We Stand With The Students. Pass SB 978!
By Penny Okamoto, Executive Director of Ceasefire Oregon
When the Oregon Republican senators shirked their duties in May and walked off their jobs, Governor Kate Brown unwisely rewarded their behavior with a deal that killed a powerful gun violence prevention bill, SB 978––as long as the Senators returned and did not delay the Senate again.
The Republicans broke that deal last week when they ran away from their offices yet again.
That deal has been broken and Ceasefire Oregon is joining with students from March for Our Lives Oregon (MFOL) and Youth of Oregon United (YOU) in calling for SB 978 to be passed out of the Rules Committee and ultimately signed into law.
The students from MFOL and YOU stated in an email dated June 23, 2019: “We need to let the governor know how important GVP is, and we need to show the rest of the democratic leadership that this is an issue that will not go away…This bill is not only important to students but also important to the hundreds of voices that go unheard due to gun violence.”
The students are correct. SB 978 is a powerful bill that would directly reduce gun violence in their lives by requiring gun owners to secure their firearms at all times and by allowing schools (not the gun lobby!) to determine if people can carry loaded, hidden guns in Oregon public schools.
Please call Oregon Democratic leadership right now. Leave a message saying that the safety of our children should never be put on hold or bargained away. The legislative session still has one week left and SB 978 should be passed out of the House and Senate and signed into law.
Governor Kate Brown: (503) 378-4582
Senate President Peter Courtney: (503) 986-1600
Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick: (503) 986-1700
Senate Minority Leader Herman Baertschiger: (503) 986-1702
House Speaker Tina Kotek: (503) 986-1200
Finn from MFOL said, “We (the students) are federally mandated to be in a place which is frequently subjected to shootings. That is having an effect on us that is starting to become unmanageable, and we must act now.
Read more about SB 978 on our website.