For more information on those bills, please see below.

Also in 2009, the Oregon legislature passed House Bill 2853, which requires Oregon to report to the federal government, for entry into the national background check database, the names of people who cannot lawfully purchase a gun under federal law due to their mental health histories. Championed by the Governor’s Office, the bill is a significant step forward in preventing gun violence.

We expect the gun lobby to reintroduce in 2011 several of its bills that went down in defeat in 2009. We need your help to defeat any dangerous bills introduced in the upcoming session, which will begin on January 10, 2011.

Make Your Voice Heard
When a bill that would endanger the safety of Oregonians comes before a legislative committee or to the House or Senate floor, your legislators need to hear from you. They hear frequently from the gun lobby and its followers. Your calls and messages urging your legislators to vote against bad bills are essential. Our legislators need to understand that we want them to stand up to the NRA and other elements of the gun lobby. We want them to vote against bills that would make guns too easily available to people who should not have them.

If you share our concerns, please send us your email address, so we can contact you about gun bills that are being considered by the Oregon legislature and the U.S. Congress. We will contact you only when necessary; we promise not to inundate you with email. Click here to send us your email address, and we will let you know when your representatives need to hear from you. Make your voice heard when it counts!

Visit the Oregon legislature's website to find out who your representatives are and to obtain information on other House and Senate lawmakers. Email your representatives to let them know that their constituency wants them to vote for a safer Oregon.

For information on current Oregon laws, please see our summary of Oregon laws concerning gun violence. You may print the PDF on both sides of an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper, and then fold the paper twice to create a three-panel brochure. You are welcome to print and distribute the brochures.

To help with our work, please contact us at info@ceasefireoregon.org or 503.220.1669.

MAJOR BILLS OPPOSED BY CEASEFIRE OREGON

Of the many awful bills that Ceasefire Oregon carefully tracked in the 2009 Oregon legislative session, we were most concerned about these four, all of which were defeated:

House Bill 2463
Sponsored by Representatives ROBLAN, KRIEGER; Representatives BARKER, MAURER, SCHAUFLER, Senators BOQUIST, GIROD
SUMMARY of bill as it was introduced:
“Provides persons licensed to carry concealed handgun in another state with protections provided to persons with Oregon concealed handgun license.”
Download a copy of House Bill 2463 as it was introduced.

House Bill 2645
Sponsored by Representatives KRIEGER, ROBLAN; Representatives BARKER, CAMERON, CLEM, OLSON, SCHAUFLER, J SMITH, WHISNANT, Senators BOQUIST, FERRIOLI, KRUSE, WHITSETT
SUMMARY of bill as it was introduced:
“Requires Department of State Police to destroy records obtained during criminal records check within 24 hours of approval for qualified firearms purchases.”
Download a copy of House Bill 2645.

House Bill 2727
Sponsored by Representatives THATCHER, BARKER; Representatives BENTZ, BOONE, BRUUN, CAMERON, CLEM, ESQUIVEL, FREEMAN, GARRARD, GILLIAM, GILMAN, HANNA, HUFFMAN, JENSON, KENNEMER, KRIEGER,
MATTHEWS, MAURER, OLSON, RICHARDSON, ROBLAN, SCHAUFLER, G SMITH, J SMITH, SPRENGER, THOMPSON, WEIDNER, WHISNANT, WINGARD, WITT, Senators ATKINSON, BOQUIST, FERRIOLI, GEORGE, GIROD,
JOHNSON, KRUSE, MORSE, NELSON, PROZANSKI, STARR, TELFER, VERGER, WHITSETT (at the request of Oregon Sheriff's In Action)
SUMMARY of bill as it was introduced:
“Prohibits public body from releasing information that can be used to identify holder of or applicant for concealed handgun license. Authorizes disclosure for criminal justice purposes and pursuant to court order.”
Download a copy of House Bill 2727 as it was introduced.

House Bill 2991
Sponsored by Representative WITT; Representatives BOONE, CLEM, ESQUIVEL, GELSER, KRIEGER, MATTHEWS, ROBLAN, SCHAUFLER, THATCHER, THOMPSON
SUMMARY of bill as it was introduced:
“Exempts transferor of firearm from performing criminal history record check if purchaser or recipient has concealed handgun license.”
Download a copy of House Bill 2991.

We expect these bills to be reintroduced in the upcoming legislative session. Please help us defeat them again by clicking here to send us your email address.