Democrat Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has signed legislation outlawing firearms on the capitol grounds and inside the capitol building in Salem, and also requires so-called “safe storage.”
According to KATU News, Brown inked the bill Tuesday, declaring, “I am signing SB 554 with the hope that we can take another step forward to help spare more Oregon families from the grief of losing a loved one to gun violence.”
Among the requirements of this new law is that some kind of locking device accompany each gun sold, and that gun owners report the loss or theft of a firearm to law enforcement within 72 hours after such loss is discovered. Democrats supported the measure and Republicans opposed it.
Another mandate is that gun dealers post signs in their businesses that state the following: “The purchaser of a firearm has an obligation to store firearms in a safe manner and to prevent un-supervised access to a firearm by a minor. If a minor or unauthorized person obtains access to a firearm and the owner failed to store the firearm in a safe manner, the owner may be in violation of the law.”
Once the law takes effect, neither lawmakers nor the citizens they serve will be allowed to bring firearms onto the capitol grounds or in the building. Supporters claim the legislation will “prevent accidental shootings by children, suicides and mass shootings,” KATU explained.
But will it? Only time will tell, but opponents do not believe the law will change anything except to add more inconvenience to law-abiding gun buyers.
While Beaver State anti-gunners are celebrating Brown’s signing of the bill, they are also pushing to get two anti-gun initiatives on the ballot. According to KATU, IP 18 will ban the sale of so-called “assault-style weapons” in the state, while IP 17 requires a permit to purchase a firearm, mandates background checks on all gun purchases and bans “large-capacity magazines.”
The initiatives are reportedly being pushed by an “interfaith movement” that has gathered 2,000 signatures on each in order to present them to Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan Wednesday. If both measures are approved for circulation, it will allow proponents 10 months to gather 140,000 signatures to get them on the November 2022 ballot.
Meanwhile, at the far end of the country, Democrats in New York state are also reportedly pressing more gun control in the wake of an uptick in shootings.
According to WMHT, one proposal “would create more hurdles for individuals seeking to purchase a gun, which Democrats said would help cut down on unlawful gun ownership while protecting firearm users who obtain their weapon legally.”
The proposal also requires would-be gun owners to take a five-hour firearms safety course and a live-firing test with a 90 percent accuracy score. People would also have to apply for a hunting license before they purchase a firearm, “and provide proof that they’ve bought a safe storage depository for the firearm.”
